Aaron Taylor-Johnson took to social media to celebrate his stepdaughter Jessie’s 18th birthday.
“Happy Birthday BabyGirl💕,” Taylor-Johnson, 34, wrote alongside a rare throwback snap of himself and Jessie sharing a sweet hug via his Instagram Story on Tuesday, October 8. He followed up the pic with a more recent photo of the two of them, which he captioned, “18 now … still my babygirl💕.”
After tying the knot with his wife, director Sam Taylor-Johnson, in 2012, Aaron became the stepfather to her daughters Jessie and Angelica, 27, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Jay Jopling. The couple went on to have kids of their own, welcoming daughters Wylda and Romy in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
Sam, 57, also took to Instagram on Tuesday to commemorate Jessie’s milestone birthday. “18 ❤️ My darling Phoenix ❤️ Happy Birthday,” the director captioned a slideshow of pics of her daughter from over the years. “You are everything and more. I love you. I am so proud to be your Mummy ❤️❤️❤️.”
Jessie’s older sister, Angelica, took a cue from their mother and shared several snaps of Jessie via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, October 9. “My baby sister, my inspiration, my rock … turned 18 yesterday 🖤🖤,” she wrote. “My perfect lil baby 🫧🐺. Always stylin … always beautiful. Cuddling you forever.”
Aaron and Sam’s relationship has sparked fan interest over the years, particularly because of their large age gap. The pair first met when Aaron auditioned to play a young John Lennon in her 2009 film Nowhere Boy. He was around 18 or 19 years old at the time, while Same was 42.
“What you gotta realize is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13,” he shared in a Rolling Stone UK cover story published in March. “You’re doing something too quickly for someone else? I don’t understand that. What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It’s bizarre to me.”
Back in August 2023, Aaron told Esquire that he always wanted “a big family” and knew he was “going to be a young father.”
“Teenagers, man. I’ve got teenagers,” he quipped before adding that wanting to be with his kids influenced him to take a break from acting.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and wife Sam Taylor-Johnson.
“I didn’t want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like,” he explained. “I would say I was probably not ready to be in that position [of success] anyway — it was too early. But yeah, I also slightly didn’t give a f—.”
He continued: “In my opinion, the actor that goes job to job becomes f—king boring. … I’m sure people dream of that. If this is what you want to do, that’s great. It doesn’t feed my soul. I enjoy the normality of things, the everyday stuff. Getting my kids ready in the mornings, taking them to school and activities — that’s plenty. That feeds my soul.”
