Nicola Peltz Biography

Date of Birth

9 December 1995, Westchester County, New York, USA

Nickname

Nicky

Height

5' 5¼" (1.66 m)

Mini Biography

Nicola Peltz is emerging as a force to be reckoned with, on both the big and small screen. Her most prominent roles include the series Bates Motel (2013), and the films The Last Airbender (2010) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014).

Nicola was born in Westchester County, New York, to Claudia (Heffner), who has worked as a model, and Nelson Peltz, a billionaire businessman whose assets include the Snapple brand of drinks. Nicola is of Ashkenazi Jewish (from her father) and Italian and German-British (from her mother) heritage. She made her stage debut in 2007, opposite Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill, in the Laurence Olivier Award-winning production of "Blackbird", at the Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by Joe Mantello. In 2012, she starred,alongside Melanie Lynskey and Campbell Scott, in Eye of the Hurricane (2012), a compelling family adventure about a small Everglades community struggling to put their lives back together in the wake of a devastating hurricane. In 2010, Peltz starred in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender (2010), opposite Dev Patel and Jackson Rathbone. The film was written, directed and produced by Shyamalan and was based on the first season of Nickelodeon's animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005). Peltz made her feature film debut in 2006 in Deck the Halls (2006), with Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth.

In Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Peltz stars alongside Mark Wahlberg and Jack Reynor. She plays Tessa Yeager, the daughter of a mechanic (Wahlberg) who makes a major discovery that catches the attention of the Autobots, Decepticons, and the U.S. government. The film is the fourth in the blockbuster series of live-action films, and is scheduled for release by Paramount on June 27th.

Later in the summer, Peltz also starred in Kevin Asch's Affluenza (2014), which received a limited release in July. Also featuring Ben Rosenfield and Gregg Sulkin, the film is a coming-of-age story, inspired by "The Great Gatsby," and set among the upper-class in the Long Island suburb of Great Neck during the weeks leading up to the financial meltdown of 2008.

On the small screen, Peltz reprised her role as "Bradley Martin," a troubled high school student, in the second season of A&E's critically-acclaimed series, Bates Motel (2013). The series is a modern re-imagining and prequel to the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock cult classic, Psycho (1960), which focuses on the life of "Norman Bates" and his mother, "Norma Bates," portrayed by Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga.

Trivia

Has seven siblings.

Was considered one of the 55 faces of the future by Nylon Magazine's Young Hollywood Issue.

Her father is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family (from Austria and Russia). Her mother has Italian, as well as German, Welsh, and English, ancestry. The New York Times has described Nicola's parents as "compassionate leaders of the New York Jewish community.".

Parents are Nelson and Claudia Peltz.

Studied Tai Chi for The Last Airbender (2010).

Played Ice Hockey when she was a child.

Started modeling at an early age.

Has 7 siblings, including half-siblings - four older brothers, two younger brothers, and a sister. One of her siblings is actor Will Peltz.

Was in a relationship with model Anwar Hadid from December 2016 to May 2018.

She started a relationship with Brooklyn Beckham in January 2020 and they announced their engagement on 11 July 2020.

Filmed scenes with Melissa Leo for Righteous Kill (2008), but they were ultimately cut from the final film.

Quotes

I'm the youngest sister, but growing up with so many boys makes you tough. You get teased. There's no tiptoeing around each other. You say it the way it is; you're honest.

I have six brothers and one sister, and I was an ice hockey player when I was younger. I think my dad thought I was going to be in the women's league for ice hockey. But, I totally fell in love with drama in grade school, and I asked my mom if I could get involved with it.

I saw Paranormal Activity (2007) on Halloween with all my friends. It scared me, but it was so much fun.

My role is "Katara" in The Last Airbender (2010), I'm a water bender from the southern water tribe, and my character is really strong but also loving.

I have six brothers and one sister. I grew up playing ice hockey, a total tomboy, and that's what I thought I was going to do - be an ice-hockey player.

When I was 12, I got a manager, but my mom was against it. It took a lot of convincing. But when I got a job at Manhattan Theatre Club, I think she saw how passionate I was about it and that I worked really hard - and now she's super supportive.

You see people, you judge. It's just the human thing to do - good or bad, it's a fact. Like when you get a coffee at Starbucks and the person is rude to you. My mom always says, 'Yeah, but you don't know what kind of day they're having.' You don't know the back-story, and that's why it's so fun to be an actor and to get into the back-story.