Maya Hawke Has Totally Transformed Since She Burst Into Hollywood

When it comes to nepo babies, it's hard not to love Maya Hawke. While others with parents in the industry might dismiss the term, asserting that they got where they are on their merit, Hawke, the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, acknowledges her privilege. "I think I'm comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway," Hawke told The Times of London in June 2024. "And I know that my not doing it wouldn't help anyone. I saw two paths when I was first starting, and one of them was: change your name, get a nose job, and go to open casting roles." Hawke chose the second path, which was not to hide who her parents are.

Despite being the daughter of two major stars, Hawke didn't even start her acting career until she was 19, when she played Jo in the BBC's adaptation of "Little Women." But it was her role as Robin in "Stranger Things" that made people sit up and notice her. After that, the roles started rolling in, including a small part in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Now 27, Hawke has proven she deserves to be in Hollywood. Between her acting career and pursuits as a singer/songwriter, she's no longer just Ethan and Uma's kid, but someone who has carved her own path. Today, she's not only one of the best-dressed nepo babies in Hollywood, but the transformation it took for her to get here has been something extraordinary to watch.

Even before she started her own career, Maya Hawke was already a red carpet regular thanks to her parents. At 16, she attended The Hollywood Reporter's Annual Nominees Night party held at Spago in February 2014. With her dad, Ethan Hawke, by her side, you can tell she inherited his prominent presence in front of the camera, especially paired with her mom's height, too. Like any 16-year-old attending one of her parents' work events, she kept her look simple, opting for an LDB that always proves iconic. Hawke doesn't appear to have done much to her hair, sticking with a casually chic mane.

Like her mom, Uma Thurman, and Thurman's mother before her, Maya Hawke started her career as a model. Although in the photo of Hawke and her mother, taken in Paris when they attended the Miu Miu Resort Collection 2015, she hadn't yet begun modeling, she already had the subtle pout down to a science. With her hair pulled back and rocking a black bedazzled jacket, Hawke very closely resembled a mini-Uma — but perhaps one who seemed a bit hesitant to embrace the world that's about to unfold in front of her.

In September of 2016, Maya Hawke had her first official acting role in a short film for fashion brand AllSaints. The film, "Far From Here, was also her modeling debut. Of the collaboration with AllSaints's creative director Wil Beedle, Hawke told The Hollywood Reporter, "Wil designs clothing for women. Instead of trying to design women for clothing. The dresses fall just where you want them to and don't keep you from running or dancing." At the time, Hawke was a student a Juilliard, and the photo from May of that year, just a few months before the collab, shows a young woman who's still a little unsure of her style and is going with what's comfy and safe.

When you get to play Jo March in the BBC's adaptation of "Little Women" as your first official big movie role, you're off to a great start. For the special screening of the film, Maya Hawke was all smiles at The Soho Hotel in December 2017 in London. It's safe to say her dress is a choice, perhaps a nod to the 1860s and her character Jo, but having hopped on the Mary Jane shoe trend with her two-tone heels, Hawke brought the whole look into 2017, and it just works.

When BBC's "Little Women" came to the U.S. for the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival in April of that year, long gone was the floral, below-the-knee dress. Instead, like many Gen-Zers, Maya Hawke decided to lean into the full revival of Y2K fashion with a black slip dress, matching choker, and black sandals. Her hair was perfectly tousled for that "I don't care" look that people in their early 20s tend to feel deep in their souls. Her "Little Women" costar, Kathryn Newton, on the other hand, delivered seriously mod-inspired vibes with a collared red dress, black pointed pumps, and a handbag.

By 2019, Maya Hawke came into her household name era — or at least for fans of Netflix's "Stranger Things." She also decided to step into her haute couture era by rocking a black ballgown by Dior to the 2019 American Music Awards. Hawke looked sophisticated and ready to play the part that she was born into: Hollywood royalty. Her chin-length hair gave her a bold new look and elevated her overall sense of personal style, while the contrasting light-colored headband gives her ensemble a playful and whimsical energy.

While much of the world was still hiding out in their homes in September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that didn't stop the 77th Venice Film Festival from happening. It also certainly didn't stop Maya Hawke from attending in a gorgeous old Hollywood-style dress by Atelier Versace. Hawke was there for her film, "Mainstream," about a struggling filmmaker who finally gets her big break after meeting a random stranger, played by Andrew Garfield. Despite being written and directed by Gia Coppola of the iconic Coppola family, the film didn't do very well. But at least in Venice and in such a great dress, with a classic Anna Wintour-inspired bob, Hawke looked the part of an award-winning actress.

Like a lot of famous people who feel like they need to dominate more than one corner of the Hollywood job market, Maya Hawke is also a singer and songwriter. However, unlike many celebrities, Hawke is quite good at it. In September 2022, she performed at the SiriusXM Hollywood Studio wearing a striped shirt dress and mid-calf-high boots — a very folksy look to match the folk-pop music she puts out. "When I started making music, I saw it as something to fill the dead time between auditions and jobs, waiting for the right thing to come your way," Hawke told Elle UK in December 2022. "But now, it's become a much more real and beloved part of my life."

One of the cool things about having a dad who just happens to be Ethan Hawke — other than the fact that your dad is Ethan Hawke — is getting to work with him. In 2023, Maya Hawke joined forces with her dad for "Wildcat" about novelist Flannery O'Connor's struggle to get her first pieces published. The film was co-written and directed by Ethan, and Maya played Flannery. In 2024, the two attended the screening of the movie at the Angelika Film Center, and both father and daughter looked fantastic, rocking their own takes on a classic blazer. Similar to her other looks, Maya's outfit showed that she excels at making casual look chic and chic look casual.

Although 2025 was not the first time that Maya Hawke attended the Met Gala, she did look more at ease than she had in the past — even if she did make our worst dressed list. While Hawke was an absolute vision in a Prada ensemble consisting of a pink dress and sheer dark beige cape, she missed the theme, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," by miles. Either way, Hawke had a good time and probably knew in her heart of hearts that in that moment, she'd arrived. Let's just hope next year she nails the Met Gala theme so she ends up on the best-dressed list instead.