Francesca Scorsese Has Had A Head-Turning Transformation

When it comes to father-daughter duos, it's hard not to love Francesca Scorsese and her dad, multi-award-winning director Martin. Scorsese is the third and youngest daughter of her father, and her mother is former book editor Helen Schermerhorn Morris. On top of this talented lineage, Scorsese's godfather is Robert De Niro, and she grew up calling Leonardo DiCaprio, "Uncle Leo." In other words, in a world of best- and worst-dressed nepo babies, Scorsese is in a league all her own — and she knows it.

"Of course I get the upper hand with a lot of things — I'm very fortunate," Scorsese told Nylon in January 2024, adding that she tries to stay humble and prides herself on spoiling her friends. "I just try to be the best nepo baby that I can be," Scorsese said, and she's definitely excelling at that while also carving her own path in the entertainment industry. Proving she's not just another famous kid riding her dad's coattails, Scorsese scored one of the lead roles in Luca Guadagnino's 2020 HBO series, "We Are Who We Are," without him even knowing her last name. Considering Luca Guadagnino is the genius behind "Call Me By Your Name" and "Challengers," that's certainly a testament to what Scorsese brings to the table as an actor.

Although only 25, so far Scorsese has had quite the head-turning transformation. From a little kid hanging around her dad's sets, to writing and directing her first short film, Scorsese is out to make her mark on the world, and it's an exciting journey to watch.

When Francesca Scorsese was born, her father, Martin, was already 56 years old and had two daughters from previous relationships. During a 2024 appearance on SiriusXM's "This Life of Mine with James Corden," via People, Martin explained how extraordinary it was to become a dad again later in life and the impact it had on his perception of the world around him. Francesca arrived five weeks early, and there was initial panic involved because of the age of her parents. But once it was clear that both mother and baby would be fine, and Martin could hold his baby girl, he was struck by the gift that was the pregnancy. "This was like some special blessing of some kind," Martin said of Francesca's birth. "It suddenly changed all the values, what I thought was important in life."

By the time she was three years old, Scorsese was already following in her dad's footsteps. "My dad handed me the camera and he directed me to shoot him," Francesca told GQ in 2023. "It's so funny because you hear me breathing really heavy behind the camera, trying so hard to get the shot right." Although he didn't win his first Academy Award for best director until 2006 with the film "The Departed," Martin Scorsese is the most-nominated living director, winning 12 of his 60 nominations. Basically, Francesca was born to make movies and continue her dad's legacy.

While other teenagers might cringe at the thought of posting photos and videos with their father, Francesca Scorsese leaned into it. As a true product of her generation, when Scorsese wasn't going to school or hanging around her dad's film sets, she was posting videos on Dubsmash, then TikTok, and eventually Instagram. Before long, it wasn't just boomers, Gen Xers, and film enthusiasts who learned to appreciate Martin Scorsese differently, but younger generations, too. "I love that [TikTok is] bringing younger audiences to my dad's work," Scorsese told Nylon. "They're making him more relevant to an 11- or 12-year-old on the street." After all, if you're not 12 the first time you're introduced to "Goodfellas," your adolescence is missing out. 

Scorsese's videos with her dad were a huge hit from the start and continue to be. However, stepping in front of the camera came with a downside: trolls. "The easiest thing that people can pick on is your appearance," Scorsese told People in February 2024, adding that in the beginning, she would be brought to tears by the cruelty that comes with being online. While she didn't become a celeb who clapped back at body shamers, she learned how to work through it and move past the negativity. "People are going to hate me, and people are going to love me, or people are just not even going to care," she explained.

When Francesca Scorsese graduated from high school, she went to New York University's Tisch School, just like her dad. As the daughter of such an iconic director, this wasn't exactly the easiest thing for her. "I remember a couple of my teachers had to change major parts of the course because they were about my dad," Scorsese told People in February 2024. "I mean, I get it. It's not fair. I could just go up to him and ask him. (I mean, I wouldn't)."

But while a few professors may have had to change their syllabus during her time at Tisch, Scorsese graduated with a BFA in 2023. In May of that year, she screened her directorial debut at the Cannes Short Film Corner. Her film, "Fish Out of Water," was her thesis for NYU and was inspired by her mom's battle with Parkinson's disease. "She's had it since she was in her 30s. She's almost in her 70s now ... So, she's been sick pretty much all my life," Scorsese told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2023 about the degenerative disease. "And my way of dealing with it is putting it into my art and trying to express those feelings through my work." After Cannes, the film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival that June.

In 2024, Francesca Scorsese teamed up with her dad to do a Super Bowl ad for Squarespace, and just a few months before, in 2023, the two worked together on a 90-second film starring Timothée Chalamet for Bleu de Chanel. As Scorsese told The New York Times in October 2023, her dad is open to the idea of working with smaller mediums, like commercials, and seeing what he can do with that limited amount of time. He also enjoys working with young actors like Chalamet and DiCaprio, because they help the 82-year-old stay youthful.

Not only has Francesca Scorsese come into her own as a fashionista, as evidenced by her full-length gold gown by Jenny Packham, but she's also producing a film called "The Space Between," and she and her dad are working on a top-secret book together about their relationship for A24. As for what's next, only time will tell. When asked where she sees herself in 30 years, Scorsese told People that it's all about putting good art into the world on her terms. "I just hope that I would make myself proud and that I would be able to pursue all of the different paths that I want to," said Scorsese. Francesca is definitely one nepo baby who has the talent to be able to do just that and then some.