Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, opens up about her music career, relationship with Christian Lee Hutson, and addressing nepotism claims
09:23 ET, 26 Nov 2025
Maya Hawke (Image: Getty)
Actress and singer Maya Hawke is best known for her role as an alternative teen on Netflix’s Stranger Things, but there’s more to this Hollywood-bred star than what you see on the surface.
Born in New York City to Hollywood heavyweights Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, Maya got her start in acting with the BBC’s 2017 TV adaptation of Little Women, where she played Jo March.
Since then, she’s appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and Netflix’s teen comedy Do Revenge, among others. Most recently, she lent her voice to Pixar’s Inside Out 2, playing the character of anxiety, a new emotion introduced in the sequel.
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As fans eagerly anticipate Hawke’s return in Stranger Things season 5, set to premiere tonight, we delve into her breakout role, music career, and the controversy surrounding nepotism.
Hawke’s education played a significant role in fostering her interest in acting. She attended Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, a school renowned for promoting creativity, according to the Express.
She also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in central London and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. She began pursuing a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at Juilliard, but left to take on her debut role in Little Women.
Maya Hawke got her big break as Robin Buckley in Stranger Things (Image: Getty)
A year later, Stranger Things Season 3 premiered, introducing Hawke as a new addition to the ensemble cast. Her character, Robin, joined the series as the co-worker and best friend of the main character Steve Harrington (Joe Keery).
Viewers were swift to notice the romantic tension between the duo, but Robin’s true identity was unveiled in a tender moment when Steve reveals his romantic feelings for her. Hawke’s character has received widespread acclaim for its authentic representation of LGBTQ+ youth.
Being the daughter of renowned actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, who were wed from 1998 to 2005, Maya has found herself among celebrity offspring labeled as ‘nepotism (nepo) babies. ‘.
She was featured in the 2022 Vulture piece ‘An All But Definitive Guide to the Hollywood Nepo-Verse’, where the author noted that she was among eight famous children who also appeared in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Maya’s parents are actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman (Image: Getty)
The piece became a sensation and sparked widespread discussion about the phrase ‘nepo baby’, prompting many celebrities mentioned in the article to publicly defend their positions.
Hawke, however, earned admirers by openly acknowledging her advantages. Speaking with the Times, she remarked: “There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway.”
She continued: “It’s OK to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. It’s a lucky place to be.
“My relationships with my parents are really honest and positive, and that supersedes anything anyone can say about it.”
Hawke launched her music career in 2019 with two debut singles: To Love a Boy and Stay Open. She has subsequently dropped three full-length records; Blush (2020), MOSS (2022) and Chaos Angel (2024).
Maya Hawke and her boyfriend Christian Lee Hutson(Image: Getty)
Her latest project was crafted by her current partner, Christian Lee Hutson.
Lee Hutson is a recording artist in his own right, boasting three alternative records in his catalog. Beyond his collaboration with Hawke, he has teamed up with chart-dominating acts like Phoebe Bridgers.
During an appearance on the Zach Sang Show music podcast, Hawke disclosed that their romantic connection blossomed from a four-year friendship.
She explained: “We’ve been friends for four years. I cannot recommend highly enough dating your friends. It’s the best. They know you, they understand that you’re a person and a human being who has dated other people who have dated them. Who has feelings and is a living, breathing human, not just like a piece of paper to project an image of a perfect girlfriend onto.”
Hawke currently draws 1.1million monthly streams on Spotify.
