Maya Hawke's parents are Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, and her brother Levon has started acting too
Maya Ray Thurman Hawke was born on 8 July 1998 to Hollywood icons Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. Her parents are no longer together, but both remain close to their daughter. Her younger brother, Levon, is now building his own acting career.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Maya Ray Thurman Hawke was born on 8 July 1998 in New York City.
- Her parents met on the set of Gattaca (1997), married in May 1998, and divorced in 2005.
- Maya has one brother, Levon Thurman Hawke, and three half-sisters: Clementine Hawke, Indiana Hawke, and Luna Thurman-Busson.
- Maya has revealed she was "kicked out of school" as a child due to her dyslexia, a condition she has called "one of the great blessings" of her life.
- Levon has starred in several films since beginning his acting career in 2023, including his debut in The Crowded Room and a supporting role in Wildcat.
Profile summary
Full name | Maya Ray Thurman Hawke |
Date of birth | 8 July 1998 |
Age | 27 (as of 2025) |
Place of birth | New York City, USA |
Nationality | American |
Profession | Actress, singer-songwriter |
Parents | Uma Thurman (mother), Ethan Hawke (father) |
Siblings | Levon Hawke (brother); Clementine Hawke, Indiana Hawke, Luna Thurman-Busson (half-sisters) |
Are Maya Hawke's parents still together?
No. Her parents met on the set of Gattaca in 1997, married in 1998, and divorced in 2005.
Ethan has been married to film producer Ryan Shawhughes since 2008. The relationship drew attention because Ryan had previously worked as a nanny to Ethan and Uma's children. Ethan denied any affair, telling The Guardian in 2009: "My marriage disintegrated due to many pressures, none of which were remotely connected to Ryan."
While Ethan's daughters with Ryan, Clementine and Indiana, don't live in the public eye like Maya and Levon, all four are close. Ethan and Uma also maintain an amicable co-parenting relationship.
Who is Uma Thurman — Maya's mother?
Uma Karuna Thurman was born on 29 April 1970. She starred as Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, which earned her nominations at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. Uma also played The Bride in the Kill Bill films, which brought her two more Golden Globe nominations.
Thurman has been open about why she was initially hesitant to have her daughter enter the entertainment industry, telling Access Hollywood that "it's a complicated career" and very "public facing." Despite those early reservations, she added: "She is, in the end, such a brilliant actress. Obviously there's nothing else she would have ever done."
Who is Ethan Hawke — Maya's father?
Ethan Green Hawke was born in Austin, Texas, on 6 November 1970. His film debut was in 1985's Explorers, followed by his breakthrough in Dead Poets Society. His films Training Day, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, and Boyhood each secured him Academy Award nominations, making him a four-time Oscar nominee.
Divorced from Uma Thurman, he has been married to Ryan Shawhughes since 2008 and has two children from each marriage, including actors Maya and Levon Hawke.
Does Maya Hawke have a relationship with her dad?
Very much so. Maya has described Ethan as "always" her "biggest collaborator," saying: "We've been making art together — whether it's doing a watercolour together, or writing a poem together, or reading a play together — we've been acting and playing together for my whole life."
That bond extended to the big screen. Wildcat features Maya in the lead role as Flannery O'Connor and is directed and co-written by her father, Ethan, along with Shelby Gaines. Ethan joked to Variety ahead of the film's festival screenings: "Put simply, I'm a nepo dad!"
Does Maya Hawke have a relationship with her mum?
Maya has collaborated artistically with both parents — acting alongside her mother in The Kill Room and recording a cover of a Willie Nelson song with her father. Uma Thurman has publicly praised Maya's talent, noting that her daughter's brilliance ultimately made any parental worries melt away.
How many children did Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman have together?
Maya Ray Thurman Hawke is the older of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke's two children. She has a younger brother, Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke, born 15 January 2002.
Who are Maya Hawke's half-siblings?
Beyond her brother, Maya has three half-sisters. Her father Ethan and his second wife, Ryan Shawhughes, have two daughters together — Clementine and Indiana — while her mother Uma's previous relationship with financier Arpad Busson produced another half-sister, Luna.
Half-sibling | Parent | Date of birth |
Clementine Jane Hawke | Ethan Hawke & Ryan Shawhughes | Born July 2008 |
Indiana Hawke | Ethan Hawke & Ryan Shawhughes | Born July 2011 |
Luna Thurman-Busson | Uma Thurman & Arpad Busson | Born July 2012 |
While Clementine and Indiana don't live in the public eye like Maya and Levon, they are all very close. Uma likes to keep her youngest daughter, Luna, out of the spotlight.
What condition does Maya Hawke have?
Growing up, Maya Hawke struggled immensely with her dyslexia. She was bullied for being in a lower reading group than her peers and was even kicked out of school due to her inability to read. She then had to join a special school for students with learning disorders.
Speaking to NPR, Maya pushed back on the idea that dyslexia is purely a burden:
"I wouldn't say suffer. I would say it is, like, one of the great blessings of my life in a lot of ways. But I did get, like, kicked out of school for not being able to read when I was a kid." — Maya Hawke, via NME
Maya had a difficult early school life, being switched in and out of schools. She eventually found her niche at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, which emphasised artistic creativity and did not grade work. It was there that she became interested in acting.
With the support of her parents encouraging her to be creative, Hawke was able to overcome many of her challenges. She has said:
"Through acting, you can speak a beautiful language aloud and have a relationship to language that isn't one that's just eyes-to-page. It really opened my heart and made me feel like I could be a storyteller. I was hooked."
Levon Hawke — the next generation of the family
Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke was born on 15 January 2002 and is an actor who studied at Brown University. He kicked off his career in 2022 by starring in his sister's music video for her song "Thérèse."
Levon has already starred in several films since beginning his acting career in 2023, making his debut in The Crowded Room and also appearing in Wildcat, directed by their dad and starring Maya in the lead role. The same year, he appeared in Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink Twice, and in the action-thriller The Thicket. His most recent acting credit is in Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet.
In 2025, Levon made his professional stage debut as Oswald in an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts at Lincoln Center Theater. In addition to acting, Levon is a writer and director. He wrote and directed Picture Day, a play presented by Quick & Dirty Theatre Company that ran from 20 September to 6 October 2024.
Maya was vocal in her support. She praised his play on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself and her brother at the closing weekend.
Maya Hawke's career highlights
Maya began her career in modelling, then made her screen debut as Jo March in the 2017 BBC adaptation of Little Women). She gained international recognition for starring as Robin Buckley in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2019–2025).
Hawke has appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), Do Revenge (2022), Asteroid City (2023), Maestro (2023), and Wildcat (2023), and she voiced Anxiety in Inside Out 2 (2024).
As a musician, she has released the albums Blush (2020), Moss (2022), Chaos Angel (2024), and Maitreya Corso (2026). She has approximately 8.9 million Instagram followers.
FAQ
Are Maya Hawke's parents still together?
No. They met on the set of Gattaca, married in May 1998, and divorced in 2005. Ethan has since remarried and Uma had a long-term relationship with financier Arpad Busson.
How many sisters does Maya Hawke have?
Maya has three half-sisters: Clementine Hawke, Indiana Hawke, and Luna Thurman-Busson. She has no full sisters — only her full brother, Levon.
Who is Clementine Jane Hawke?
Clementine Jane Hawke is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and his wife Ryan Shawhughes. She has two older half-siblings, Levon and Maya, from her father's marriage to Uma Thurman.
What is Maya Hawke's condition?
Maya Hawke has dyslexia. Despite struggling greatly, Hawke did not let her dyslexia keep her from success. She has described how her dyslexia pushed her to be more determined to love and appreciate stories and other creative avenues.
Does Maya Hawke have a relationship with her dad?
Yes — a very close one. Maya has said: "My dad has been a massive teacher for me, and we want to work together." They have collaborated on music, acting projects, and most notably on the 2024 film Wildcat), which Ethan directed and Maya starred in and produced.
Final word
Maya Hawke has built a successful, independent career as an actress and musician, using her childhood dyslexia as a creative advantage. Supported by a close-knit blended family, she and her brother Levon are firmly forging their own paths in the entertainment industry.
We also highlighted facts about Maya Hawke's dating history. Despite her fame and high-profile relationships, many fans remain curious about her current romance with musician Spencer Barnett and how her father's legacy might influence her personal life.
Source: Legit.ng
