Image Source: Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images
Paul Mescal burst onto the scene in 2020 when he starred in Hulu’s “Normal People,” but the actor has had two fans his whole life: His younger siblings, Nell and Donnacha Mescal. During the 2023 award season — where Paul was nominated for an Academy Award for his starring role in “Aftersun” — Nell and Donnacha were both by his side to celebrate his achievements, along with their parents, Dearbhla and Paul. Back when Oscar nominations were announced in January, Nell went viral for a tweet showing their whole family reacting to the news while Facetiming together.
— nell mescal (@nellmescal_) January 24, 2023
Nell reflected on her viral moment in a March interview with the New York Times. “It was the craziest day ever and also the scariest,” she explained. “It’s very surreal when you post something and then all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh, everyone is seeing this and also their parents are seeing it and their dog and the cat.” She added, “I had, like, a thousand followers on Twitter and I had to be like: ‘OK, stop following me. This is the app where I totally talk about “Gilmore Girls” and pretend I’m not a singer.'”
Nell also took to Instagram throughout award season to show photos of her family at events together, supporting Paul, 27. Above, Nell and Donnacha are photographed with their brother at Vanity Fair’s A Night for Young Hollywood on March 8 in LA.
Ahead, here’s what to know about Nell and Donnacha.
Nell Mescal
Nell, who’ll turn 20 on April 28, is a singer. She released her first single, “Graduating,” in the summer of 2022. She’s followed it up with a few singles, including, most recently, March’s “In My Head.” She’s signed to the independent label LAB Records. In July 2022, she told Rolling Stone UK that Paul has been a huge support of her career and songwriting ideas. “He loves music and always has something to say. Something positive to look at too,” she said. “I love going back and forth on lyrics with him because we have a very similar brain and sometimes we’re both quite stubborn in our ways, so it’s nice to bounce off someone like him and get something better out of it.” Through Paul she also met artist Phoebe Bridgers, who she described as a “musical hero” with “great advice.”
As for people following her because of her connection to her older brother, Nell is OK with it, to an extent. Nell told the New York Times in March, “I think that if people find me through him, that’s incredible and wonderful. But I hope that they stay not only because they’re a fan of him, but because they like the music and not just because they want to see if I post, like, a photo of Paul’s elbow.”
Fun fact: Nell is into astrology, and is a Taurus sun, Aries moon, and Leo rising, per her Twitter.
Donnacha Mescal
Donnacha is by far the most private of his siblings, and he does not have many public facing social media accounts, but he has popped up on Nell’s Instagram from time to time. According to his LinkedIn profile, he works as a recruiter for engineers and lives in New York City.
Donnacha is just as supportive of Paul as the rest of the Mescal squad. In 2020, when the “Aftersun” star was nominated for an Emmy, he told Variety his family was so nervous for him on nomination day, and then elated. “When I got everybody on the call, it was pretty amazing. My brother who never cries was crying,” he shared. And in the summer of 2020, when photos of Paul in short-shorts went viral, Paul told Vulture he was mostly aware of the reaction because, “My brother will send me a funny tweet.” What else is a brother for?
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