Max Minghella and Elle Fanning.Photo: Jesse Grant/Getty
Elle FanningandMax Minghellahave called it quits.
The actressconfirmed their breakupin April 2023, saying that she’s still “a hopeless romantic.”
The former couple first connected on the set of 2018’sTeen Spirit. They sparked relationship rumors when they were spotted on a stroll together in London while Fanning was 20 years old and Minghella was 32.
While the actors were known to keep their romance on the private side, the actress spoke aboutThe Handmaid’s Talestar in April 2019, tellingEntertainment Tonightthat he was “such a good friend.”
So, who is Elle Fanning’s ex-boyfriend? Keep reading to find out more about Max Minghella and his relationship with the actress.
He’s an actor, writer and director
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Minghella may be best known for playing Nick Blaine onThe Handmaid’s Tale, but that’s far from his first acting gig. He also appeared as Divya Narendra inThe Social Networkand played Richie Castellano onThe Mindy Project.
Beyond that, Minghella also works behind the camera and was both the writer and director of 2018’sTeen Spirit. In April 2019, he toldWWD, “I would definitely say I feel more useful directing than I do acting, if that makes sense. I wouldn’t cast me in something, but I would maybe hire me to direct something. I’m much better behind the camera than I am in front of one.”
He comes from a show business family
The actor has said that his interest in show business came from his family. His mother,Carolyn Choa, is a choreographer who has done work for the English National Opera and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. When Minghella was young, Carolyn worked in the British film industry. Minghella toldEsquirein May 2019 that “film has been the one thing [they] both connect over and love.” He also said that it was his mom who “introduced [him] to all of the significant filmmakers.”
Minghella’s father,Anthony Minghella, died in March 2008 at the age of 54. Before his death, the elder Minghella was an Oscar-winning director who was behind movies likeThe English Patient,Cold MountainandThe Talented Mr. Ripley.
When asked whether his dad would have predicted his desire to become a director, Minghella said, “I really would be interested to ask him that now. He knew that I was shooting stuff because he would like to look at my little things. I’d be editing a final cut and he would peek over my shoulder. But I think he really did see me as an actor.”
He’s English with an Italian and Chinese background
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Minghella — whose full name is Max Giorgio Choa Minghella — was born in the Hampstead area of London. Despite the size of England’s capital, in May 2021 he toldBustlethat Hampstead made him feel like he “grew up in a very small town.”
Both of Minghella’s parents came fromimmigrant families, with one side being Italian and the other Chinese.
“My mother’s a fascinating, wildly intelligent person who — I don’t know how to say this — she’s very Chinese,” Minghella toldEsquire. “She’s of a different culture and really carries that with her.”
He went to university in the United States
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Before working in Hollywood, Minghella studied history at Columbia University. He toldInterviewhow he ended up at a university in the United States, saying, “I hadn’t finished school in England, so I didn’t have the qualifications to go to university in England unless I went back to school… The most logical way to continue my education was to do it in America and just take the SATs.”
When asked why he decided to pursue higher education, he said, “Honestly, probably the guilt of having very academic parents. I think they were slightly ashamed. I’ve always been a terrible student, but they really hoped that I would be better, and I kind of hoped for them.”
“It was, in retrospect, an apology, probably, for being ahigh school dropoutand becoming an actor young and naively,” he continued. “But I’m so grateful for the experience — whatever motive I had to go, it definitely was a great thing. I made key relationships in that time. It also rescued me from a lot of bad career decisions.”
He’s worked with Fanning
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While Minghella wrote and directedTeen Spirit, Fanning starred in the film as Violet, a Polish teenager who wants to be a pop star despite the obstacles in her way. In April 2019, Minghella toldEntertainment Tonightthat Fanning was “the only actress who could have carried” the story due to the “incredible list of requirements.”
“You have to be able to sing, you have to be able to dance, you’ve got to, you know, be able to speak Polish convincingly, do the British accent, play the age range and carry the movie with an incredibly nuanced performance,” he said. " It’s a lot for one person, and she just handled everything with such discipline and professionalism and she never complained."
Fanning also talked about Minghella, saying, “I mean, we just really love working together. That was, like, very special.”
He loves pop music
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Fanning toldEntertainment Tonightin April 2019 that Minghella “loves pop music.” In fact, she called him a “pop whore.” When it came to his pop-focused filmTeen Spirit, which features a soundtrack packed with popular music, she said, “All those pop singers — like, he’s really obsessed with that world, so it’s a perfect film that he made.”
He and Fanning sparked relationship rumors while in London
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In August 2018,the pair were seen in Londonand as they walked together with smiles on their faces, Minghella used his phone while Fanning held onto him with her hands on his shoulders.
Although the two weren’t trying to stay out of view, their reps did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment at the time.
They made their first public appearance at the Met Galain 2019
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Minghella and Fanning decided to make their red carpet debut as a couple at the2019 Met Gala. Minghella wore a blue suit while Fanning opted for a peachy Miu Miu ensemble to suit the Camp theme.
Fanning announced their breakup in April 2023
During an interview withHarper’s Bazaar U.K., Fanning confirmed thatshe and Minghella had split.
Still, the actress shared that she’s hopeful when it comes to future relationships. “But I’m a hopeless romantic. I believe in love at first sight. Call me crazy, but I believe in those things. I feel that it’s my destiny,” she said.
source: people.com
