Ella Travolta Following in Mom Kelly Preston's Footsteps, Advice From Dad John

Alexandra Hurtado

Fri, March 3, 2023 at 9:22 PM UTC

11 min read

Find out what the aspiring singer and actress says about growing up with megastar parents.

Ella Bleu Travolta is following in her parents' footsteps in more ways than one!

Nearly two decades after her mother Kelly Preston appeared in a "Got Milk?" ad, Ella is now sporting a 'stache of her own. The 22-year-old daughter of John Travolta and his late wife is one of the stars of Silk Nextmilk's new plant-based 'stache campaign.

Ella called her mom's iconic campaign an "inspiration" to her in an exclusive interview with Parade.com. "It's amazing cause I didn't know that she had done it until a few months ago and I looked at it and I was just amazed and it's definitely an inspiration and this is such a cool, new fresh take on it and so many more people are plant-based today," Ella said.

"The way that they have incorporated and made it really easy for people to put that into their everyday lifestyles, it's really nice," she added. "It was amazing to see that and it's really nice to be a part of it."

John, who often shows his support for his daughter on social media, was on hand for the campaign shoot. "I say he's my biggest fan and I'm his biggest fan," Ella said of her dad. "So there's a lot of support going on, which is it's amazing. I learned so much from him."

Continue reading excerpts from Parade.com's exclusive interview with Ella Travolta to find out what she had to say about the buzzword nepo baby, along with her upcoming movie Get Lost, her music and whether she and her dad plan on one day releasing a duet.

How did you get involved with Silk?

Well, a couple months ago, it came to my knowledge that they wanted to do this campaign with me and some other amazing artists, so I was really excited because I already used Silk in my everyday life and I love their products, so I was like, "Is this for real?" I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, yes, of course! I would love to be a part of this." It's a really cool campaign and it's such a great product, so I'm really excited to show off my Silk NextMilk 'stache and see what other people do with it as well.

The "Got Milk?" campaign is so iconic. Did your mom's inspire you to participate in this one?

It's amazing cause I didn't know that she had done it until a few months ago. I looked at it and I was just amazed. It's definitely an inspiration and this is such a cool, new fresh take on it, and so many more people are plant-based today. The way that they have incorporated and made it really easy for people to put that into their everyday lifestyles, it's really nice. It was amazing to see that and it's really nice to be a part of it.

How did your family react to the campaign when they saw it?

Oh they loved it and my dad was at the photoshoot as well, so he was really excited and it was a lot of fun.

Are your dad and brother Benjamin all drinking Silk?

I bake a lot, so I use it in my baking and I drink it also with coffee and matcha as well. I'm a banana bread baker, so I bake them banana bread with it.

Aside from this campaign, you've also followed in your parents' footsteps in acting. Is that something you always wanted to pursue?

Pretty much as long as I can remember, I've always just loved the arts in general—acting, singing, dancing, and I grew up around it. So it was just such a natural part of my life that continuing to do that just feels right and I really enjoy it. It's definitely been something that I've wanted to do for pretty much my whole life.

You mentioned that your dad was on set for this campaign shoot. I love to see how supportive he is of you on social media. Is he your biggest cheerleader?

I would say yeah! He's my biggest fan and I'm his biggest fan, so there's a lot of support going on, which is—it's amazing. I learn so much from him all the time.

Do you ever turn to him for advice or tips since you are in this industry now?

Oh for sure. I think pretty much everything. He always has the best advice and he always encourages me to take the advice, but also to do with it what I feel is right. So whether I follow it or whether I make my own conclusion from it, he's always encouraging me to also think for myself and really just make my own decisions as well. So it's amazing to have that kind of support and also just that advice from him and to learn from him.

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about children of famous individuals. As a daughter of two actors, what are your thoughts on the buzzword "nepo baby?"

I don't really know ... I don't have much to say about it, but I know that personally speaking, for me, my parents are my parents and obviously what they do is acting and singing and all of that, but I can just learn from them—I'm definitely proud to be their child and also forge my own career in whatever I choose.

That was going to be my next question. Is it important for you to carve out your own path?

Oh for sure. I think never shying away from obviously—I'm so proud of my parents and I'm so proud to be their daughter, but definitely creating my own name for myself and doing what I feel is right and the proper next career steps and really doing my own thing as well.

And you're already doing that with your first starring role in Get Lost. What can you tell us about the movie?

I'm excited about that one for sure. That was such a fun shoot. We filmed in Budapest. It was my first time and it was so much fun to just get to see. It was like a travelogue of going around Budapest and really getting to see all of it and meet the people and they were just so kind.

It's a live-action modern twist on Alice in Wonderland. I'm the Alice character and there are all of the other characters you know and love, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter are all brought to life and it's a really cool story. I'm excited. I haven't seen it yet, actually, so I'm excited to see it and I'm excited for it to come out.

Is it scheduled to come out this year?

Yeah, I think so. I don't know exactly [the date] yet, but I think that it's gearing to come out somewhat soon.

Do you have any other acting projects lined up?

There are some in the talks right now and definitely just still auditioning. I think that that's great practice because actors don't really—when you sing, you can sing and practice, but for acting, it's you don't really get much practice unless you're on set, so getting to audition, I treat that as like a good way to sort of keep it fresh and keep doing it. So I'm doing a lot of that and hopefully, some new projects will come out of that soon.

Who would be your dream co-star to work with?

I love Florence Pugh. I absolutely love her and that would be so fun to do something with her or Margot Robbie. I definitely look up to them a lot.

You released your first single last year. Does your passion lie more with music or acting?

I think they definitely go hand in hand for me. I equally enjoy doing both, so I'm really trying to simultaneously do them at the same time. And they really do go hand in hand. I mean, they complement each other pretty well. They're different, completely different industries, but it's been a lot of fun learning about both things, so I'm definitely trying to do all of it.

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Do you write your own music?

I do. Yeah. I started writing during the pandemic, and then, or before that, and then I was starting to finish songs during that time cause everyone had a lot of time, so I was sort of like, "Oh, I'll finish some of these songs." And then on the new EP that I have coming out, I either wrote or co-wrote [the tracks] with producers, so I'm excited for that. That should be coming out in the next month. There are four more songs on that EP. Two of them have come out, but there are four more coming out soon.

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What inspires your songwriting and your music?

That's a good question. It's definitely changed. And I think a lot of the songs on the EP I wrote a while ago, so the meaning of each song sort of changes as it goes. I think that each person can take from it really what they feel. I think that's the beauty of music and art, in general, is you can interpret whatever you get from it, but I definitely take a lot of inspiration from other people and watching other people and experiencing what others are going through, as well as myself. When I wrote a lot of these songs, I had never been in a relationship or anything like that, so it was more just sort of observing and thinking and really just taking what I can from stories or from other people and from my feelings about how something would be, so it's very my take on it and each song has a different take on love. So that's sort of the theme of the EP. It's been fun.

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Which musicians or artists do you look up to in the industry?

There are so many. I love Harry Styles. I think he's so talented. Alicia Keys. Adele. They're absolutely incredible. This is not as modern day, but I'm a huge Beatles fan. So in like songwriting style, I take a lot of inspiration just from them in general and like the feelings I get from their songs. So I'm a huge, huge Beatles fan. For sure.

Do you think we'd ever get a father-daughter duet from you and your dad?

I hope so. I think that that would be a lot of fun. I've definitely thought about it and we've talked about it, but hopefully in the future for sure.

Looking ahead, what are some goals that you'd like to accomplish?

That's a great question. I mean, right now I'm having so much fun, like doing this campaign has been so fun for me and it's something so true to me in my everyday life that this has been like, it's just been such an incredible experience. So definitely, throughout the year, continuing to do stuff with the Silk team and just promoting this amazing product and then just working as much as I can. I think staying as busy as possible with music and acting and everything that comes with that. And trying to sort of inspire, and help as many people as possible with that, 'cause I think that art is a great way of connecting with people and it's really nice to be able to do that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Next, get to know Marc Anthony's many children and their mothers.

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