Anna Friel hires a northern nanny for daughter Gracie

Pushing Daisies actress Anna Friel, 31, has hired a nanny who’s from Northern England for daughter Gracie Ellen Mary, 2 ½, so that she could grow up with an accent. She and boyfriend, Harry Potter star David Thewlis, 44, have just moved to Los Angeles.

I know my roots and where I’m from — I’m northern and I always will be. Now Gracie’s talking with northern mannerisms. She’s like, ‘Eh up, Mummy doesn’t like it like that, Mummy likes things neat in’t trailer’. She’s adorable.

Source: Mirror

Thanks to CBB reader Mary Beth.

Comments

She looks SO much like Kate Beckinsdale there! Cute accent, it seems, too!

- Jessica on January 25th, 2008

Sorry to be so picky – but his name is David Thewlis. (us Harry Potter fans get a little obsessive!). Love the picture!

- susan on January 25th, 2008

Gracie’s dad’s name is David, not Harry…

but he is in the Harry Potter movies.

- Jessica on January 25th, 2008

Isn’t his name David Thewlis?

- Amy on January 25th, 2008

Is that a pack of Marb Lights in her hand?
Nice

- wow on January 25th, 2008

Cute curls! Can’t wait for Pushing Daisies to come back.

- Lara on January 25th, 2008

Good for Anna! I’m a Northern Lass and can’t imagine my three kids having anything but Northern accents.

I guess Gracie will still be influenced by her friends’ accents in LA but it’s nice to remember your roots, as Anna says.

She’ll always be Beth from ‘Brookie’ to me!

Gracie is gorgeous, and her curls are adorable.

- malibustacey on January 25th, 2008

hate to break it to her, but her daughter’s accent will be reflective of where she lives and how her peers speak, not her nanny. if she really wants her to have a northern english accent, she’ll have to move there.

- alexp on January 25th, 2008

Good for her, if we ever head back to US we’d chose to maintain as much Britishness for the children as possible. We would always want them to be British first and formost, valuing good manners, friendlyness and the lovely British childhood that exists here.

- Starlet on January 25th, 2008

I knew I loved Anna! I’m a Northern lass too, living maybe 20mins from Anna’s hometown. I do have somewhat of a Northern accent, and I absolutely adore that Anna wants to make sure Gracie does too! We do have the best mannerisms

Thanks for this! Made my day!

- Becs on January 25th, 2008

If her daughter’s talking like a Northerner because she’s spending so much time with the nanny, maybe she should spend more time with her parents!

- JennB on January 25th, 2008

starlet- i hope you’re not saying that americans aren’t friendly and don’t value good manners. i do at least!

that child is gorgeous- of course she would be with that mother. but so sad she’s carrying a pack of cigarettes!

- kemp on January 25th, 2008

Give me a break. That’s all I can say. I get so tired of the idea that a British accent always sounds superior to an American. Each have their annoying tendencies.

- Stef on January 25th, 2008

What a shallow person she is, I would be more concerned about my childs well being and not the way words roll of her tounge.

- songrider on January 25th, 2008

Well, the majority of British and American actors lose their regional accents as much as possible in order to prevent being pidgeon-holed. Perhaps Anna should speak in her normal dialect rather than hiring in a vocal coach for her daughter…

Starlet–I disagree. I’ve met rude children on both sides of the pond, accent notwithstanding.

- Stef on January 25th, 2008

Sometimes when you move to another country, you want to hear familiar accents. It can be more for the parent than the child sometimes. I have kept my British accent and have been in the States over a decade. I love hearing the British accents of my siblings and relatives overseas, while they love my child’s U.S. accent.

When I get back home, I do tend to pick up a stronger British accent, which is fine with me. Also, if you live somewhere where they are not familiar with your native accent, you tend to adjust so other folk can understand, unfortunately!!

- britmama on January 25th, 2008

Us northerns do rock, although i am from the other side of the Pennines to Anna.
She just needs to have Peter Kay DVDs on continous loop if she wants her to have a good Northern accent!!

- Hannah on January 25th, 2008

Gracie a cutie! love the curls

- Sam on January 25th, 2008

Don’t worry I do think most American’s are very polite
It’s more the mannerisms, or the way of expressing politeness that is different!

- Starlet on January 26th, 2008

Though I’d give an example:
Say in US someone said in a shop

Have a nice day and come back again

In the UK they might say

See you later love or terrah for now

Anna should see if there is a British school in LA, they are many in other countries and major cities, just like the American School which has branches all over the world including in the UK.

- Starlet on January 26th, 2008

Stef I think you’re greatly miscontruing Anna Friels reasoning for doing this. And if you heard her regional accent it is in no way “superior”.

- jen on January 26th, 2008

It always amazes me that people from the UK have such thinly-veiled disdain toward America (and Americans). Even a comment about “accents” can stir such polite derision. Perhaps as long as Ms. Friel is cashing American paychecks and has to live here (and speak with an American accent) to earn a living, the loss of her daughter’s accent seems a rather small price to pay.

- American Girl on January 26th, 2008

We moved to the US when our son was 6 months old. He is nothing but American, despite his parents, grandparents, and all other family. Its the people that he’s with every day, the children, and of course the television (he’s got a mean Spanish vocab thanks to Dora!). He does say a few words differently, words that he hears a lot at home I suppose, household terms (“hoover” as an example, or the way that he pronounces “garage” among many). Basically, its a good cultural experience, but once the little one heads to school, she’ll be all American.

- Nicola on January 26th, 2008

I think it’s really cool that she wants her daughter to have the same accent but if her daughter goes to school in the US she will not have the same accent and it definately won’t be as strong.

I don’t understand why some people seem offended by Friel’s want for HER daughter to have her accent, it’s her heritage and she obviously wants her child to have a strong connection to her roots. No I’m not from England, being objective is a global trait.

- halifaxhoney on January 26th, 2008

Aww, Gracie’s such a cutie! That’s awesome that Anna’s staying attached to her roots (though I didn’t even know she was British until I saw her at a press conference!)

- Kat on January 26th, 2008

It’s cool that she wants her daughter to maintain her native accent. Which will possibly work for the first 4 or 5 years of her life that she’ll probably spend exclusively at home. But what happens when she goes to grade school? The reality is that if the majority of the kids she goes to school with speak with an American accent, that is how she’ll inevitably start speaking as well. They’re not looking at the big picture. Unless she actually goes back to live in Northern Ireland, her accent won’t quite be the same. Her mom is a grown up who’s native accent will never change, despite moving the US. She passed the age where her accent could be changed. Her daughter, however, is still young, and her accent is continually changing. I lived in a household with parents who spoke with accents. I was born and raised in the US, so my accent was primarily American. There were a few differences in how my parents pronounced words, as opposed to how Americans said it. When I was young, I pronounced some things like my parents. Once I got older and realized the difference, I pronounced them like Americans. So, in time, even if they don’t want to believe it, as long as they stay in LA, Gracie will have a predominantly American accent.

- Mary on January 26th, 2008

halifaxhoney, I really like what you said about objectivity. I too am not sure why when one wants their children to retain their culture people see it as anti american. I have more than 40 US friends in the UK, when they make mac n cheese or teach their children american mannerisms or american words for objects/things despite the fact they live here, I would never dream of saying that is anti British. I would hope here we accept all the different cultures that exist and don’t feel by them keeping individuality they are doing anything wrong or being anti-British. I’ve actually never even heard someone say that here.

It could also be that Anna feels she will come back here when her daughter is school age, so she wants the transition to be easier. Hugh Laurie’s (House) kids live in England and many UK celebrities return to the UK once their children are school age, or older school age. I’ve read interviews with Chris Martin, Madonna and Guy Ritchie, Johnny Depp who say that they return or chose to move back here/move here when their children reached a certain age as they wanted them in British schools – usually the kids are somewhere between 5 and 8 when they return.

- Starlet on January 27th, 2008

I see nothing wrong with hiring a “Northern” Nanny so that her daughter can pick up on the accent and cultural identification. Just like I wouldn’t oppose Halle Berry hiring a Black nanny or Thalia hiring a Mexican nanny or Brook hiring a White American nanny for the same reasons.

- magenta on January 27th, 2008

Sorry, that doesn’t work.

I have an American Dad, British Mother. We live in the states. I lost my accent when I started school. My half-accent that existed before this point was from my mother’s influence; a nanny’s influence won’t even have that impact.

She can try all she wants, but she will be disappointed!

- Ashley on January 28th, 2008