Hollywood director Jon M. Chu has truly outdone himself—he skipped the Los Angeles premiere of his own much-anticipated movie, Wicked, for a way bigger production. Yes, on November 9, while glittering stars and cameras gathered on the red carpet, Jon was offstage, playing the part of “Brand New Dad: Part Five.”
In a move that feels like it should’ve had its own musical number, Chu and his wife, Kristin Hodge, welcomed their fifth baby—a girl—into the world. And if that’s not magical enough, he was, apparently, sneaking peeks at a livestream of his premiere while the delivery was happening. Only a true multi-tasker can handle witchcraft, fatherhood, and Hollywood glitz all at once!
The very next day, Jon reappeared at a screening with the Wicked cast to announce his new daughter’s name: the enchanting Stevie Sky Chu. And yes, we’re all imagining that somewhere out there, a celestial Stevie Nicks felt the vibe.
He shared a little behind-the-scenes scoop with fans on Instagram, posting a quick clip of baby Stevie and her mom, writing, “Magic is in the air. Welcome to our world, Stevie Sky. You’ve got a lot of witches on your side!” (Could a better welcome even exist?)
As for Chu and Hodge’s other four little understudies, they’ve got this cast pretty well rehearsed by now: Willow, age 7, Jonathan, age 5, Ruby, age 3, and Iggy, a mere 20 months. (It’s like they’re putting together a small orchestra of adorable chaos.)
At the LA premiere, Chu made a heartfelt cameo of his own—in a pre-recorded clip, of course. “It’s November 9. I was at the hotel across the street, ready to come. My whole family’s there. My friends, all our loved ones are there,” he said, his voice dripping with a sort of tragic-but-joyful irony. “And I’ve waited for three years to have this moment to share our movie with you… but I’ve waited my whole life to have this moment, to have our fifth child right now.”
But then he paused, gave a grin, and seemed to say, “Of course this little girl knows when to show up!” Congratulations, indeed, to the Chu family—who may have just become Hollywood’s busiest cast of characters!
Jonathan Bailey swaps seats with director Jon M Chu, who reveals the name of his newborn daughter 🥹 at today’s FYC Wicked screening
via Ali.Whitner pic.twitter.com/jA9tMrL6jv— iRis 🐝 🧲🌷🧵👸🏾🤴🏻 (@iris_bee_) November 11, 2024
