Jude Law has opened up about having to postpone his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony due to his mother’s death, saying the timing ended up being a “kind of final gift” as it allowed more of his family to be with him.
The Lewisham-born actor, 51, received a star on Hollywood Boulevard at an unveiling ceremony on Thursday, December 12.
After the event, he revealed that his mother Margaret, who was known as Maggie, had recently died.
Speaking to People about the moment he found out he would be receiving a star, Law said: “It’s been actually quite a long process because I found out and was originally going to have the service a couple of weeks back,”
“And actually, I lost my mom. So we had to delay it. But in a very odd way as a kind of final gift, it meant that a few more of my family could actually be here.”
Law, who is currently starring as an FBI agent battling white supremacists in Justin Kurzel’s thriller The Order, was joined at the ceremony by his wife Phillipa Coan and the two eldest of his seven children Rafferty, 28, and Iris, 24.
“So honestly, the whole event has been quite an emotional experience, and obviously just a very personal occasion and really touching,” Law continued, adding that he felt blessed to have his children present. “They were just lovely. I mean, they’re always so supportive and loving. We are very lucky to have each other, but they’re my backbone.”
Law and his ex-wife Sadie Frost share Rafferty, Iris and Rudy, 22. He also has a 15-year-old daughter Sophia with his former partner Samantha Burke and 9-year-old daughter Ada with ex Catherine Harding. His two youngest children with Coan, who he married in 2019, have not been publicly named.
In his speech at the ceremony, Law paid tribute to both his parents, Margaret and Peter, who were schoolteachers.
“I had a mother who showed me the great silent movies and comedies and musicals and dramas of the Hollywood Golden Era, American new wave [and] foreign movies,” Law said. “And I had a dad who took me in the ‘70s and ‘80s to blockbuster movies where we ate our bodyweight in popcorn and chocolate.”
Ahead of the ceremony, Law met up with The Holiday director Nancy Meyers and the pair teased fans with the idea of a sequel.
