Who is Esther McGregor? From Fourth Wing to her dad Ewan McGregor, here's everything you need to know
The daughter of Scottish star Ewan McGregor, Esther McGregor will lead the upcoming TV adaptation of Fourth Wing.
Esther McGregor has been cast as Violet Sorrengail in Prime Video’s upcoming Fourth Wing adaptation.
Almost three years after Amazon MGM shared that a television show based on Rebecca Yarros’ bestselling fantasy series was in development, the half-French, half-Scottish actress is set to play the aspiring dragon rider according to multiple outlets.
READ MORE: Everything we know so far as Esther McGregor and Emilio Sakraya cast in Fourth Wing TV series
She will lead the show alongside German actor Emilio Sakraya, who reports say will play Xaden Riorson.
From her famous father and how tall she is, to which TV shows and films she’s appeared in before, here is everything you need to know about Esther McGregor.
Who is Esther McGregor?
An actress, model and musician, Esther McGregor is the daughter of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and French production designer Eve Mavrakis.
She was born in London on October 22, 2001 and raised in the city until she was 11 years old, when she moved to Los Angeles with her family. McGregor is a fluent French speaker due to her mother, whom she credits as her “inspiration”, and shares a close bond with Mavrakis and her three sisters.
Due to her father’s very public and messy split from her mother when she was 16, McGregor admitted their relationship suffered for several years. She told Variety that they were able to “rekindle” things after she acted alongside her dad for the first time.
While she loved acting growing up, her parents wouldn’t allow her to become a child star. Her eventual onscreen career didn’t begin until much later, following time modelling for brands such as Miu Miu and Stella McCartney.
Her creativity was also being expressed in other ways, with her passion for art leading her to become a licensed tattoo artist. One of the first tattoos she ever did was on her father, which she said “healed a lot” of their relationship.
Alongside a friend, the younger McGregor opened a women-and queer-friendly studio in New York City called Pink Ether. If that wasn’t enough, during Covid McGregor also started electronic-pop duo French Thyme with her friend Leo Major, self-releasing an EP.
While the star juggled university, modelling and tattooing for a short period of time, she eventually stepped back to focus on acting.
For those wondering, McGregor has acknowledged that she is a “nepo baby” and that she would “never want to diminish” the privilege her father’s status gives her.
However, she has pointed out that his name isn’t what allows her to book jobs. She told Variety: “If I was s***, I’d be s***.
“I don’t think I’d ever take being called a Nepo Baby negatively. If you want to, you can, but I won’t let it diminish the f****** hard work that I’ve put into this. If I wanted to sit on my ass, I would not be working right now.”
What TV shows and films has Esther McGregor been in?
Esther McGregor has been cast as Violet Sorrengail in the upcoming Prime Video adaptation of Fourth Wing, but fans of the book series may already be familiar with her work.
She has appeared in several TV shows and films in recent years, from a small part in Obi-Wan Kenobi to bigger roles in series such as We Were Liars. She starred in 2025 film Babygirl alongside Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson and Antonio Banderas. She also appeared in Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language debut The Room Next Door, which starred Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.
McGregor also acted alongside her father and sister Clara in 2023 drama Bleeding Love.
As for what the actress has coming up, she is set to appear in 2027 thriller A Place in Hell starring Michelle Williams, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Andrew Scott. Other listed projects include Sally Potter’s Alma and Jason Bateman-directed crime comedy The Cackling of the Dodos, as well as Becoming Capa, in which she will play war photographer Gerda Taro.
Another big role for McGregor is as Rachel Amber in Prime Video series Life Is Strange. Based on the video game of the same name, the show is currently in production.
Esther McGregor TV shows and films
- Bleeding Love (2023)
- Isabel Mathis in Babygirl (2024)
- Young Martha in The Room Next Door (2024)
- Brooke Simmers in Clean Hands (2026)
- Tetha Grig in Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
- Natalie in High School (2022)
- Mirren Sinclair in We Were Liars (2025)
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How tall is Esther McGregor? Here’s the star’s height compared to Violet Sorrengail
Fans of Fourth Wing will be eager to know how tall Esther McGregor is, especially given Violet’s canonical short stature.
In the books, Violet Sorrengail is described as being around 5ft 2in tall (1.6m) while in real life Esther McGregor is 5ft 4in, or roughly 1.62m.
Meanwhile, Xaden Riorson is said to be around 6ft 4in - or roughly 1.93m tall - with actor Emilio Sakraya around 5ft 11in (1.82m).
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