She has Dublin’s biting wit, a luminous screen presence and an evident taste for rebellious characters. Long introduced as “Bono’s daughter”, Eve Hewson has gradually shed that label in favour of a career that is entirely her own. From The Knick to Bad Sisters, via Flora and Son and The Perfect Couple, the Irish actress has made her mark far beyond her famous surname.
By 2026, Eve Hewson is no longer simply a promising young actress. She has worked with Steven Spielberg, John Carney, Steven Soderbergh and Lenny Abrahamson, alternating international productions with projects deeply rooted in Ireland.
Eve Hewson
Eve Hewson was born in Dublin on 7 July 1991 as Memphis Eve Sunny Day Iris Hewson. She is the second of four children of Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, the singer of U2, and Ali Hewson, an Irish entrepreneur and activist.
Her first name is said to be linked to her date and time of birth: Eve was reportedly born at seven o’clock on 7 July, with the word “Eve” appearing in the middle of the English word seven. She grew up with her older sister Jordan and her two younger brothers, Elijah and John. Elijah Hewson also turned to music, becoming the lead singer of Irish rock band Inhaler.
Despite Bono’s international fame, the family has remained based in the Dublin area. Hewson later said that she had appreciated growing up in Ireland rather than Los Angeles, in an environment further removed from the Hollywood industry.
She attended Dalkey School Project, a multi-denominational primary school, followed by St Andrew’s College, a co-educational school in Dublin. Contrary to some biographies, the latter is neither a Catholic school nor an all-girls establishment.
Her parents did not immediately encourage her to become an actress. Aware of the difficulties of the profession and the pressure placed on women in the film industry, they initially hoped she would choose a more stable career.
Nevertheless, Eve Hewson made her first appearance on camera in 2005, alongside her sister Jordan, in the short film Lost and Found. Three years later, director Erica Dunton cast her as Stella in The 27 Club, an independent film following a musician devastated by the death of one of his bandmates.
After finishing secondary school, she moved to New York and enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She studied drama there and graduated in 2013. This training enabled her to build a career away from the music scene dominated by her father.
In 2011, Eve Hewson landed her first notable role in Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place. She played Mary, a teenager connected to Cheyenne, a former rock star portrayed by Sean Penn. Frances McDormand also appeared in the cast.
Presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received a mixed reception, but brought Hewson to notice in an international production. It would, however, be an exaggeration to describe it as a major commercial success.
She went on to appear in Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties and Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said in 2013. In the latter, she played Tess, the daughter of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character.
Her career took on a new dimension in 2014 with The Knick, the medical drama created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, and produced and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Hewson played Lucy Elkins, a young nurse working at a New York hospital at the beginning of the 20th century.
Opposite Clive Owen, she developed a character who gradually frees herself from the social and religious conventions of her time. Broadcast over two seasons, the series stood out for its direction, cinematography and unflinching portrayal of the early days of modern medicine.
In 2015, Steven Spielberg cast her as Carol Donovan in Bridge of Spies. The character was a secondary one, but this first collaboration with the American director confirmed the interest of leading filmmakers in the Irish actress.
Eve Hewson has refused to be confined to a single genre. She appeared in Papillon, a new adaptation of Henri Charrière’s story starring Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek, before taking on the role of Marian in Robin Hood in 2018.
The blockbuster received a poor critical reception and failed to achieve the expected success. At the same time, the actress continued to work on smaller films such as Paper Year, which explores the early upheavals of a young marriage, and The True Adventures of Wolfboy.
In 2020, she played Anne Morgan, daughter of banker J. P. Morgan, in Michael Almereyda’s biographical film Tesla. She starred opposite Ethan Hawke, who played the inventor Nikola Tesla.
In 2020, Eve Hewson played Anna Wetherell in The Luminaries, an adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s novel. Set during New Zealand’s gold rush, this sweeping drama combines adventure, romance, astrology and mystery.
The following year, she became one of the faces of Behind Her Eyes. She played Adele, an enigmatic woman who grows close to her husband’s mistress. Her performance skilfully sustains uncertainty around a character who is by turns vulnerable, unsettling and manipulative.
The series enjoyed significant international success on Netflix and helped introduce Eve Hewson to a much wider audience. It should not be confused with Public Enemy, a series in which the Irish actress does not appear.
In 2022, Eve Hewson joined Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle and Sarah Greene in Bad Sisters. She played Becka Garvey, the impulsive and endearing youngest sibling in a Dublin family prepared to do anything to protect one of the sisters from her abusive husband.
Adapted from the Belgian series Clan, this dark comedy combines family solidarity, a criminal investigation and Irish humour. Its first season won, among other honours, the BAFTA for Best Drama Series and a Peabody Award.
Hewson reprised the role of Becka in the second season, broadcast on Apple TV between November and December 2024. Two years after Grace’s husband’s death, the consequences of the past catch up with the Garvey sisters, once again putting their loyalty to the test.
In 2023, Eve Hewson took the lead role in Flora and Son, a comedy-drama musical directed by Irish filmmaker John Carney, already known for Once and Sing Street.
She played Flora, a young single mother from Dublin whose relationship with her teenage son Max has deteriorated badly. After finding an old guitar, she tries to give it to her son. He rejects it, and Flora ultimately decides to take online lessons herself from an American musician played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Music gradually becomes a shared language between mother and son. Hewson reveals comic energy, musical sensitivity and genuine ease as a singer, without seeking to follow her father’s career. She had previously explained that she had considered a career in music when she was younger, before abandoning the idea because she lacked discipline in practising an instrument.
Presented at the Sundance Film Festival, the film was acquired by Apple Original Films and contributed greatly to the actress’s critical recognition.
In 2024, Eve Hewson took the central role in The Perfect Couple. In this Netflix miniseries directed by Susanne Bier, she played Amelia Sacks, a young woman about to marry the heir to an extremely wealthy Nantucket family.
The discovery of a body on a beach halts the wedding preparations and turns every member of the family into a suspect. Hewson stars alongside Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Meghann Fahy and Jack Reynor.
At the centre of the investigation, Amelia is the viewer’s main entry point into a world governed by money, appearances and secrets. The miniseries’ success confirms Eve Hewson’s ability to lead a major international production.
In 2025, Eve Hewson joined the cast of Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach’s comedy-drama starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler. The film follows a famous actor travelling through Europe while reflecting on his choices, his career and the relationships he has neglected. Hewson plays Daphne, the protagonist’s childhood sweetheart.
In 2026, she reunited with Steven Spielberg in Disclosure Day, a science-fiction thriller about the revelation of the existence of extraterrestrial life. She stars alongside Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo and Wyatt Russell. The film marks her reunion with Spielberg, eleven years after Bridge of Spies.
The actress is also continuing her career in Ireland. In spring 2026, she filmed in Dublin under the direction of Lenny Abrahamson, director of Room and the series Normal People. This film, which still has no official title, is set within Dublin’s Jewish community in the late 1970s. Hewson stars alongside Tom Burke and Shane Meagher, among others.
She has also been announced in the cast of Isle of Man, a thriller about the famous Tourist Trophy motorcycle race, alongside Channing Tatum. No definitive release date had been announced as of August 2026.
Full name: Memphis Eve Sunny Day Iris Hewson.
Date of birth: 7 July 1991.
Place of birth: Dublin, Ireland.
Nationality: Irish.
Parents: Bono, singer of U2, and Ali Hewson, activist and entrepreneur.
Education: New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Best-known roles: Becka Garvey in Bad Sisters, Flora in Flora and Son, Adele in Behind Her Eyes and Amelia Sacks in The Perfect Couple.
