Emmy Award-winning actress Hannah Waddingham is perhaps best known for playing Rebecca Welton on the Apple TV Plus breakout hit Ted Lasso. Waddingham, however, is also a mom — here’s what’s known about Waddingham’s daughter, Kitty, and whether Kitty will follow her mother’s footsteps into acting.
On the topic of being a parent, Waddingham revealed that the Welton part was a godsend even before the accolades came rolling in, as the character allowed her to be closer to her young daughter. As an actress, Waddingham, a single mom, was used to traveling for work and spending long periods away from home. Ted Lasso, however, films near where Waddingham lives in England. For this reason, Welton couldn’t have come at a better time, Waddingham said.
What do we know about Waddingham’s daughter, Kitty?
As Hannah Waddingham explained on the White Wine Question Time podcast and The Ellen Degeneres Show, her daughter Kitty, born in 2016, has an autoimmune disorder Henoch-Schönlein purpura, or HSP. HSP can cause blood vessels to swell and burst and form a rash. People typically recover, but kidney problems sometimes persist.
Speaking with Degeneres, Waddingham said that once Kitty was diagnosed, she asked the universe for a part that would keep her closer to Kitty.
Speaking to the powers that be, Waddingham said, ” … [C]an I just ask you for something that is close to home so I can do my main role, which is to be mama. And also can I ask that it’s something that really shows what I can do [as an actress]. And I hope that’s not asking too much” (via Daily Mail).
A few months later, Waddingham was cast as Welton, and Lasso filmed less than an hour away from where Waddingham lived.
Otherwise, not much else is known about Hannah Waddingham’s only daughter. As mentioned, she was born in 2016, making her still young, and understandably, Waddingham, who was 49 in 2023, keeps her out of the spotlight.
Waddingham does, however, share photos of Kitty on social media, with her face turned away from the camera, to protect her privacy.
It’s also too soon to know if Kitty is interested in acting or singing. While promoting her 2023 holiday special, Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas on Late Night with Seth Meyers, however, Waddingham did indicate Kitty did have a taste for show business.
According to her mom, Kitty requested one guest star for her mother’s festive outing: Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom Jr., Waddingham said.
Who is Kitty’s father?
One final detail that is known about Hannah Waddingham’s daughter, Kitty: Her father is Italian Gianluca Cugnetto. Cugnetto and Waddingham were together more than ten years before their relationship ended. They never married.
As for Kitty’s mom, Ted Lasso season 3, the show’s final season, was released in 2023. Late that same year, Deadline reported Waddingham would next appear alongside Octavia Spencer in an unnamed new comedy series on Prime from Tessa Coates. A Lasso spinoff starring Waddingham as Rebecca Welton was reportedly shelved, Deadline added.