Ewan McGregor reveals ‘painful time’ after conflict with eldest daughter

| TV Reporter Published August 17, 2026 12:11pm Updated August 17, 2026 12:16pm To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Scottish actor Ewan McGregor became emotional talking about the difficult period of time after he split from his first wife Eve Mavrakis in 2017. The Trainspotting star, 55, married Mavrakis, 60, in the summer of 1995 after reportedly meeting on the set of the TV show Kavanagh QC, where she was working as the assistant art director. They have four children together, one of whom – Clara – starred in the 2023 film Bleeding Love, alongside her dad. Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, McGregor said it was a ‘very painful time’ with his children, around the time of his divorce from their mother. According to The Telegraph, he noted that Clara was ‘expressing her anger very well’. He said: ‘My children were very hurt, Clara was very hurt and Clara was – I’m very grateful for it now – but she was very open with me, very vocal with me.’ Clara was born seven months after McGregor and Mavrakis married (Picture: Robby Klein/Getty Images) Later, Clara would approach her dad to tell him she was writing a story about them, and wanted him to play the father. The film, which premiered at SXSW festival in 2023, was written by Ruby Caster but came from an original story from Clara, Vera Bulder and Caster. It’s about an estranged father who embarks on a road trip with his daughter who has just suffered a drug overdose. Referencing the film, McGregor said: ‘It was about the reparation of a relationship between a father and daughter that hadn’t fully happened between us.’ He clarified that although the film was ‘not biographical’, there are ‘massive elements’ that were. And it sounded cathartic for the 30-year-old. McGregor mentioned an ‘incredible, brilliant moment when she [Clara] fully lets her dad have it; really tells him what she thinks of him and she was able to do so in reality’. McGregor has five children in total, four are pictured above (Picture: Albert L Ortega/Shutterstock) Initially, he said that his daughter was ‘slightly reluctant to go there’. But the Star Wars actor instructed his daughter: ‘”Clara, just let me have it. Do it.”‘ McGregor is now with Fargo co-star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who he married in 2022. The couple welcomed a child together in 2021 – Laura McGregor was born on June 25 and is now five years old. Deals of the Day Parents can save up to 30% on Kickers school shoes ahead of the new term The back-to-school hack that's helping parents avoid queues and sold-out sizes Could your hair be wavy rather than straight? This brand thinks so Could your star sign improve your skincare routine? This new beauty launch thinks so Best skincare for menopausal skin? This dermatologist-created treatment is tailored to you