EXCLUSIVE I played Jude Law’s daughter Sophie in The Holiday – I still love being part of people’s Christmas 17 years on
- MailOnline spoke to Miffy Englefield about what she’s up to now as a 24 year old
The Holiday is a classic Christmas comfort film, and a favourite across generations.
Brits still sit down to watch the iconic rom com throughout the festive season, 17 years after its release in 2006.
Miffy Englefield, from West Sussex, was just six years old when she played Jude Law’s character Graham’s eldest daughter Sophie in the smash hit movie.
While she’s frozen in time as a child on our screens, she’s now all grown up at 24, has a daughter of her own, and has even channeled Cameron Diaz to embark on her own home exchange.
MailOnline spoke exclusively with Miffy about what she’s up to now and what it’s like to be in one of the most watched Christmas films of all time.
Miffy Englefield was just six years old when she played Jude Law ‘s character Graham’s eldest daughter Sophie in the smash hit movie (pictured right)
She said: ‘I think I’ve changed quite a lot since I was six, I think a lot of people have, but especially me. It wasn’t until I started doing TikTok that I’ve started getting recognised.
‘I’m a mum now, I’ve got a three year old. I feel like that’s the biggest change. I’ve got a fantastic daughter and I’m in a very, very lucky position to be able to stay at home with her until she starts school, which is really not far away at all’.
She laughed, ‘It makes me feel very, very old whenever I remember it’.
She’s now found fame in a new way as content creator on TikTok, where she boasts 70,000 followers – the child star makes videos with her partner Alex Whivley-Conway and their little girl, Frankie.
Miffy began her TikTok journey during the pandemic, which she described as a ‘really weird time’ to have a baby.
She explained, ‘I live quite far away from the rest of my family, so I was pretty isolated. I’m really into fashion and stuff these days and I just decided that I was going to start making little videos and then it’s just sort of grew from there.
‘I’d start talking about the holiday a little bit on there and I do a lot of secondhand shopping and things like that. It’s been fabulous, I’ve met so many lovely people through it and I love it I absolutely love posting on there’.
While she’s frozen in time as a child on our screens, she’s now all grown up at 24, has a daughter of her own, and has even channeled Cameron Diaz to embark on her own home exchange
Miffy described her on screen father as ‘fantastic, funny and kind’ – she revealed, ‘I remember once on set we were all telling each other tongue twisters for about half an hour and just found it hilarious’
As a huge fan of Christmas herself, Miffy, now 24, loves being part of people’s festive memories and experiences across the world
‘I was a pretty unusual six year old. I was very outlandish and overconfident, I think is the best way is to describe it.
At the time, she ‘didn’t really get the velocity’ of what she was doing – to the youngster, it was another ‘excuse to perform’.
She added ‘But it was it was very surreal, you know, we came from quite a poor background, living in a council house.
‘It was very, very different to the life that me and my dad knew and being on a film set was very surreal.
Reminiscing on filming alongside stars such as Jude Law and Cameron Diaz, she gushed, ‘It was lovely. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for better treatment and neither could my dad.
‘We got on really, really well with everyone and they always made time for us off screen as well as on screen.
Miffy described her on-screen father as ‘fantastic, funny and kind’ – she revealed, ‘I remember once on set we were all telling each other tongue twisters for about half an hour and just found it hilarious.
‘He had so much patience with us and there was no sort of separation between doing the work and hanging out with us – they didn’t have to do that at all but they did’.
As part of her partnership with Home Exchange, Miffy recreated the iconic scene where Amanda, played by Cameron Diaz, lay in bed eating a feast of groceries with a bottle of wine
Miffy said: ‘It’s a little bit less cringe than when I was, you know, 16 – then it was impossible. Who knows, maybe we’ll watch it this Christmas’
Reminiscing on filming alongside stars such as Jude Law and Cameron Diaz, she gushed, ‘It was lovely. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for better treatment and neither could my dad’
She concluded: ‘I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with it. It was my best experience on any film set easily’.
As a huge fan of Christmas herself, Miffy loves being part of people’s festive memories and experiences across the world.
She joked, ‘Oh, it’s so bizarre. I got sent a photo a couple of years ago of Khloe Kardashian watching the holiday. That’s insane, like that is ridiculous.
‘I got a message on Instagram a few years ago from a lady who was getting married and she loved The Holiday so much that in her wedding book, the “The People Signed,” she had her and her partner recreate the poster from The Holiday, which blows my mind.
‘It’s absolutely crazy. Me and my dad didn’t realise how big the film was going to be at home.
‘So to get messages coming up 20 years on, which makes me feel incredibly old, that people look forward to it. It’s like their Christmas tradition, they come home to their family and that’s what they watch.
‘It baffles me, it’s absolutely insane and I love it. I love being a little part of people’s Christmas traditions. I think it’s so sweet.’
Her daughter Frankie watched the movie ‘as soon as she could talk’ and it’s become an ongoing joke in the family – however, she hasn’t watched in a few years herself as she struggles with ‘cringeing’ at herself as a child.
The child star said: ‘ I think I’ve changed quite a lot since I was six, I think a lot of people have, but especially me. It wasn’t until I started doing TikTok that I’ve started getting recognised’
READ MORE: Rufus Sewell is engaged! The Holiday actor, 56, proposes to US actress Vivian Benitez, 26, as she shares romantic snaps on social media
Miffy said: ‘It’s a little bit less cringe than when I was, you know, 16 – then it was impossible. Who knows, maybe we’ll watch it this Christmas.’
Although the pair were friends on set, Miffy and her on screen sister Emma Pritchard didn’t stay in contact after filming ended but she ‘hopes she’s doing fantastic’.
Coming full circle this year, the 24-year-old even got to go on her own Home Exchange, inspired by the film that played such a huge role in her life – she ‘didn’t realise it was an actual thing’ and couldn’t believe it when she found out.
She said: ‘It was like looking through an Argos catalog of holidays. It was fantastic. We sat down and we decided that we wanted the cottage experience.
‘We wanted to sort of mimic how Amanda felt in Iris’s beautiful cottage and we found a beautiful home near Hastings.’
The family of three escaped to someone’s Tudor barn, where they explored, took a trip to a local farm shop, went fruit picking, and even got to look after the owners cats.
As part of her partnership with Home Exchange, the house-swapping site used in The Holiday, she also got to recreate the iconic scene where Amanda, played by Cameron Diaz, lay in bed eating a feast of groceries with a bottle of wine.
Sporting the classic knitwear, scarf, and hat, Miffy really stepped into her co-star’s shoes and had ‘the best day’.
The partnership comes as Home Exchange launched a Solo Holiday Party Pack competition, which is open to all solo travellers planning a trip by themselves this Christmas.
The feast includes all 24 grocery items shown in the film, including red wine, fine cheeses, pasta sauce, snowmen cookies, nuts, olives, mince pies, bread, chocolates and Christmas cake, not forgetting a bottle opener and a copy of The Holiday on DVD to watch while you tuck in.
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