Annette Bening's Daughter Ella Beatty Sparked Relationship Rumors With This A-Lister

Ella Beatty is a rising star in the world of entertainment. The daughter of actor Annette Bening, the 26-year-old has already made notable strides in building her own acting career. But while she has appeared onscreen a handful of times — including in 2026's "Act One" — her theater work has been making the most noise. 2025 saw her star in "Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes," the off-Broadway play chronicling the controversial relationship between a 19-year-old college sophomore and her professor. Fortunately for Ella, her portrayal of Annie garnered her overwhelmingly glowing reviews. The project also ignited relationship rumors with her A-list co-star, Hugh Jackman, who starred as Annie's professor, Jon.

According to reviews of the play, which examines uncomfortable age-gap relationships, the thespians had to act out some pretty suggestive scenarios. However, it was their alleged behavior off stage that sparked romance rumors. "Hugh and Ella share a very passionate kiss in the play, but everyone has noticed that even offstage Hugh is still very flirtatious with her," a source shared with the National Enquirer in May 2025. Their interactions allegedly also created problems for Jackman and actor Sutton Foster, who were in a relationship. "It has raised alarm bells over his relationship with Sutton, and people worry that Hugh might not be as all-in as he's been saying," they added. Fortunately, it appears as if the rumors were unfounded.

So far, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster aren't one of the celeb couples who've broken up in 2026, so the rumors about his romance with Ella Beatty seem to have been untrue.

Fortunately, the gossip doesn't appear to have impacted the co-stars' working relationship, either. For starters, Beatty had nothing but great things to say about Jackman in June 2025 (after the romance rumors had already circulated). "Hugh and Ian Rickson, our director, have created a creative space that I find to be both totally safe and like a cocoon of love and friendship and also daring and spontaneous and one that encourages a forward movement in our work," she shared with Theaterly about the "vibe" she and Jackman shared backstage during "Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes." "Hugh is such a mega force of a person and star, you would never know it from the way he interacts with me and the way shows up to the work with everybody," she continued. Beatty also called him "incredibly hardworking and generous."

It's no surprise, then, that Beatty and Jackman returned to reprise their roles in the play months later. According to Theater Mania, the co-stars kicked off another round of shows in March 2026, after their first run received rave reviews and a demand for tickets.