Who Is Fourth Wing's Esther McGregor? Meet Ewan McGregor’s Daughter

Esther McGregor Reveals the Sweet Way Zach Braff Reminded Her of Dad Ewan McGregor

Esther McGregor is saying hello there to being a dragon rider.

Nearly three years after it was first announced that Amazon MGM Studio was developing a television show based on Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing series, the 24-year-old has been cast as Violet Sorrengail in the upcoming Prime Video show, according to multiple outlets. 

Joining her in the series—produced by Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society—as her love interest Xaden Riorson is Emilio Sakraya, the German-born actor best known for Those About to Die and the sci-fi series Tripes of Europa. As for Esther, you may have seen her before as Mirren Sinclair Sheffield in We Were Liars, another book adaptation by Amazon Prime Video—this time based on the novel by E. Lockhart.

As for Fourth Wing, the first book in the Empyrean fantasy series tells the story of Violet Sorrengail as she joins the "graduate or die" Rider Quadrant at Navarre's Basgiath War College and competes to the death to become a dragon rider. 

While the show doesn’t have a premiere date yet, keep reading for everything you need to know about Esther before she takes over the small screen.

Who is Esther McGregor?

Esther McGregor is an actress best known for Clean Hands (2026), the Prime Video series We Were Liars (2025) and the 2024 films Babygirl and The Room Next Door. She also guest starred on the 2022 Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). 

Esther, who is 5-foot-4, was born in London and raised in both England and Los Angeles. She attended New York University and speaks both English and French.

Prior to her acting career, Esther was a model for brands like Fendi, Miu Miu and Celine. She is also a tattoo artist and opened a tattoo parlor with a friend in New York City. 

Who are Esther McGregor’s parents Ewan McGregor and Eve Mavrakis?

Esther McGregor’s father is actor Ewan McGregor and her mother is production designer Eve Mavrakis. Her parents were married from 1995 to 2020, with her father marrying actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead in 2022. Ewan is best known for his roles in the Star Wars prequels, Moulin Rouge! and Trainspotting.

Does Esther McGregor have siblings?

Yes, Esther McGregor has three sisters from her father and mother’s marriage: actress Clara, 30, Jamyan, 25, and Anouk, 15. She also has a 5-year-old brother named Laurie from Ewan’s marriage to Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Prime Video

What movies and TV shows has Esther McGregor done?

Esther McGregor starred in several short films before making an appearance in father Ewan McGregor’s 2022 mini series Obi-Wan Kenobi. She guest starred on the show High School that same year. 

Esther made the transition to the big screen in 2023, appearing alongside her dad and sister Clara McGregor in Bleeding Love. 

She starred in 2024’s Babygirl with Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson and also in Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door the same year. 

In 2025 she appeared on the Prime Video series We Were Liars. 

In her new film Clean Hands, she and Zach Braff star as a narcotics officer and his heroin-addicted daughter. 

And the two quickly bonded on set, which helped create a compelling onscreen dynamic. 

“I think what Esther and I really found together, it was so helpful because that really was their relationship between Kevin and Brooke,” Braff exclusively told E! News of their character. “Making each other crack up and that easy banter. They were friends, so that's what makes it so, so extra tragic.”

Who will Esther McGregor play in Fourth Wing?

Esther McGregor has been cast as Violet Sorrengail in the upcoming adaptation of Fourth Wing alongside German-born actor Emilio Sakraya as Xaden Riorson. Violet is a dragon rider who is described in the book as being exceptionally intelligent, achieving unprecedented feats.

Stewart Cook/A24 via Getty Images

What has Esther McGregor said about her dad Ewan McGregor?

Esther McGregor has been candid about her relationship with her father Ewan McGregor, admitting the two had a difficult relationship after his divorce from her mother and marriage to Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Thankfully, her role on Obi-Wan Kenobi helped the two fix their fractured relationship, with Esther telling Variety in 2024 it was “a big step in both our relationships” and “really helped rekindle” it.  

She also found that her role in Babygirl helped understand her father better, because her character in the film—the daughter of Nicole Kidman, who in the movie has an affair with a much younger man—dealt with a similar situation to her own. 

“Now I’m 22 and all that s--t with my family went down when I was 16, so with my newfound closure and understanding of my own trajectory, I was able to find a new voice with this character,” she said, “and I thought that was really special.”

Esther also opened about how her relationship with her father to E! News, especially when it came to how she and Clean Hands costar Zach Braff developed their onscreen relationship. 

“Me and my dad definitely like to poke at each other,” she shared. “When I was younger we used to play crazy games, war games, all these things. There's definitely some similarities.”

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