The spotlight at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival wasn’t only on the films — it was also on a touching father-daughter appearance that instantly captured fans online.
When John Travolta stepped onto the red carpet with his daughter Ella Bleu Travolta, many couldn’t stop pointing out how much she resembled her late mother, Kelly Preston.
The actor attended Cannes on Friday, May 15, in classic polished style, but it was 26-year-old Ella who drew widespread admiration during their back-to-back festival appearances.
At the screening of Karma, Ella looked elegant in a black velvet floor-length gown featuring a soft rounded neckline and cap sleeves.
She completed the look with diamond earrings, delicate jewelry, and voluminous dark hair styled away from her face. Standing beside her, John wore a sleek black three-piece suit paired with a cream beret and round glasses, creating a sophisticated father-daughter red carpet moment.
The following day, the pair appeared again at the official photocall for their Apple Original film Propeller One-Way Night Coach atop the Palais des Festivals rooftop in Cannes.
For the daytime appearance, Ella switched into a structured white midi dress accented with black trim, military-inspired buttons, and a belted waist. John kept to his signature all-black style with a beret and tinted glasses.
Fans quickly flooded social media with emotional reactions — many centered on Ella’s resemblance to Kelly Preston.
“WOW!! She’s grown into a stunningly beautiful young lady! The perfect combination of her mom and dad. Bet her mom is looking down so proud!”
Another admirer wrote:
“She is her mother’s TWIN.”
Others echoed similar thoughts:
“She looks like Kelly so much.”
“She’s tall and looks alot like her Mom💙.”
“Tall and slim like her mommy.”
Some viewers, meanwhile, noted they saw little resemblance to her famous father
“She doesn’t look like her dad I would have never guessed they were related she is pretty though [sic].”
The comparisons naturally brought renewed attention to Kelly Preston, the actress and longtime wife of John Travolta, who passed away in July 2020 after privately battling breast cancer. She was 57.
The family had previously endured another heartbreaking loss with the death of their son Jett in 2009 at age 16.
Two years after Jett’s heartbreaking death, Ella became a sister again when her brother Benjamin was born on November 23, 2011.
Despite the tragedies, Ella has steadily built her own path in Hollywood. In Propeller One-Way Night Coach,”written and directed by her father, she plays a flight attendant in a heartfelt story adapted from John’s 1997 book. The film marks his directorial debut and is scheduled for release on Apple TV on May 29, 2026.
Ella has collaborated with her father before, including roles in The Poison Rose alongside Morgan Freeman and the upcoming thriller Black Tides, directed by Renny Harlin.
John has often spoken lovingly about his daughter over the years.
”She is her own person. She is gracious, generous, poised, graceful and gorgeous. I don’t know how she came to be, and I don’t take any credit other than just adoring her.”
He once added:
”I really do believe that children have rights. Just because they are little bodies doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have a say-so.”
By the time the Cannes appearances wrapped up, one thing was clear — Ella Bleu Travolta was no longer simply accompanying her famous father. She stood confidently in her own spotlight, while also reminding many fans of the woman the world still remembers fondly.
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