All About Nicholas Galitzine’s Parents, Geoffrey and Lora

The actor grew up in London alongside his father, Geoffrey Leo Alexander Galitzine, and mother, Lora Maria Konstantina Papayanni

Get to know the people who raised Nicholas Galitzine.

Born on Sept. 29, 1994, the actor grew up in London, England alongside his father, Geoffrey Leo Alexander Galitzine, mother, Lora Maria Konstantina Papayanni, and sister, Lexi Galitzine.

After graduating high school, Galitzine auditioned for an adaptation of Spring Awakening, where he quickly captured the attention of agents.

It wasn’t long after that his career began to take off, with his first film role being 2014’s The Beat Beneath My Feet in 2014, costarring Luke Perry, and his breakout role being 2021’s Cinderella alongside Camila Cabello.

Since then, his career has taken off with lead roles in films such as Purple Hearts and Red, White & Royal Blue; coming up next, he'll costar with Julianne Moore in Mary & George, and Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You.

Though his parents aren’t in the spotlight like him, he has talked about them and how they played a role in his early career during various interviews.

Here’s everything to know about Galitzine’s parents.

They have two children

Galitzine is his parents' second child, after elder sister Lexi, about whom he has shared several photos, including a sweet tribute to her in September 2017 for her birthday. In the throwback snap of them as children, he wrote, “Happy birthday sis! Best buds since day 1.”

During an interview with The New York Times, Galitzine recalled that his acting beginnings started with his sister, who used to make him put on plays for their family when they would vacation on the Greek islands during the holidays.

They raised him in London, England

Galitzine was born in Hammersmith, a district of West London, England. For high school, he attended Dulwich College, a private day and boarding school for boys. Growing up, he participated in a variety of sports, including soccer, track and rugby, per The New York Times.

However, after various injuries, Galitzine told the publication he began to lose interest in sports. "I was just losing complete faith in the reliability of my body,” he explained. “I was coming into my own as a sensitive young man, and I was jarring up against these archaic ideals."

His father played a big role in his early career

After leaving the world of sports behind, Galitzine told The New York Times, he wasn't sure what he might do after graduation, but "he had vague plans to buy a motorcycle and drive around for a while.”

However, things quickly changed for him when a girl he liked suggested he audition for an adaption of Spring Awakening. Speaking with York Vision, Galitzine recalled how he was petrified about the audition, but his father encouraged him to move forward.

“I remember standing outside the building on the phone to my dad saying ‘I can’t do this, I’m completely out of my depth, they are all proper actors in there,’” he told the publication. “Eventually I managed to goad myself in — and got one of the main roles.” From there he was scouted by several agencies, and began acting full-time.

In an Instagram post shared in June 2021, Galitzine referenced the audition as he wished his dad a Happy Father’s Day. “To the man that raised me, drove me to rugby fixtures around the country, let me pilot a plane when I was 9, convinced me to go to the audition for the play where I’d get scouted and start a career as an actor, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!” he captioned the series of photos of them through the years. “Your courage and your drive inspire me more then you know. You’ve been there for me every step of the way and I couldn’t wish for better. Love you Big G.”

His parents were unsure about him becoming an actor at first

After high school, Galitzine’s parents expected him to attend university, so they were taken aback when he told them he wanted to act as his career. “They started out being terrified of my job,” he told The Cut. “They’d worked so hard to give me the best chance in life. And then I’m like, ‘Psych! I’m going to go off and become a disheveled artist.’”

Speaking with Variety, he explained that in between booking acting gigs, he was also working various part-time jobs to make end’s meet, including catering, working at a yogurt shop and doing retail at Abercrombie & Fitch.

“My parents instilled a really great work ethic in me and they were like, ‘Well, look, if you’re gonna pursue this, you know you are entirely financially responsible for yourself,’” he recalled. “I think it led to me developing a really good work ethic that I think has been really useful in the last few years.”

His dad previously worked in finance

According to The Times, Galitzine’s dad previously worked in finance in London, but has transitioned into eco entrepreneurship in recent years. Per his LinkedIn, he co-founded Smash & Grab Glass Recycling Ltd, an “innovative recycling company which designed and developed a unique, small footprint, waste bottle compactor aimed primarily at hotels, restaurants, clubs, pubs and wine bars.”

After Specialist Waste Recycling Ltd acquired the company in 2011, he stayed on as a consultant.

His mother is of Greek descent

Galitzine’s mother is of Greek descent, and he's discussed his pride in his heritage in interviews. “The reason I feel so patriotically Greek is because I grew up with just the largest family,” he previously told The Cut of his Greek roots. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding has a lot of false stereotypes in it, but large families is not one of them.”

Speaking with Attitude magazine about the type of roles he’d love to take on next, he replied, “I’d love to do something in Ancient Greece being a Greek myself.”

He was really nervous for his parents to see Mary & George

Ahead of the release of Mary & George on STARZ, which details the affair between James VI and I and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Galitzine told Variety he was incredibly nervous about his parents’ reaction due to his many racy scenes.

“I was kind of in hysterics because there is nothing more uncomfortable than watching your son bed a number of characters even within the first few episodes,” he said.

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