A Family Affair Age Gap Explained: How Much Older Nicole Kidman Is Than Zac Efron

Summary Nicole Kidman is 20 years older than Zac Efron in real life, and they play love interests in "A Family Affair."

The age gap drives the plot in the Netflix rom-com.

Kidman and Efron previously played love interests in "The Paperboy."

Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron headline A Family Affair, and their characters' large age gap plays a significant role in their love story. The 2024 romantic comedy, directed by Richard LaGravenese and written by Carrie Solomon, depicts a romance between an older woman (played by Kidman) and a younger man, Chris Cole (portrayed by Efron), which, of course, some regard as taboo. However, their relationship is further complicated by the fact that Kidman's character's daughter, Zara (played by Joey King) previously worked for Chris, hence the film's name.

As the first images from Netflix's A Family Affair illustrate, Zara is not too happy about her mother and former boss dating. Unfortunately, she finds out about their relationship when she walks in on them kissing. It seems as though Kidman's character (whose name is unknown as of the writing of this article) and Chris fall in love and are hesitant to end their romance because of Zara's uncomfortable feelings towards their relationship. People will have to watch the movie to see if the couple makes it work and if Zara comes around to her mother dating her former boss.

A Family Affair Cast Role Nicole Kidman TBA Zac Efron Chris Cole Joey King Zara Lisa Koshy TBA Kathy Bates TBA Shirley MacLaine TBA

Nicole Kidman Is 20 Years Older Than Zac Efron

Nicole Kidman Is 56 & Zac Efron Is 36

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In real life, Nicole Kidman is a little over 20 years older than her A Family Affair co-star Zac Efron. Kidman was born on June 20, 1967, making her 56 years old, while Efron was born on October 18, 1987, and is 36. When the 2024 Netflix rom-com premieres, Kidman will have turned 57, but the age gap between the actress and Efron is still 20 years. It's unclear what Kidman and Efron's characters' respective ages will be in A Family Affair, but the film's premise suggests that their age difference will be similar to the actors' in real life.

Nicole Kidman's character being at least two decades older than Zac Efron's Chris Cole in A Family Affair partly drives the plot in the Netflix rom-com.

A Family Affair's Age Gap Is Important For The Story

The Age Difference Is A Part Of The Netflix Film's Central Plot

As mentioned above, Nicole Kidman's character being at least two decades older than Zac Efron's Chris Cole in A Family Affair partly drives the plot in the Netflix rom-com. Even though Joey King is 24 years old, making her 12 years younger than Efron, the age difference between Zara's mother and Chris is still significant enough to clearly make Zara uncomfortable (also, Chris being Zara's former boss certainly doesn't help her feelings toward the relationship). Consequently, the age gap is one of the main conflicts in A Family Affair.

A Family Affair, starring Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron, premieres on June 28, 2024, on Netflix.

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A Family Affair Isn't Kidman & Efron's First Age Gap Romance

The Actors Starred In The Paperboy Together

Funnily enough, A Family Affair isn't the first Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman movie where the two played love interests — they previously starred in The Paperboy, a 2012 crime drama directed by Lee Daniels. Efron's Jack Jansen falls in love with Kidman's Charlotte Bless character in the film, while she has feelings for someone else. However, Efron and Kidman's characters' romance in The Paperboy is much darker and more dramatic than in A Family Affair.