Sam Nivola is an American-British actor. His film credits include White Noise (2022) and Eileen (2023), as well as appearances in the first season of the anthology series The Perfect Couple (2024) and the third season of The White Lotus (2025).
Early Life & Education
Sam Nivola, also known as Samuel John Nivola, was born on September 26, 2003, at the Portland Hospital located in central London. He is the son of British actress Emily Mortimer and American actor Alessandro Nivola, and he has Italian and German-Jewish heritage from his father’s side.
His maternal grandfather is the renowned playwright Sir John Mortimer. He has a younger sister named May, born in 2010, who is also pursuing an acting career.
Nivola’s early childhood was spent in Notting Hill, after which he grew up in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. He attended Saint Ann’s School before continuing his education at Columbia University.
Sam Nivola Career
Sam Nivola made his acting debut in the 2013 Sky Atlantic comedy series Doll & Em, where he appeared alongside his mother. In 2021, he and his sister portrayed siblings in an episode of The Pursuit of Love, a British miniseries adapted by their mother from Nancy Mitford’s novel for BBC
One. In 2021, Nivola also wrote and directed a short film titled Neighborhood Watch, which was part of the anthology With/In. This collection featured films created on smartphones that depicted life during the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Noah Baumbach’s 2022 film White Noise, Nivola and his sister played two of the children in the central family. During the callback audition for this film, Baumbach suggested that Nivola’s sister audition for the role she ultimately secured. The following year, Nivola portrayed Leonard Bernstein’s son in Bradley Cooper‘s Maestro.
Additionally, in 2023, he walked the runway for Miu Miu at Paris Fashion Week, sharing the stage with notable figures such as Emma Corrin. In January 2024, it was announced that Nivola would join the cast of The White Lotus for its third season. By March 2025, he had commenced filming for Bobby Farrelly’s comedy film Driver’s Ed.
Personal Life
Sam Nivola is currently in a relationship with American actress Iris Apatow. Iris is known for her roles in films such as Knocked Up and in the series Love.
Similar to Sam, she comes from a family of notable figures; her parents are filmmaker Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann. Additionally, she shares a close friendship with Olivia Rodrigo and appeared in the music video for ‘bad idea right?’.
