This is definitely an unexpected announcement.
By Nicole Pomarico — Written on Feb 20, 2020
Looks like Steven Spielberg's daughter is following in his footsteps and joining the entertainment industry — just not in a way that he probably expected her to.
This week, Mikaela Spielberg came out as a porn star, sharing that she'spursuing a career that she loves, and yes, she has filled her parents in, including her legendary director dad.
So who is Steven Spielberg's daughter? Here's everything fans need to know in light of her surprising announcement.
1. In a new interview, Mikaela Spielberg shared that she has started producing her own porn videos.
Opening up publicly about this new adventure in her life, in an interview that was published on February 19, Mikaela shared that she is launching her career in porn.
"I got really tired of not being able to capitalize on my body and frankly, I got really tired of being told to hate my body," she explained. "And I also just got tired of working day to day in a way that wasn't satisfying my soul. I feel like doing this kind of work, I'm able to 'satisfy' other people, but that feels good because it's not in a way that makes me feel violated."
2. She says her parents have been supportive of her.
Mikaela also said that she has filled parents Spielberg and Kate Capshaw in on her career move via a FaceTime call, saying that they were "intrigued" by her decision but still supportive.
“My safety has always been a number one priority for them," she said. "I'm doing this, not out of an urge to hurt anybody or be spiteful about it, I'm doing this because I want to honor my body in a way that's lucrative. I actually think that once they see how far I've come from the bottom I was at a year and a half ago, they're going to look at this and go, 'Wow, we actually raised are really self-assured, young lady."
3. Earlier, she shared the news for the first time on Instagram.
Although Mikaela has since made her Instagram account private, outlets are reporting that she first made her announcement via a social media post.
"I just launched my self-produced adult entertainment career. Safe, sane, consensual is the goal y'all," she wrote in the post. "My body, my life, my income, my choice. I owe not a single person my autonomy or virtue just because of a name."
4. But who is Steven Spielberg's daughter? He and Kate Capshaw adopted Mikaela as a baby.
Mikaela, now 23, was adopted by Spielberg and Capshaw as a baby, who famously flew to meet her after the 1996 Oscars, and has been part of their family ever since. She has six siblings: Max, Theo, Sasha, Sawyer, Destry, along with step-sister Jessica Capshaw, who's best known for playing Arizona Robbins on Grey's Anatomy.
5. Mikaela is currently engaged to Chuck Pankow, 47.
6. She also shared she has been groomed by "predators."
Mikaela also opened up about struggles she's faced in her life in the interview, sharing that she had been abused by predators as she grew up, which only added to her struggles with alcoholism, borderline personality disorder, and an eating disorder — but she doesn't blame her parents for it, since she said a lot of it went down while she was at boarding school and they couldn't have known what was going on at the time.
"I'm in a good place right now, but we all have relapses," she said. "Being open in this way and sharing my story and choosing this career is not a relapse for me. I actually feel very grounded and validated right now."
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.