MEET THE SHAW FAMILY.
ELLA QUENTIN SHAW QUENTIN (MINKA KELLY) - 44 years old : mother
LUKE SHAW (BRADLEY COOPER) - 49 years old : deadbeat “musician” father
MELANIE “MELLY” SHAW (ALYCIA DEBNAM-CAREY) - 24 years old : older sister
LIAM SHAW (COREY MYLCHREEST) - 23 years old : older brother
NATHANIEL “NATE” SHAW (JACOB ELORDI) - almost 22 years old
QUENTIN “QUINNIE” SHAW (EMILY CAREY)- 20 years old : youngest sister
Ella Shaw (neé Quentin) - Ella was the type of teenager who constantly made bad decisions, which culminated in her getting pregnant to her boyfriend of a couple months at 20. Their parents pressured them to get married, and despite the fact that they weren’t all that into that idea, they did it, popped out 3 more kids over the next four and a half years, and were in a very unhealthy relationship for their childhoods. She tried to make it work, at one point even moving back to Australia with Luke, but eventually she told him to go fuck himself, and relegated herself to raising the four kids mostly alone, moving them back to Sag Harbor where she grew up, and working multiple jobs to make it work, anything to just manage to pay the bills. She always wanted them to have opportunities she couldn’t, so she enrolled them in as many activities as she could possibly manage, hoping something would work out for them, like Nate and his swimming.
Luke Shaw - What to say about Luke Shaw? He was a terrible father, for one. He’s Australian, and uses it to his advantage. He was 25 years old to Ella’s 20 when he knocked her up while they were dating. He has always fancied himself a musician (a trait he passed on to Nate, not that he likes to acknowledge it), but with only mediocre talent, never got very far on making that pay the bills. When Nate was fourteen, his parents split up, and Luke pretty much dipped on the family completely, occasionally sending the child support payments he owed, but not regularly. He stayed in Australian as Ella brought the kids back to the US. When he is around, he tends to be at least mildly intoxicated, occasionally getting in fights, and a regular for needing to be picked up from jail in the morning from the combination of bar fights or public intoxication.
Liam Shaw - In all honesty, Liam is the foil to Nate in a lot of ways outwardly, but extremely similar inwardly, which is probably why they don’t get along very well. He was the football player to Nate’s swimming, and managed to be extremely popular in high school, with the ego to match. He was always down to be around people while Nate preferred to sulk alone. While they both ended up befriending the rich kids who vacationed in the Hamptons, Liam fit in in a way that Nate never did. Liam is in law school now, which Nate just absolutely rolls his eyes about every time he brings it up.
Melanie Shaw - Melly personality wise is actually the most like Nate. She comes off very aloof, takes herself extremely seriously, and tended to get herself into trouble, though she was usually able to talk herself out of it. She has a bit more charm than Nate does, which is not a hard thing at all. She also has the most work ethic out of all of them, despite the fact the she could probably just skate by on her personality. She played basketball and softball all through high school, and used that to get an athletic scholarship just like Nate and Liam did.
Nathaniel Shaw - see his bio here
Quentin Shaw - The baby of the family, and also the only sibling Nate really tolerates. Quinny and Nate are definitely a team against Liam and Melly, and that’s the way it’s always been. She’s a freshman in college, got all the brains Nate seems to have left behind in the womb, and the only person he actually genuinely openly likes. She’s also the only one who isn’t majorly athletic, because as she got older, she hated playing all sports, and she’s smart enough that their mother let her quit to focus on her academics.
