Ben Stiller’s Daughter Ella Details Battle With Anxiety and Depression

by

Ella Stiller isn’t dodging this personal chapter in her life. 

The daughter of Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, who also stars in And Just Like That, has spoken about her long-term struggles with anxiety and depression, which began when she was a young actress.

Ella, 23, shared on the December 8th episode of Gia Giudice’s Casual Chaos podcast that she’s dealt with anxiety and depression throughout her life. She’s now doing well, and says that starting medication five years ago has made a huge difference. Looking back on her childhood, she remembers feeling anxious and lonely, not because she felt sorry for herself, but because that was genuinely how she experienced things.

She explained that she constantly worried about the future – specifically, what might happen next and even if she would survive. She described it as a terrible way to live, but said it was something she had to cope with.

Ella Stiller, known for her role in Megamind, thinks growing up famous made her anxiety worse, but she doesn’t fault her parents for how she and her brother, Quin Stiller (20), were raised. She’s actually built a close and open relationship with her parents where she can discuss the things that cause her anxiety.

She explained that dealing with personal issues publicly was very difficult and had a significant impact on her. However, she’s now thankful to be able to discuss it, as everyone involved is in a much happier and healthier place now.

Now that things are going well with her family, Ella says she’s looking forward to becoming even closer to her parents.

She explained that, after everything her family has faced, she truly appreciates everything, particularly the time they share and their current happiness.

This isn’t the first time the actress, known for her role in Hubie Halloween, has talked about her family. She and her brother, also an actor, have previously shared difficult conversations they’ve had with Ben, including how he wasn’t always present as a father.

In a recent documentary, Quin shared with his dad that he felt overwhelmed trying to juggle all his responsibilities. He explained that balancing his work – directing, acting, producing, and writing – with being a father was difficult, and sometimes he felt like his role as a dad took a backseat to everything else, as reported by Us Weekly.

The Tropic Thunder actor also remembered Ella telling him she didn’t have any memories of him from her childhood.

Ben was surprised by what his children told him, because he thought he’d had a happier childhood than his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, had.

He confessed in the documentary that he believed he was successfully balancing work and family. He’d fly home on weekends and make an effort to find fun activities for his children when they visited the movie set. However, he later realized that his kids were experiencing the same instability he felt as a child, something he hadn’t understood at the time.

Keep reading for a closer look into Ben’s relationship with his kids… 

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor have been married since 2000 and separated in 2017, but they never officially divorced. After spending time together with their children, Ella and Quinlin, during the pandemic, they decided to get back together.

Ella frequently joins her father, Ben, at industry events. For example, she attended the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023 for the premiere of a short film starring her mother, Christine, and the family coordinated their outfits in shades of black.

She’s also been Ben’s date to several other premieres and events over the years, including the 2022 Emmys, the premieres of Free Solo (2018) and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), and the opening night of the Groundhog Day musical.

In 2019, Ella and Ben attended the Golden Globes together to support Escape to Dannemora, a miniseries for which Ben was nominated for directing.

Ben recently shared how much he enjoyed working with his daughter, Ella, on the set of Escape to Dannemora. He told TopMob he was “very proud” of her and happy with how well things went. The Zoolander actor explained that Ella treated him with a lot of respect, which he especially appreciated given the typical dynamic between a father and teenage daughter. He joked about hoping they could maintain a positive, polite relationship on set, unlike their interactions at home, and ultimately described the experience as very positive for both of them.

I’ve been following Ella’s blossoming career with so much excitement! Beyond her part in Escape to Dannemora, she’s also popped up in Hubie Halloween and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. It’s clear she really wants to pursue acting – Ben mentioned back in 2019 that she seems to genuinely be exploring it. Her mom, Christine, has always been incredibly supportive, telling Us Weekly a while back that she never tried to steer Ella away from following in her and her dad’s footsteps. She even said Ella was born with a purpose and she wouldn’t dream of getting in her way! Christine explained that Ella is a strong, determined young woman who truly loves performing. Living in New York City has definitely opened her eyes to the world of theatre and film, and she’s caught the acting bug – and honestly, Christine says there’s nothing anyone could do about it, and she wouldn’t discourage her anyway!

Ben recently shared that his daughter, Ella, had talked to him about feeling like he was absent during her childhood because of his work. He told Esquire that these conversations were difficult, as Ella expressed her feelings clearly, and it reminded him of his own upbringing with parents who were often away. He’d always hoped to avoid repeating that pattern.

While it wasn’t easy to hear, Ben acknowledged that Ella’s feelings were important. He was also trying to balance fulfilling his own ambitions. He emphasized that Ella and her brother, Quinlin, weren’t tracking his absences, they simply missed spending time with him.

Ben realized that his children weren’t concerned with his career success. What they truly wanted was an emotionally available and supportive father, something he now understands is more important than pursuing his creative goals.

Ben Affleck recently shared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that his daughter Ella turned him into a big Taylor Swift fan. He explained that while teaching Ella to drive, playing Swift’s music helped keep them both calm. He admitted he was a fan before, but now considers himself a ‘Swiftie.’ He detailed how they listened to albums like Folklore and Evermore, pointing out the intricate storytelling in songs like ‘Cardigan,’ ‘Betty,’ and ‘August’—which all explore the same love triangle from different perspectives and are even inspired by the children of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. He capped it off by mentioning his newfound appreciation for Taylor’s 10-minute version of ‘All Too Well’.

Following the filming of Tropic Thunder with Ben in 2007, Christine decided to step away from acting to concentrate on raising their children. In a 2010 interview with The Morning Call, she explained it wasn’t a difficult choice. After having their daughter, Ella, she felt an overwhelming amount of love and wanted to be fully present in her child’s life. With Ben working consistently, she felt it was important for one parent to provide stability at home. Ben later told Parade in 2016 that he was grateful for Christine’s decision.

Over ten years ago, Ben and Christine decided to eat a plant-based diet and encourage their children to do the same. Back in 2012, Christine told People magazine that their kids initially reacted with disbelief when they made healthy green drinks. She jokingly tried to convince them to try it, saying, “Just join the party!”

Christine also shared that her daughter, Ella, prefers vegetables over fruit, while her son, Quinlin, is the opposite—he loves fruit but avoids vegetables. Despite their differing preferences, Christine remained optimistic. She believes that, like many kids, her children will eventually appreciate their parents’ healthy habits, explaining, “We just kind of plant the seeds.”

Okay, so Ella is always with her parents at these things, which is adorable, but Quinlin? He’s super private! It was a HUGE deal to see him at the Project A.L.S. Benefit back in 2018 – apparently it was his very first public event! I read that his mom, Christine, told Us Weekly that he was just having fun, and that Ella actually convinced him to go! She went last year and got him excited about it. It’s so sweet they’re all a close-knit family, and they’ve known each other for years – like, watching their kids grow up together for two decades! Seriously, it just makes me love them all even more.

Quinlin also joined the celebration for Project ALS’s 25th anniversary in 2023. Ben and Christine have made sure to share the causes they care about with their children. Christine, who serves on the organization’s board, told Us Weekly in 2018 that it meant a lot to her that their kids would come out on a school night to “have a little fun, dress up, and take pictures, but also learn about such an incredible organization.”

Read More

2025-12-09 18:50