The actor's 26-year-old daughter Ella stars as a flight attendant in 'Propeller One-Way Night Coach'
Credit: Aurore Marechal/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- John Travolta received the Honorary Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, a surprise kept secret even from his team
- The award followed the premiere of his film Propeller One-Way Night Coach, based on his 1997 children’s book
- Travolta’s daughter Ella stars in the film, which streams on Apple TV starting May 29
John Travolta daughter is most definitely following in his footsteps.
At the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Friday, May 15, the actor, 72, premiered his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which stars his daughter Ella, 26, as a flight attendant. The film tells the story of Travolta’s first ever flight as a kid and is an adaptation of his 1997 children's book of the same name.
And while appearing The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, May 19, just days after the festival, Travolta couldn't help but share his pride for his daughter's performance.
After a clip featuring Ella was shown from the film, host Fallon, 51, noted that Ella is "fantastic."
"A star is born right," added Travolta.
Ella told PEOPLE of her experience at the festival, "I knew it was just such a special night for my whole family that I sort of made sure to put myself in the moment and really take it all in," she tells PEOPLE. "And it felt very calm, actually, and very just beautiful and very emotional."
The actor also opened up about receiving the festival’s annual Honorary Palme d'Or, something that he told Fallon was a total surprise.
Bringing the award with him for his appearance, Travolta shared, “I didn’t expect this at all.”
“You got emotional,” Fallon noted of seeing a video of Travolta looking emotional at the event. “This was not planned?”
“No," replied Travolta, adding that it was a “complete secret” and “no one in his team knew. The Apple team knew,” referencing the film’s streamer, Apple TV.
The Grease star went on to explain that he thinks the decision to give him the prestigious award occurred around five months before and was “unheard of in the history of Cannes.”
“Thierry Fremaux saw this film … and he loved it,” said Travolta, explaining how Fremaux (director of the Cannes Film Festival) said he was going to accept the film as a selection at the festival months in advance and he was going to “make it a special night.”
“I cried,” he continued of receiving the honor. “I couldn’t believe that he felt that way.”
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
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The actor also reflected on social media about his accolade from the festival, where he went viral for his various beret looks.
“I've never been more proud to win an award!” he captioned a May 16 Instagram photo of himself smiling as he held up the award. “To me the Cannes Palme d'Or award has always represented art at its finest. It is beyond a humbling experience.”
Propeller One-Way Night Coach streams on Apple TV May 29.
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