Meet Idris Elba's children – from aspiring Hollywood star to secret son

Idris Elba is fronting a powerful new documentary, Our Knife Crime Crisis, which sees the Hollywood star investigate the impact of knife crime on communities, from victims' families to law enforcement officers.

The issue is personal for the star, who confronts how the issue could have shaped his own life. And at the forefront of his mind will likely be his three children: son Raize Foster, 32, daughter Isan, 23, and son Winston, 10. The star has a blended family, sharing Isan with his first ex-wife, Hanne Nørgaard, and Winston with his ex-girlfriend, Naiyana Garth.

In 2023, during an interview with YOU magazine, Idris revealed that he had fathered a "secret" son, who was 31 at the time of the interview. At that point, Idris didn't share further details, adding he "wouldn't want to put him out there".

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Speaking of being a parent, he explained: "I view parenting as a gift and an absolute honour. You are lucky to have children: that whole magical, wonderful thing called procreation works and out comes this beautiful human being that is their own person, ten fingers, ten toes, and they can communicate with you and learn from you."

And when probed as to whether he and wife, Sabrina Elba, would welcome their own children, the 52-year-old teased: "I prefer not to answer that otherwise [the headline's] going to be 'Idris says he's gonna have ten kids!'"

Here's all you need to know about Idris's children, including how Isan is hoping to follow in her Hollywood star father's footsteps.

Riaze Foster, 32

Idris only revealed the existence of Riaze in 2023, however, he didn't go into further details at the time, not even revealing his name.

With the support of his father, Riaze trained as a barber, however, he has also worked as an actor, appearing alongside his dad in the 2018 crime film Yardie, which was Idris's directorial debut.

Speaking to The Hub about their working together, Riaze said: "It felt really good to work with my ol' man; he's been in the business for as long as I can remember. And as an actor/director, he knew exactly how to get the best from his actors. He spoke our language."

Idris rates Riaze's barber skills so highly that his son is his personal hairdresser. Speaking of his support, Idris explained: "He started cutting my hair when I started trusting him to cut it. I don't remember the exact date, but I wanted to support him, and he wanted to prove that he could do it really well. I believe I asked first."

Isan Elba, 23

Born on 5 January 2002, Isan is Idris's only daughter, and he shares her with ex-wife Hanne Nørgaard.

Speaking to Esquire UK about the values he hoped to instil in his daughter, Idris explained: "Boys and girls are different but you aren't as a parent. Dad advice is dad advice. I'm not going to give my daughter different advice from my son because she's a girl."

Isan is determined to follow in her father's footsteps and break into the entertainment industry, and she's currently studying film and television production at New York University.

Although she initially wanted to be an actress, Isan now seems to have pivoted towards wanting a behind-the-scenes role. Speaking to Tatler in 2024, she shared: "I want to be a producer. I grew up on film sets and I've been around that my entire life so it was kind of a no-brainer."

Isan's hopes to become an actress were so strong when she was younger that she refused to talk to her father for "three weeks" when she lost out on the opportunity to play his on-screen daughter in Beast.

Reflecting on the moment with iHeartRadio, Idris said: "She was very gracious… I'm really proud of her to go through that, not get the role, but still come to the premiere."

The budding producer had a huge boost towards her career aspirations in 2019 when she was named as a Golden Globe Ambassador. Speaking at the time, she said: "I've always been a lover of TV and movies and I dream to be in the industry one day.

"I'm really honoured to have this position and be able to talk about things that, issues that I care about such as mental health, expression among African Americans, and my peers in particular. There's a perceived stigma and I've seen my friends struggle with it."

Winston Elba, 10

Idris and ex-girlfriend Naiyana Garth welcomed their son on 17 April 2014, with Idris sharing the happy news with a sweet black-and-white photo of their fingers intertwined. "My son, Winston Elba, was born yesterday. Truly amazing," he shared on social media.

Winston's name holds a special significance for Idris, with the Luther star naming his son after his own late father.

Speaking to YOU magazine about his hopes for Winston's future, the star said: "I'd love [Winston] to be able to say the same things about his old man that I say about my dad. I'm desperate for him to be the man he wants to be – strong and considerate."

The youngster is unsurprisingly a fan of one of his father's characters, with Idris having taken on the role of Knuckles the Echidna in the Sonic the Hedgehog films. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Idris joked: "He loves seeing Knuckles. He loves Knuckles as a character, and I think he loves recognising his dad's voice and stuff."