The ‘Normal People’ behind the Olivier winner: As Paul Mescal pays tribute to parents ‘who never said no’ in his Best Actor acceptance speech, FEMAIL reveals the proud family members who are his biggest fans

• The actor, 27, paid tribute to his family during his acceptance speech last night
• READ MORE: Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer’s fans claim they would make ‘perfect couple’ 

As Paul Mescal celebrates being named Best Actor at the Olivier Awards for his role as Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, he will no doubt be celebrating with his tight-knit family.

The Oscar-nominated star, 27, who also has a BAFTA under his belt, often speaks of his close relationships with his 19-year-old sister Nell and brother Donnacha, and paid tribute to his mother Dearbhla, who is having treatment for cancer, in his acceptance speech last night.

Mascal, from Maynooth, Ireland, is so close with his siblings that they accompanied him to the exclusive Vanity Fair after party following the Oscars 2023 ceremony, with the pair looking proud as punch of their talented brother.

Although the Mescal children are equally talented in their own ways, with Donnacha excelling in rugby and Nell embarking on a singing career with her angelic tones, glimpses into the family life of the Mescals reveal they are very much ‘normal people’.

From cocktail photos of Nell with their father Paul Sr. at the Oscars to a group family video call when Paul was nominated, the family are incredibly close.

After Paul Mescal picked up an Olivier Award for Best Actor after playing Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire, FEMAIL reveals the ‘normal people’ behind his success, including proud sister Nell, who posted a photo on Instagram of her brother carrying his gong while in McDonald’s after the ceremony

Following Mescal’s nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards 2023, both Donnacha and Nell joined their brother on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair after party. 

While glamorous Nell was dressed in a baby blue tulle dress and opted for a show-stopping make-up look with red lipstick to complement her blonde locks, Donnacha opted for a more understated look.

Standing next to his A-List celebrity brother, who donned a chic black suit Wales Bonner, Donnacha opted for a low-key black and red checked shirt.

He looked cool, confident and understated as he posed for photos with Paul and Nell, and the three siblings looked thick as thieves as they laughed together.

Paul Mescal’s proud siblings are younger brother and sister Donnacha and Nell (pictured with Paul at the BAFTAs 2021) 

Last night Paul paid tribute to his parents, Dearbhla and Paul Sr, who ‘never said no’ as he tearfully wished his mother well as she undergoes cancer treatment (pictured with his parents at the BAFTAs 2023)

In real life, Donnacha appears to work as a recruitment consultant and is based in New York, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The bio on his profile reveals he specialises in recruiting roles within life science and healthcare markets.

He writes: ‘I work with a variety of engineering, architectural engineering, and engineering-contractor firms throughout the US.’ 

Paul’s brainy brother is a graduate of Technological University Dublin where he acquired a degree in human resources management and services.

While at school, Donnacha was also a keen rugby player and played in the under 18s team for Leinster.

The recruiter also has a TikTok account where he posts videos of himself larking about with his friends.

He and his little sister Nell are among their older brother Paul’s biggest fans, as Donnacha appeared on a group video call following the announcement Paul had been nominated for an Oscar.

A screenshot of the call, which appeared on Nell’s Instagram account, showed Donnach beaming with pride at the news – having dialled into the call from the US.

While Donnacha’s Instagram account is private, Nell uses her public account to heap praise on her brother, while also showing off her incredible singing talents.

Proving the family is down to earth and that Paul is unchanged by fame, the proud little sister posted photos on her Instagram story last night of her older brother carrying his prestigious Olivier Award while standing inside McDonald’s, with a paper bag of food in his other hand.

Earlier in the evening, Nell reposted the announcement that Paul had been crowned Best Actor with a crying face emoji, signalling she was moved by the win.

Paul and his sister Nell are incredibly close and and both have a flair for performing arts, with Nell once posting a video to Instagram of herself singing and playing the piano with Paul

Paul was accompanied by his brother Donnacha and sister Nell at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party last month, where down-to-earth Donnacha wore a checked black and red shirt

When Paul and the Mescal family attended the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood last month, Nell posted photos of the family’s antics behind the scenes on her Instagram account, including a sweet moment where she shared a cocktail ahead of the ceremony with her father, also named Paul.

She also posted boomerang videos of herself in a photo booth with her brother Donnacha, whom she joked in the caption was the ‘favourite child’.

The pair, dressed in all their finery, pouted for the camera in black-and-white shots.

As she embarks upon her singing career, Nell is already reaching impressive heights, having released her single In My Head last week.

She currently lives in Haringey, North London, has released three singles and has a management deal with American firm Q Prime, which looks after Metallica, Muse and Foals, as well as being signed with Manchester indie label LAB Records. 

At the age of 17, Nell left Ireland and lived alone for three months in Brighton, where she started her musical career.

However, on returning home she found herself alienated from her former friends and decided to leave school permanently in October 2021 and move to London.

Speaking to The Times, she said that she was picked on at primary school, and difficult relationships continued as she got older and schoolmates teased her about her body.

She said: ‘I would have moments when I would walk past people I thought were my best friends and no one would look at me, so I sat in the toilet for lunch.

‘It got worse after I came back from those three months in Brighton because the attitude was: “You’re going to leave anyway so we don’t need to invest our friendship in you”.’

She has previously uploaded videos on Instagram of herself singing a cover of Nothing Arrived by Villagers with her brother Paul.

Behind three talented Mescal children are two incredibly proud parents, Paul Sr. and Dearbhla.

The couple, who attended the Oscars 2023 with Paul following his nomination, are just as supportive of their other children.

Following Nell’s recent performance on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show in Ireland, ex-Garda officer Dearbhla and former teacher Paul Sr (who also dabbled in acting) were interviewed in the audience. 

Nell’s mother told the presenter: ‘This is huge… she’s just phenomenal. I’m very proud of her and she works incredibly hard.’

As Dearbhla sang her daughter’s praises, Nell, who was still on stage, wiped tears away from her face in an emotional moment. 

Paul Sr. has also previously spoken publicly of his pride for youngest son Paul, particularly following his BAFTA win for Normal People in 2021. 

Speaking on the Marty Morrissey Show on RTÉ Radio 1, he said ‘We were all quite emotional. It was a great event.’

‘That was quite an achievement alright and it’s a great buzz for us here as well.’

Last night, as Paul picked up another prestigious gong, he paid a tearful tribute to his mother in his acceptance speech.

Dearbhla previously told her followers that she was starting to ‘live with cancer’, having been diagnosed with multiple myeloma which is a type of bone marrow cancer in July 2022.

During his speech, Paul said: ‘I want to thank my parents who never said no. To my dad and mum – I hope you get better soon – thank you very much’.

He later told reporters backstage: ‘My mum and dad are at home. My mum’s unwell at the moment, so hopefully it’ll give her a little bit of a lift and dad as well who is looking after.

‘It kind of feels maybe narcissistic or egotistical to assume that that will help anything, but I hope that it does.’

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