Eliot Sumner is a carbon copy of his famous father when he was young: the same slanted eyes, the same deep gaze, the same halo of mystery. However, when talking about children of celebrities who, with the path paved, tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps, their name does not appear frequently. Perhaps that is why that girl who, for the love of music, launched herself as a singer at the age of 15 under the name Coco surprised both the public and critics with her role as Freddie Miles in Ripley (2024), one of Netflix’s latest great hits. Who is Eliot Sumner, Sting’s non-binary son?
On July 30, 1990, British musician Sting and English actress Trudie Styler welcomed their second daughter into the world. The little girl opened her eyes for the first time in Pisa, Italy, and on her document, in addition to her Italian nationality, her name appeared: Eliot Paulina Sumner. She was the fourth heir of the former leader of The Police, who already had two children from his first marriage to British actress Frances Tomelty. The relationship between her parents began with a scandal: Frances and Trudie were friends, Trudie had a hidden affair with Sting, and the divorce came with Frances pregnant. Far from the predictions of those who predicted a fleeting romance, they eventually became one of the strongest couples in the industry, forming a large family of six.
As with the rest of her siblings, two from Sting’s first marriage and three more from Sting and his mother Trudie, Coco grew up under the wing of a British rock star and an actress. The influence of her parents gave visible results: at a very young age she had already taught herself to play the piano and guitar, and she devoured the books of Aldous Huxley and TS Eliot, to whom she owes her name. She also really liked listening to ABBA songs. Some time later, at the age of 15, she turned music into her profession and formed her first band: Coco and the Ladyboys, then Blame Coco. Record companies immediately set their eyes on that irreverent young woman: Darcus Beese, from Island Records, made him sign a contract in 2017. He also recorded songs as a solo artist and started a career as a DJ under the pseudonym Vaal. Since Sumner discovered his passion for music, he never stopped writing and composing.
Eliot Sumner met the flashbulbs
Coco, Eliot, Sting’s daughter, opened the door to world fame thanks to fashion, a world she arrived in 2013 almost accidentally and with the help of a musician. “I started working with a guy named Clint Mansell, who only dresses in black, and I thought he was cool, so I started wearing black too,” she revealed in a note that was published in the magazine Vogue in 2016, in reference to the composer of, among other pieces, the film Requiem for a Dream. At that moment, Coco found a style in which she began to feel more and more comfortable. She also became one of the most sought after models for those brands that aimed to exploit androgynous aesthetics.
Hypnotic and elegant, since her arrival in fashion, Eliot was a recurring figure in the front row seats at the most important fashion shows in the luxury industry: Dior HommeAlexa Chung, Prada and Stella McCartney had her as one of their central figures. She also covered the covers of the most prominent magazines with her image and led her advertising campaigns with her attitude: she was the image of Armani Exchange and of Burberry. Calvin Klein summoned her for a special challenge: to represent the values of her famous perfume CK One. Some time later, the star himself confessed that he did all of this to earn his own money and release his new albums.
Eliot Sumner escaped the labels
Once she managed to establish herself as a model, Sumner used her particular style and her reach to the public as a springboard to tell who she really was: a non-binary person, someone who does not identify with any of the established genders. In a talk with the magazine GQ, explained that the concern was always there. “Like anyone who struggled with not identifying with any gender, this started from day one. The whirlwind is like a war with yourself, because most people are happy to live in a divided world with few options, but those of us who question it wonder why it has to be this way… We have asked ourselves since day one and the fight It was forever,” he reflected.
When the journalist asked him how he learned to love himself, Eliot used humor to escape unscathed. “I’m British, I can never say anything good about myself. Being comfortable in our skin takes time. It has to do with accepting yourself and thus finding happiness. That happened to me about a year ago and I am very at peace. The most important thing is to stop seeking other people’s approval; The greatest harm you can do to yourself is to live for others. Since I learned that lesson, my perspective on life changed,” he said.
Eliot Sumner gave an interview to Netflix in which he stated that he will always sing, but that in acting he finds a safe space where he can express things that need to be ‘exorcised’.
‘Ripley’, a supreme experience for Eliot Sumner
Music was not enough of an escape route for an artistically and emotionally restless young woman: in 2007, she tried acting in a small role in the film Stardust. Her experience was not strange to her: as a child she already visited her film sets with her mother. After a hiatus, she returned to the screen in 2019 in The Knights, by Guy Ritchie; appeared in the James Bond film No time to die (2021) and was part of the cast of deadly storm (2022). Until the character of Freddie Miles came into his life in Ripley and everything changed.
“I have always made music and I will always make music,” he confessed in an interview he gave to the platform portal. streaming. “But I think if you do that full time you can’t escape yourself. Performance, on the other hand, is a safe space to explore and express things that need to be exorcised,” she explained. Freddie Miles, “an elegant boy from a boarding school who lives abroad and is unapologetically wealthy,” in Sumner’s own words, served as an initiatory experience for him to feel on solid ground and choose to move forward.
Since he began speaking to the press, Sumner always showed pride in his parents. Measured with words, he never referred to the statements of the former leader of The Police, who confessed on several occasions that he does not plan to leave any inheritance for his children. “We protect each other. “We are very close,” he confessed about his family some time ago. So much so that the composer once even appeared like a guardian angel at a critical moment in his life.
In May 2009, Coco Sumner’s name went around the world: while she was having dinner with a friend at a restaurant in Los Angeles, California, United States, she fainted. Her bad luck caused her head to hit a chair when she fell. As revealed by the newspaper Guardian, the young woman refused any type of treatment while she was taken to the hospital, until Sting himself, who was just in that country, ran to see her and asked her to please let the doctors work. “I was shocked. She couldn’t remember anything. Only my father intervened and said: ‘If you don’t leave them, you will die,’” Sumner told the English newspaper. Coco managed to overcome the bad moment. And Sting was there to make sure of it.
The Future of Eliot Sumner
The next challenge on the agenda for Eliot Sumner, 33, is Cry Wolf, a Swedish action thriller series in which he will play the lead role. It is, in her words, a project that she could not have achieved without “the impulse” that having acted in Ripley. “Everything about the show was just amazing,” Sumner said. “I really enjoyed every day and loved working with the team. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
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