Blue Ivy Carter is gradually making a name for herself in the entertainment industry, and it appears the 12-year-old is doing that with little or no help from her superstar parents Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
During the L.A. premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King on Monday, the movie’s director, Barry Jenkins, told PEOPLE that Blue Ivy’s superstar parents were not involved in their daughter landing her role, though it was normal to feel they had a hand in it.
“Her parents weren’t involved in her booking this film,” Jenkins, 45, revealed. “You know, she had read this book, this audiobook Hair Love with my friend Matthew Cherry. And I just really loved her voice. Because [when] this movie begins, it’s all voices. I could just tell that she was going to bring this really wonderful innocence, but also the knowingness of a highly evolved child,” he added.
“And she is… the children in the audience, they’re going to see themselves in the character she plays, Kiara. She just brought all the complexity that it demanded.”
Blue Ivy voices Kiara the lioness cub in Mufasa while her mother Beyoncé voices Nala, a role that the renowned singer and actress reprises. “It was great working with her,” Jenkins said about working with Blue Ivy. “She came extremely prepared.”
Blue Ivy attended the star-studded premiere with her parents and her grandmother Tina Knowles. During the event, Beyoncé also emotionally spoke about how proud she was of her daughter in a behind-the-scenes video posted by Good Morning America.
“Seeing Blue as Kiara and hearing her voice come out of that character — give me a second because I can’t believe that’s my baby… That’s so amazing,” the Cowboy Carter singer said. “It was really hard to focus and do my job after that. I was like, ‘Wait, hold up, guys, y’all gotta give me a second. I have to digest that.’ I’m so proud of her.”
