Beyoncé and Jay-Z 'Weren't Involved' in Blue Ivy GettingMufasaRole, Says Director: 'I Just Really Loved Her Voice' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jay-Z and Beyoncé and Blue Ivy.Photo:Monica Schipper/WireImage; Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Kevin Winter/Getty

Monica Schipper/WireImage; Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Kevin Winter/Getty

Blue Ivy Carter, 12, is booked and busy and it’s not just because of her parents.

While at theMufasa: The Lion KingL.A. premiere on Monday, Dec. 9, directorBarry Jenkins,45, revealed that while it’s easy to assume the pre-teen got her role in the film because ofBeyoncéandJay-Z, that’s not entirely the case.

“Her parents weren’t involved in her booking this film,” he told PEOPLE exclusively.

“You know, she had read this book, this audiobookHair Lovewith 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 explained.

Blue Ivy Carter at the “Mufasa: The Lion King” premiere.Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

“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.”

As for what it was like getting to direct her, it seems Blue Ivy has adopted her parents' work ethic.

“It was great working with her,” raved Jenkins. “She came extremely prepared.”

Blue Ivyworked onHair Loveback in 2020. The book tells the touching story of a Black father who learns how to do his young daughter’s hair while his wife is in the hospital. As the young protagonist soon finds out, her father isn’t quite sure what to do with her locks — but they work together to find a solution.

The animated film adaptation of the book also won an Oscar the same year.

Barry Jenkins attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King”.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

He continued, “I thought it was this really great magic trick, that only Disney could do that. And to be entrusted to do that for another generation, for that same generation, it’s a dream come true.”

The Knowles-Carter clanwas on handto support the budding star at the big premiere on Monday night. Both Beyoncé and Jay-Z walked the carpet with their firstborn and were also seen cheering her on from the sidelines. Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles was also on hand for her granddaughter’s big night.

Beyonce and Blue Ivy Carter.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Mufasa: The Lion Kingcomes out in theaters on Dec. 20. The film — which also starsAaron Pierre,Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani,Seth Rogen,Billy Eichner,Anika Noni Roseamong others — features music fromLin-Manuel Miranda.

source: people.com