Director Jon M. Chu and his wife, Kristin Hodge, expanded their family by one more, welcoming the birth of their daughter on Nov. 9.
Her birth coincided with another big moment in Chu’s life: the Los Angeles premiere of “Wicked,” a musical fantasy film he directed that was produced by Universal Pictures, which is owned by NBCUniversal, TODAY’s parent company.
Chu shared a “special magical announcement” on his Instagram stories, posting a photo of a green and black friendship bracelet placed on a tray table in the hospital that read “defy gravity.”
“This movie has always moved in mysterious ways,” he wrote on the image. “Today is a day I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. Two babies (a movie and a little girl) all at one time and I truly couldn’t be happier.”
Chu announced that he would be missing the premiere of “Wicked” that evening due to a “change of plans at about 4am this morning.”
“Instead my wife and I will be welcoming our 5th child into our family and no we will not be naming her Galphaba,” the director added.
Chu encouraged fans to “send all the love to our insanely talented cast and crew tonight,” adding, “They deserve it and send a little extra welcome to my little girl bursting her bubble and coming into our world any moment now.”
“If she can even have a fraction of the bravery that my wife, @cynthiaerivo, @arianagrande, @michelleyeoh_official or @marissa_edob has then she too will defy gravity one day,” he wrote.
Chu shared several more posts on his Instagram stories, including a snap of his suit for the premiere still in its garment bag.
“Should I just wear the suit for the birth?” he joked in the caption of the photo.
In another frame, he shared a video featuring Ariana Grande’s brother, Frankie Grande, with one simple message for Hodge: “Push!”
“Thank you @frankiegrande and fam for the message of encouragement for my wife over here as we watch the live feed at @wickedmovie,” Chu wrote.
Chu also gave fans a first glimpse of his newborn daughter, sharing a sweet video of his wife holding their baby on her chest in the hospital. The video was fittingly set to a piano rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
“I can’t believe this happened while the movie is premiering. Magic is in the air,” Chu wrote on the video. “Happy Premiere Day!! Welcome to our world, you’re gonna do great. You have a lot of witches on your side.”
In addition to their newborn daughter, Chu and Hodge are parents to four other children:
Willow
, 7,
Jonathan Heights
, 5,
Ruby
, 3 and
Iggy
, 1.
Chu previously told
Extra
at the 2024 WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards in October that his newborn daughter was his “third kid during ‘Wicked,’” joking that he had “been working on this for a while,” since
signing on in 2021
.
“I’ve just finished the movie, so I’m sort of just letting everything go and just starting to enjoy it,” he told the outlet. “I have a new baby coming, so in my head, that’s what I’m focused on. She could come any day now. It’s going to be a little daughter.”
He added, “I could leave tonight — you never know — so we got to get this thing started.”
Despite Chu’s absence, the “Wicked” premiere went off without a hitch, with the movie’s stars glimmering on the red carpet in their on theme ensembles.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo embraced their characters Glinda and Elphaba for the occasion.
Grande opted for a white and pink checkered tea-length dress paired with a matching bolero jacket, gloves, and a hair bow. Erivo stunned in a a bright green vinyl cut-out gown paired with a green fringe shrug and statement jewelry.
The actors also took a moment
to pose with Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel
, who originated the roles on Broadway.
Grande and Erivo also posed with Jonathan Bailey, who portrays Fiyero in the film, on the carpet, with the “Bridgerton” star wearing a silver sequin shirt paired with white pants.
Michelle Yeoh, who plays Madame Morrible, was photographed at the premiere wearing a black beaded long-sleeved gown accessorized with a statement necklace, bearing resemblance to a snake.
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