Patina Miller Says Her 9-Year-Old Daughter Is Following in Her Broadway Footsteps (Exclusive)
Patina Miller Says Her 9-Year-Old Daughter Is Following in Her Broadway Footsteps (Exclusive)
Dave QuinnSun, October 25, 2026 at 1:30 PM UTC
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Patina Miller and David Mars with their daughter, Emerson Harper, pose together in September 2026 at the opening night afterparty of ‘School Girls, Or, The African Mean Girls Play’ on BroadwayCredit: Bruce Glikas/Getty -
Patina Miller tells PEOPLE her 9-year-old daughter, Emerson, has developed a newfound passion for musical theater
Emerson appeared in a production of Aladdin this summer, amusing her Tony-winning mom with her onstage antics
Miller also shares the touching moment her daughter became mesmerized watching her rehearse Broadway’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
Patina Miller may have a budding Broadway star on her hands.
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that her 9-year-old daughter Emerson Harper has recently developed a passion for musical theater. And while Miller couldn’t be prouder, she admits her little performer still has a few things to learn about being onstage.
“This summer was the first that she was like, ‘want to be in a musical,’ ” Miller, 41, says or her only child, whom she shares with husband David Mars. “They were doing Aladdin, and she was like, ‘I have to do Aladdin! I have to be in the show.’ ”
That newfound enthusiasm marked a change for Emerson. Despite growing up surrounded by the performing arts thanks to her mother’s celebrated career, the youngster had previously shown more interest in listening to musicals than performing in them.
“She loves music so she was always focused on that. Certain scores — like, she loves Into the Woods,” Miller says of the Stephen Sondheim musical, in which she played the Witch at the Hollywood Bowl in 2019 and later on Broadway in 2022. “She’s been listening to that music for a very long time, so it’s really ingrained in her memory. But now this summer was when she was like, ‘Oh, I need to learn my lines and my costumes.’ ”
Patina Miller on opening night for Broadway’s ‘Into the Woods’ in July 2022Credit: Bruce Glikas/Getty
When the time came for Emerson to take the stage in Aladdin, Miller found herself offering a little professional advice. During the performance, the young actress became so excited that she began giving her mother instructions from the stage about what to photograph in the middle of “Friend Like Me.”
“She was giving me directions from the audience while she was supposed to be in the piece,” Miller recalls with a laugh. “It was a moment for me where I was like, ‘Okay, mommy’s a professional here. I got to tell you, you have to be in the moment. You can’t be on stage and telling me where to point the camera!’ ”
Her daughter, however, had a very important reason for wanting those pictures: She hoped her mother would share them with Broadway actor Michael James Scott, who played the Genie in Aladdin and is a close friend of Miller’s.
“[Emerson’s] like, ‘You need to photograph. You need to show this. You need to show this to your friend who’s the Genie,’ ” Miller remembers. “Show this to the Genie!’ ”
Michael James Scott and Michael Maliakel perform a number from Broadway’s ‘Aladdin’ on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ in November 2021Credit: James Devaney/GC Images
And the theater bug hasn’t stopped there.
Miller, who is currently starring in the Broadway premiere of Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, says returning to Broadway has given her a special opportunity to introduce Emmerson to the world she loves. “One of the great pleasures of now having a kid and being able to come back to the theater is bringing her into the space and watching her experience all of these things,” she says.
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That became especially apparent when Miller brought her daughter to a rehearsal shortly before the production moved into the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
At first, Miller assumed her daughter would entertain herself while the cast worked. “She wanted to be on her iPad when I had to bring her to rehearsal, and I was like, ‘Let me set her up on the side. She’ll be fine,’” she recalls.
But once the actresses began working through an intense scene, something unexpected happened. “We started acting, and we started doing the really big part of part three, and I thought that she was going to be bored,” Miller says. “Next thing you know, as we’re acting and doing stuff, I see her off to the side standing close to basically where we’re performing.”
Her daughter, she says, was mesmerized. “It was this first experience of me as a mother and a performer seeing my daughter love what I do and love and appreciate,” Miller explains.
The cast of ‘School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play’ on BroadwayCredit: Matthew Murphy
The moment left a lasting impression on Emerson, who immediately began asking to return.
“Then she was obsessed and was like, ‘Can I come to rehearsal? Can I come to rehearsal?’ ” Miller says. “She’s obsessed with these girls. She loves being here.”
For Miller, whose Broadway career began 15 years ago with Sister Act and later included a Tony-winning turn in Pippin, watching her daughter discover the magic of theater has brought an entirely new dimension to her own work.
And while it’s too early to know whether her daughter will eventually pursue a career onstage, Miller is clearly enjoying every moment of sharing her passion with her.
“To see her discovering something that has brought me so much joy, and to experience that through her eyes, it’s really beautiful,” Miller says. “As a mom, you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Tickets for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, which runs through Nov. 15, are now on sale.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
