Woman who played little girl in The Holiday revealed grim phrase ‘gross old men’ still say to her nearly 20 years later

A child actor from The Holiday has discussed how ‘gross’ men comment on her looks almost two decades on from the role.

The Holiday is one of the most beloved Christmas movies from the early 2000s and is somewhat staple viewing every festive season.

The flick, directed by Academy Award nominee Nancy Meyers, chronicles the temporary life-swap between successful Los Angeles native Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Daily Telegraph journalist Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet).

The pair had been unlucky in love - with Iris’ ex-boyfriend admitting he was to be engaged to another woman while Amanda’s live-in boyfriend confessed to cheating on her.

In an attempt to salvage the Christmas holidays, the women agree to hole up in each other’s abodes. Iris headed Stateside while Amanda took up residency in Surrey.

In England is where the Hollywood executive meets Graham Simpkins (Jude Law), Iris’ charming brother who is a widower and single parent to two children, Olivia and Sophie (Emma Pritchard and Miffy Englefield, respectively).

The Holiday served as both Emma and Miffy’s film debut, with the latter going on to win roles in Casualty and ITV’s The Whistleblowers.

As well as holding the prestigious title of Jude’s fictional eldest daughter, the 25-year-old actor is now a mother herself to a daughter named Frankie.

Sophie was the eldest daughter of Jude Law's character in The Holiday (Universal Pictures)

In 2022, The Mirror reported that Miffy - whose real name is Rebecca - discussed how it felt to be known as Sophie and the comments she receives from fans of The Holiday.

Taking to TikTok at the time, the star said: "When gross old men say things like 'I'm so glad you are still as cute as you were in The Holiday' to me.

"Relating how I looked as a child to how I look as a grown a** woman makes me all kinds of creeped out idk."

In 2019, Miffy revealed her true thoughts on starring alongside Jude and Cameron in the merry movie.

Speaking to The New York Times, she said that both actors made a tumulus effort to keep herself and Emma occupied on set.

“They made all this time for these two little kids running around,” Miffy recalled, adding that they were gifted with denim jackets after finishing the movie.

Miffy also pondered what her character would be doing now if they were to ever make a sequel to The Holiday.

Miffy once opened up about comments she receives from fans of the film (Instagram/@miffyenglefield)

“[She] could be some really cool, artsy girl now. I think a lot of the cast would probably get a shock at my tattoos and piercings, but it would be lovely,” she said.

Unfortunately, in 2022, Nancy confirmed there would not be another instalment to her lauded chick-flick.

Taking to Instagram to debunk swirling sequel rumours, the director wrote: “So many DM's about this - sorry but it's not true.”

Looks like we’ll just have to watch the original, then! The Holiday is now streaming on NOW TV.