Nicola Peltz Beckham's Latest Acting Venture Savagely Panned by Television Critics
As the bitter Beckham family feud continues to dominate headlines, Nicola Peltz Beckham has suffered a fresh professional humiliation with her latest television series receiving devastating reviews from critics across the industry. The 31-year-old actress appears in Ryan Murphy's new body-horror series The Beauty, which has been described by reviewers as offensive, dumbed down, and completely unhinged.
Scathing Critical Reception for Controversial Series
Critics who binge-watched the eleven-episode series have delivered a unanimous and brutal verdict, accusing the show of shamelessly ripping off the award-winning film The Substance while featuring what they describe as excessive and gratuitous sex and violence. Despite featuring an impressive A-list ensemble including Bella Hadid, Ashton Kutcher, Evan Peters, and Meghan Trainor, reviewers insist that star power cannot disguise what one critic bluntly labelled as shameless claptrap.
Metro's Rebecca Cook delivered one of the most devastating assessments, awarding the series just one star with a headline declaring Ryan Murphy's offensive new TV show is nearly unwatchable. She wrote extensively about her disappointment, stating she expected nonsense from the trailer and guest star list but was completely unprepared for the endurance challenge of soldiering through all eleven episodes.
Familiar Pattern of Critical Disappointment
For Nicola Peltz Beckham, this savage reception represents a depressingly familiar pattern in her acting career. The heiress, who was once described by her billionaire father as a world-famous actress in legal documents, remains arguably better known for her highly publicised romance with husband Brooklyn Beckham and her privileged background as the daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and former model Claudia Heffner.
Her acting journey began at just eleven years old in the festive flop Deck the Halls, which holds a paltry six percent rating on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Subsequent roles in The Last Airbender (derided as an abomination of cinema) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (dismissed by critics as all hype and no hope despite box office success) established a troubling pattern of critical disappointment.
Directorial Debut Similarly Criticised
The professional setbacks extend beyond acting roles. In 2024, Nicola's directorial debut Lola was torn apart by both critics and viewers, with many branding it little more than a vanity project. The then-29-year-old wrote, directed, and starred in the film, casting herself as a destitute teenage girl desperate to save money to escape a toxic home environment despite her own life of unimaginable privilege.
Reviewers blasted the film as poverty porn and a glorified commercial for Nicola herself, accusing it of exploiting deprivation for entertainment while demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of the realities it attempted to portray. Viewers expressed particular offence at what they perceived as a billionaire indulging in a dream acting role while having no genuine understanding of working-class struggles.
Awkward Timing Amid Family Feud Escalation
The bruising reception to her latest on-screen venture comes at an exceptionally awkward moment for Nicola, who finds herself under intense scrutiny amid an escalating and very public feud with her husband's famous family. Just this week, Brooklyn Beckham launched a blistering social media attack on his parents David and Victoria Beckham, airing years of grievance in a scathing six-page statement.
Among numerous allegations, Brooklyn claimed Victoria cancelled making Nicola's wedding dress at the eleventh hour, that his parents pressured him to sign away rights to his name, and that his mother hijacked his first dance with inappropriate behaviour in front of hundreds of wedding guests. He declared he had found peace and relief with Nicola after battling crippling anxiety while being controlled by a family that values public promotion above all else.
Victoria Beckham Enjoys Chart Success Amid Turmoil
While Nicola's professional endeavours face critical demolition, Victoria Beckham appears to be enjoying something of a last laugh amid the family turmoil. As the bitter row continues to grip public attention, Victoria has unexpectedly bagged her first ever solo number one through an extraordinary fan-led social media campaign.
Her 2001 single Not Such An Innocent Girl, which originally showcased Posh Spice's raunchy dance moves, has surged to number one on iTunes charts in both the UK and Ireland. More than two decades after being beaten to the top spot by Kylie Minogue, the track has racked up over 3.3 million Spotify streams with supporters rallying behind the hashtag TeamPosh, creating an ironic counterpoint to the professional criticism facing her daughter-in-law.
The contrasting fortunes highlight the complex dynamics at play within one of Britain's most famous families, where professional criticism, personal grievances, and public perception continue to intertwine in increasingly dramatic fashion.
