Emma Thompson’s daughter takes a brutal swipe at her mother’s ex-husband Kenneth Branagh after he had affair with Helena Bonham-Carter

Emma Thompson’s daughter has made a very public swipe at her mother’s ex-husband Kenneth Branagh 30 years after he had an affair with Helena Bonham-Carter.

Gaia Wise, 24, shared a meme to her 11,800 Instagram followers which had pictures of a young Emma, 65, and the Haunting of Venice star, 63, from their 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing headed up with the quote: ‘She’s everything, he’s just Ken.’

It’s the tagline from Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie which broke box office records last year and the quote is now used to describe incredible women, both real and fictional, paired with lacklustre men.

The meme is a clear dig at Kenneth’s treatment towards her mother after he had an affair with Helena Bonham-Carter, 58, while he was married to the Love Actually star, from 1989 to 1995.

They met in 1987 while filming the BBC period drama Fortunes of War and the Belfast director and Oscar-winning actress tied the knot after two years of dating.

Gaia Wise, 24, shared a meme to her 11,800 Instagram followers which had pictures of a young Emma, 65, and the Haunting of Venice star, 63, from their 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing headed up with the quote: ‘She’s everything, he’s just Ken’

It’s the tagline from Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie which broke box office records last year and the quote is now used to describe incredible women, both real and fictional, paired with lacklustre men (Margot and Ryan Gosling pictured in film)

The meme is a clear dig at Kenneth’s treatment towards her mother after he had an affair with Helena Bonham-Carter, 58, while he was married to the Love Actually star, from 1989 to 1995 (Emma and Kenneth pictured in 1994) 

They worked together several times but in 1993, Kenneth met Helena on the set of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and reflecting in 2022, Emma told The New Yorker: ‘I was utterly blind to the fact that he had relationships with other women on set.

‘What I learned was how easy it is to be blinded by your own desire to deceive yourself.’

At the time the couple blamed their split on busy work schedules in a joint statement released in 1995 but it was later revealed the Hamlet director had been cheating with Helena who he dated until 1999.

Later, all three would appear as characters in the Harry Potter franchise but never shared scenes together.

Emma played Sybill Trelawney in The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Kenneth appeared as Gilderoy Lockhart in The Chamber of Secrets and Helena played Bellatrix Lestrange in the last four films.

In the last year of her marriage to Kenneth, Emma was working on Sense and Sensibility where she met her future husband, Greg Wise, who was at that time pursuing her co-star, Kate Winslet.

The scars of Kenneth’s betrayal have remained with Emma, who said in 2018: ‘That scene in Love Actually where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it’s something everyone’s been through.

‘I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. So, I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn’t meant for me.’

They met in 1987 while filming the BBC period drama Fortunes of War and the Belfast director and Oscar-winning actress tied the knot after two years of dating (pictured at wedding)

They worked together several times but in 1993, Kenneth met Helena on the set of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, who he dated until 1999(pictured in film)

Eight years after her split from Kenneth, Emma married Greg Wise, 58, who is Gaia’s father and the pair have been together for 20 years (picture together last year)

Gaia made her acting debut in the BBC series, Silent Witness, and has been open about her near-fatal three-year struggle with anorexia which started when she was 16 and was so severe it was painful to sit on a chair (pictured last month)

Eight years after her split from Kenneth, Emma married Greg, 58, who is Gaia’s father and the pair have been together for 20 years.

Emma said: ‘Before Greg did Sense and Sensibility, he went to see a friend who was a bit witchy and she said he would meet his future partner in the film.

‘He assumed it wasn’t me because I was married and quite a lot older than him, so he thought it might be Kate.’

The Crown star took the Titanic actress, 48, on a date to the Glastonbury Music Festival but they did not click.

Greg said: ‘She [Kate] pointed out that we were right for each other and told me that Emma’s marriage was over. It was all meant to be, just as my friend Helen had predicted.’

Gaia is set to star in the new Lord Of The Rings anime feature film and will voice Princess Hera daughter of Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, who is voiced by Brian Cox.

The 24-year-old made her acting debut in the BBC series, Silent Witness, and has been open about her near-fatal three-year struggle with anorexia which started when she was 16 and was so severe it was painful to sit on a chair.