Phoebe Elizabeth Kay is the eldest daughter of British television hosts Tess Daly and Vernon Kay. She was born on October 17, 2004, and is now studying acting and film. At 21, she has a short list of screen credits and a life she rarely discusses in public.
Most people search her name after spotting her in a photo with her mother, or after Tess Daly teased a joint project in August 2026. This guide covers what is verified about her age, family, training and early work, and it says plainly where public information runs out.
Phoebe Elizabeth Kay Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Phoebe Elizabeth Kay |
| Also Known As | Phoebe Kay |
| Date of Birth | October 17, 2004 |
| Age | 21 (turns 22 on October 17, 2026) |
| Birthplace | Westminster, London (reported by Famous Birthdays only) |
| Parents | Tess Daly and Vernon Kay |
| Sister | Amber Isabella Kay (born May 30, 2009) |
| Profession | Acting student and aspiring actor |
| Training | Stella Adler Studio of Acting and New York Film Academy (per the Express); film and television at university (per HELLO!) |
| Screen Credits | Background roles in Almost Never (2022) and The Blame (2025); appeared as herself on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X (2016) |
| @phoebeekay (reported by Celebrity Figures) | |
| Net Worth | Not publicly confirmed |
| Relationship Status | Not publicly confirmed |
Who Phoebe Is and Why People Look Her Up
Phoebe is known first through her parents. Tess Daly has been with Strictly Come Dancing since its 2004 start. She left at the end of the 2025 series. Strictly is the BBC show that inspired Dancing with the Stars. Celebrities are paired with professional dancers, scored by judges and voted on by viewers.
Vernon Kay is a BBC Radio 2 host. He grew up in Bolton, England, and also hosted Family Fortunes, the British version of Family Feud.
Their daughter has not followed either of them into presenting. Attention around her comes from family photos at public events, her mother’s Instagram posts, and her steady move into acting and film.
Phoebe Elizabeth Kay’s Age, Birthday, and Birthplace
Phoebe was born on October 17, 2004, so she is 21 years old and turns 22 on October 17, 2026. Her mother’s IMDb biography lists the date, and Famous Birthdays gives the same one.
Famous Birthdays also lists Westminster, London, as her birthplace. The outlets reviewed for this guide do not repeat that detail, so treat it as reported, not confirmed.
Growing Up Between Two Public Careers
Her parents met in 2001, when Vernon Kay hosted T4 and Tess Daly worked on the rival show SMTV. They married on September 12, 2003, and Phoebe arrived the following year. Her sister, Amber Isabella Kay, was born on May 30, 2009.
The family has kept both girls largely out of the spotlight. HELLO! has called Phoebe rarely seen, and said the public got a proper look at her when she turned 18 in October 2022. Her parents have also been patrons of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity since 2007.
Two small public moments stand out. In 2016, at 11 or 12, she appeared as herself on The Chris Moyles Show, a Radio X podcast series listed on IMDb. In 2020, Vernon Kay finished third on the UK reality show I’m a Celebrity, which filmed in a Welsh castle that year. He said Phoebe, then 16, told him everything that had happened in camp.
As she grew older, she appeared at a few events with her parents. HELLO! ran a photo of her with Vernon Kay at the Vanity Fair EE BAFTA Rising Star Party, a British film-industry party tied to the BAFTA awards, the UK counterpart to the Oscars. Nothing in those reports describes her working at the event.
Education and Acting Training
Reports on where Phoebe studies do not fully match, and that matters if you need to cite her background. HELLO! says she went to university to study film and television. The Express reports she is currently studying at the New York Film Academy and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
Both can be true. University coursework and acting classes often overlap or follow each other, but none of the sources reviewed lays out her timeline, degree, or graduation date. Celebrity Figures says she reported finishing her first year of film and television in 2024, which is the closest thing to a dated milestone.
The Stella Adler Studio carries real weight in acting circles. Stella Adler founded it in 1949, and it is based at 65 Broadway in New York City. Its alumni include Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro.
Leaving home for study was an emotional step for her mother. Tess Daly told HELLO! she cried quietly on the drive back after dropping Phoebe off, because Phoebe is her first-born. The detail also confirms that Phoebe moved away to study, which most profile pages skip.
Screen Credits So Far
Her screen record is small. Her Backstage profile lists background roles in Almost Never (2022) and The Blame (2025), according to the Express. IMDb credits her only for the 2016 radio appearance. Background work means non-speaking parts, a common first step for a young actor learning how a set runs.
Behind the Camera or in Front of It
HELLO! reports that Phoebe prefers to stay behind the scenes, even though both parents work on camera. The Express calls her an aspiring actor. A YouTube video summary says she is carving her own path while studying film and traveling, but the description does not quote her, so treat it with caution.
These accounts fit together once you separate presenting from acting and filmmaking. Her parents are hosts, a job built on being yourself on air. Phoebe’s training points toward playing characters and understanding how scenes get made. Celebrity Figures adds that she has shown interest in production and editing too, though it names no interview behind that claim.
That is a gap on most pages about her. They call her private and stop there, without explaining what she is actually training to do.
Working With Tess Daly in 2026
On August 5, 2026, Tess Daly shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse on Instagram, captioned as a twist on bring-your-daughter-to-work day, saying she was now working alongside Phoebe. Neither has publicly said what the project is. Yahoo News reported that she stopped short of revealing it, and friends including Strictly co-host Claudia Winkleman and TV personality Vicky Pattison replied warmly.
The timing sits inside a year of change for the family. Tess and Claudia Winkleman hosted their final live Strictly show on December 20, 2025. Tess and Vernon then co-hosted The One Show on BBC One on February 25, 2026, their first joint hosting stint in nearly 20 years. In May, they announced an amicable separation after more than two decades of marriage, and they continue to co-parent.
The Express describes the two as on good terms, noting that Vernon Kay regularly promotes her swimwear label, Naia Beach, on Instagram.
Is Phoebe Elizabeth Kay a Celebrity in Her Own Right
Not in the way her parents are. Phoebe has one listed screen credit on IMDb, a 2016 radio appearance as herself, and a Backstage profile with two background roles. Her name draws searches because of her family, and press coverage almost always leads with her parents.
That can change quickly if the project with Tess Daly turns out to be on-screen work. For now, the more accurate label is a young actor in training from a well-known family. Describing her as a TV personality would overstate the record.
A Short Timeline of Phoebe Kay’s Life So Far
| Date / Year | Life Event |
|---|---|
| October 17, 2004 | Phoebe is born to Tess Daly and Vernon Kay. |
| May 30, 2009 | Her sister, Amber, is born. |
| 2016 | She appears as herself on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X. |
| 2020 | Her father finishes third on I’m a Celebrity, with Phoebe, 16, cheering him on. |
| 2022 | She turns 18 in October and has a background role in Almost Never. |
| 2024 | She says she has finished her first year of film and television studies. |
| 2025 | She has a background role in The Blame, and her mother leaves Strictly in December. |
| May 2026 | Her parents announce an amicable separation. |
| August 5, 2026 | Tess Daly says she is working alongside Phoebe. |
Parents and Sister at a Glance
Tess Daly was born on March 29, 1969, and started out as a model before moving into presenting. She hosted Strictly from the show’s first season and, with Winkleman, formed the first female presenting duo on primetime TV when they paired up in 2014. Vernon Kay was born on April 28, 1974, in Bolton, and was scouted by a modeling agency before his television career began.
Amber, 17, is Phoebe’s younger sister. HELLO! notes she stayed away from cameras even when her mother received an MBE, a British honor, at Windsor Castle.
Instagram and Name Mix-Ups
Celebrity Figures reports her Instagram handle as @phoebeekay, under the name Phoebe Kay. Check it against tagged posts from her mother’s account before sharing it, since imitation accounts are common around relatives of famous people.
The same report notes that a Facebook profile for Phoebe Kay, also called Phoebe Moyer, belongs to a different person. Searching just Phoebe Kay returns many unrelated people, so adding her parents’ names narrows results fast.
Net Worth, Relationships, and What Is Not Public
No reliable source publishes a net worth for Phoebe, and no confirmed earnings from acting exist. Any figure on a bio site without a named source is a guess, and this guide does not repeat one.
None of the sources reviewed for this guide report her relationship status, and no public statement from her or her family turned up. This guide leaves it there.
What Her Story Adds to the Family Name
Phoebe is not an established public figure, so her influence is modest and should be described that way. What makes her worth following is the path: a child of two on-air hosts who is training at acting schools and building credits from the bottom, with background roles first.
There is also a New York thread. Her mother lived in New York for five years early in her career and began interviewing celebrities at events there after buying a video camera. A generation later, Phoebe is training at a New York acting school.
Until the August 2026 project is named, the public record of her career stays short, and anything beyond background roles and training is still unconfirmed.