John Elordi: Jacob Elordi’s Father, Family, and Basque Roots
John Elordi is Jacob Elordi’s dad. He was born in the Basque Country, came to Australia when he was eight, and has spent his working life as a housepainter in Brisbane. He also built the family home himself, which took him 13 years. He and his wife Melissa raised four kids in it.
He isn’t an actor, and he isn’t the John Elordi in a Basque museum record. Reports say he once told Jacob acting was a one-in-a-million shot. Jacob took that as a challenge, and in March 2026 he walked the Oscars red carpet with his mom. Below is what’s actually confirmed, and what nobody has been able to verify.
Quick Facts About Jacob Elordi’s Father
The table covers what reliable outlets have reported. Anything marked “not public” has no confirmed source.
| Detail | What is known |
| Full name | John Elordi |
| Known as | Father of actor Jacob Elordi |
| Profession | Housepainter |
| Heritage | Basque, from the area between Spain and France |
| Reported birthplace | Markina-Xemein, Bizkaia |
| Moved to Australia | At age eight |
| Home | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Spouse | Melissa Elordi |
| Children | Four: Jacob and three older sisters |
| Age | Not public |
| Height | Not public |
| Net worth | No verified figure |
| Social media | No verified account |
Who Is John Elordi?
John is a Basque-born housepainter living in Brisbane. He’s married to Melissa and they have four children, Jacob being the youngest. He’s never worked in film or TV.
Most people look him up because of Jacob, who broke out in 2018 with Netflix’s The Kissing Booth, then played Nate on HBO’s Euphoria and starred in Saltburn and Priscilla. This year the Academy nominated him for Best Supporting Actor for Frankenstein. Once a name like that blows up, people start asking who raised him.
Not the Same Person: Other People Named Elordi
Elordi is a common Basque surname, so John isn’t the only one. The Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise, Idaho, has a John Elordi in its records, dated 1917 to 2008. I couldn’t find anything connecting him to Jacob’s father.
Some low-quality sites make it worse. A few call John a rising Hollywood actor, and others hand him Jacob’s birth date, June 26, 1997. Neither is true.
Early Life and Basque Roots
The Basque Country sits across northern Spain and southwestern France, and its people have their own language, Euskara. Bizkaia (Biscay) is one of its Spanish provinces. Jacob once described his dad’s homeland to GQ as “a little place between France and Spain.”
According to Buber’s Basque Page, John was born in Markina-Xemein, in Bizkaia. His father, Joaquín Elordi, was from the coastal town of Ondarroa. Joaquín worked the sugar cane fields when he first reached Australia and saved up until he could bring his family over, John included.
Jacob is firm about where he comes from. When Wikipedia called his ancestry Spanish, he corrected it: he’s Basque. In 2022 he told interviewers he’s “super proud of that heritage.”
What Does John Elordi Do for a Living?
People and TODAY both describe him as a housepainter. Nearly every profile also mentions the house: John built the family home himself over 13 years.
Reports flip between past and present tense, so it isn’t clear whether he’s still painting or has retired. Who he works for, if anyone, hasn’t been made public.
Jacob brings up his dad’s work a lot. In August 2022 he said his father gave him toughness and a work ethic, and called him the model of the man he wants to be.
Marriage and Family Life With Melissa Elordi
Melissa is Australian and, according to People, stayed home to raise the kids. Jacob told GQ in 2020 that she volunteered in his school lunchroom every single day just to spend time with him. Nobody reliable has reported how she and John met or when they married.
She’s a big fan of her son’s work. Jacob says both his parents own T-shirts printed with nearly every character he’s played. When Nate got arrested in the first season of Euphoria, Melissa phoned him, upset. Jacob jokes that she sees the character as him.
She’s now a regular on red carpets too. People reported she went with Jacob to the Gotham Film Awards in December and the Golden Globes in January 2026.
The Elordi Children
People and Grazia both say John and Melissa have four children. Jacob is the youngest, with three older sisters who, as he told GQ, are quite a bit older than him.
Jacob Elordi
Born June 26, 1997, in Brisbane. He’s 29 as of October 2026. After The Kissing Booth made him a name in 2018 came Euphoria, Saltburn and Priscilla, then the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which brought the Oscar nomination. Wuthering Heights came out on February 13, 2026.
Isabella Elordi
One of Jacob’s older sisters. Grazia reports she danced at the Australian Ballet School. There isn’t much public detail beyond that.
Jalynn Elordi
Several profiles list Jalynn as another older sister.
The Third Sister
People and Grazia confirm three sisters, but only Isabella gets named in the coverage I read, and I couldn’t find a reliable source for the third. A few reference pages mention an older brother, but the names change from page to page, so treat that as unverified.
READ MORE : Bayard Martensen: Age, Career, Family and Brothers
Age and Height
John’s birth date isn’t public, and no reliable outlet has printed it. The one clue is that he moved to Australia at eight, so he was born abroad.
His height isn’t public either. Jacob is about 6’5″ by most accounts, but that doesn’t tell you much about his dad.
Life in Brisbane
John and Melissa raised their kids in Brisbane, and the house John built is at the heart of the family story. Jacob grew up in a working-class home and played rugby at school until a back injury steered him toward acting.
After the first Kissing Booth film Jacob moved to Los Angeles, but his parents stayed in Australia. When the Oscar nominations came out in January 2026, John watched from home. Reports say he put a bottle of champagne on ice beforehand, then called Jacob after midnight to celebrate.
How He Raised a Future Star
John was realistic about acting. He told the Daily Mail in March 2022 that he’d warned Jacob it was a one-in-a-million chance. Jacob, as he tells it, replied with total confidence and asked why he couldn’t be that one.
John also pushed for a backup plan. Jacob joked that his Plan B was the Oscars, and then, in 2026, he got nominated for Frankenstein.
Melissa took the opposite side. Jacob told Jimmy Kimmel in January 2026 that she believed in him the whole way. When he was 15 he promised she’d be his date to the Oscars.
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John Elordi in the Public Eye
John almost never shows up on camera, and his most famous moment was an accident. In January 2022, Jacob was on a video call with the Today show about Euphoria season two when Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager noticed people on the bed in the mirror behind him. Jacob turned the camera around to show his parents. Melissa dove into the pillows.
Melissa went with Jacob to the 98th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026. The Nightly and Grazia focused on her, and I didn’t find any report of John on the red carpet. Sean Penn took Best Supporting Actor, though Frankenstein still won for costume design, makeup and hairstyling, and production design.
No major outlet has linked to an official social media account for John. Any page claiming to be his is probably a fan or fake account.
What Jacob Elordi Has Said About His Father
Whenever Jacob talks about his dad, it’s with affection. A few things he’s said:
- Work ethic: In August 2022 he said his father taught him toughness and the value of hard work.
- Role model: He called his dad a model of the man he wants to be.
- Films: He told GQ that John can’t always place his movies. John once asked whether a film was the one where Jacob plays an American, and Jacob answered that he plays an American in all of them.
- Heritage: In 2022 he said he’s proud of his Basque roots.
- Plan B: He joked that his backup plan, the one his dad pushed for, was the Oscars.
Net Worth
There’s no verified figure for John’s net worth. He’s a private citizen and doesn’t share his earnings. One biography site says about $200,000 but doesn’t cite anything, so take it as a guess. What we do know is that he made his living painting and built his own house.
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Rumors and Confirmed Facts
Most of the wrong information about John gets copied from page to page. Here’s how the common claims hold up.
| Claim | What the record shows |
| John is an actor | Major outlets describe him as a housepainter. His son Jacob is the actor. |
| John was born in 1997 | June 26, 1997 is Jacob’s birth date. John’s birth date is not public. |
| John is the Elordi who lived from 1917 to 2008 | A Boise museum record lists that man. No source links him to Jacob’s father. |
| Jacob has an older brother | People and Grazia describe three older sisters. Some pages list a brother with changing names. |
| John’s net worth is $200,000 | One biography site says so with no source. No verified figure exists. |
| John has an Instagram account | No major outlet has linked to an official account. |
Frequently Asked Questions About John Elordi
Who is Jacob Elordi’s father?
John Elordi, a Basque-born housepainter from Brisbane. He’s married to Melissa Elordi and they have four children. People and TODAY both confirm this.
Is John Elordi an actor?
No. People, TODAY and Grazia all describe him as a housepainter. Jacob is the actor, and some sloppy sites mix the two up.
Where is John Elordi from?
The Basque Country. Buber’s Basque Page says he was born in Markina-Xemein, in Bizkaia. He came to Australia at eight and settled in Brisbane.
Who is John’s wife?
Melissa Elordi, an Australian who stayed home with the kids. She went to the 2026 Oscars with Jacob, keeping a promise he made when he was 15.
How many children does John have?
Four. Jacob is the youngest and has three older sisters, per People and Grazia. Isabella is the only one they name.
What is John’s net worth?
No reliable source says. One site claims about $200,000 with no source, so treat it as a guess.
Conclusion
John Elordi is a Basque-born housepainter from Brisbane. He came to Australia at eight, spent 13 years building his family’s home, and raised four children with Melissa. People and TODAY back up all of that.
He’s not an actor, and he’s not the Elordi in the Boise museum record. He told his son acting was a long shot, then supported him all the way to an Oscar nomination. His age, height and net worth aren’t public, so stick to major outlets and treat unsourced numbers as guesses.
