Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s REAL Bond Girl: Inside ‘new 007 star’s’ fiercely private marriage to filmmaker and mother-of-four Sam who has battled cancer twice – after pair met when he was just 18 and she was 42

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has reportedly been formally offered the opportunity to play James Bond – taking over from Daniel Craig for the next films.

And the actor’s real Bond Girl is his wife Sam, 57, who is 24 years his senior and a  British film director and artist – with the pair having a fiercely private relationship. 

Actor Aaron, 33, met the filmmaker, 58, on the set of Nowhere Boy in 2009 and they share daughters Wylda Rae, 13, and Romy Hero 11, as well as Angelica, 26, and Jessie, 16, from Sam’s previous marriage to art dealer Jay Jopling.

When they first met on the film Aaron was just 18 and Sam was 42. They didn’t get together until after they finished the project where a ‘deep connection’ was formed. 

Sam has enjoyed a hugely successful filmmaking career with films such as Fifty Shades of Grey and has also directed the upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black.

But she has also faced a fair amount of personal turmoil – having battled cancer twice. 

In December 1997, at age 30, she was treated for colon cancer. Then in 2000, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She practices yoga and meditation, of which she has previously said: ‘I wouldn’t be able to survive everything without the meditation that I do. It’s what I think has made me able to cope with the madness.’

Sam was born in Croydon and grew up near Streatham Common in south London, with her younger sister Ashley and her mother Geraldine and father David.

Her father left the family when she was nine which she has previously described as a ‘sudden, very weird and abrupt’ split. She didn’t see her dad for the next 10 years.

Sam went to Beacon Community College in East Sussex and later attended Goldsmiths, University of London.

She then began exhibiting fine-art photography in the early 1990s and began working on her filmmaking with short videos during this time. 

She was nominated for the Turner prize in 1998, and was the winner of Most Promising Artist award at the 1997 Venice Biennale.

She then moved further into filmmaking and in August 2008, was chosen to direct Nowhere Boy, a biopic about the childhood of John Lennon. She was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA for the film. 

Last year Aaron gave a rare insight into their marriage and touched on their ‘creative partnership’. 

Speaking to Esquire the Kick-Ass star said despite collaborating with Sam on three films he ‘doesn’t think it’s accurate’ to suggest the couple’s relationship is rooted in their creative partnership.

Saying: ‘Yeah, we worked—I met Sam as actor and director. I think we’re really great at collaborating. But that’s not why I fell in love with her’.

Elsewhere in the conversation he discussed the couple’s home life and his shock that his children were already teenagers.

The family moved back to the UK from Los Angeles in 2022 and have since settled in Somerset where Aaron said he has pigs and bees and ‘loves’ life in the country.

The Bullet Train star also spoke about his upcoming acting gigs after originally opting to work less stay to home with his children when they were younger.

Saying: ‘I wanted, purely, to be with my babies, I didn’t want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like.’ 

He later admitted to the interviewer: ‘I’ve probably talked to you more about my kids and Sam than I have with anybody. I’ve got really nothing to hide, and I’m secure in what we have. But I’m not going to unlock things that are actually precious to me.’

Aaron has also previously touched on their age gap which has come under scrutiny in the past. 

He said: ‘I’ve got really nothing to hide, and I’m secure in what we have. But I’m not going to unlock things that are actually precious to me.

‘I don’t really analyze our relationship. I just know that it works. I just feel secure and loved and safe. We have this very deep connection. We’re just in sync.’ 

Before Aaron Sam was married to art dealer Jay. They tied the knot in 1997 and had two daughters together, born in April 1997 and 2005, respectively.

In September 2008, the couple announced that they were separating amicably after 11 years of marriage.

Sam found out about her colon cancer at the end of 1997 – the same year she married Jay and welcomed their first daughter Angelica. 

She originally thought that her cancer symptoms were her body’s reaction to giving birth and had three GP visits where she was told she was just ‘recovering slowly’.

After her pain intensified she went to see a private doctor and was correctly diagnosed. 

The next day she went into hospital and had a foot-and-a-half of her colon removed and stayed in hospital for three weeks.  

Then, in the autumn of 1999, she found a lump in her armpit and subsequently had treatment for breast cancer.

She told The Guardian of the tough experience: ‘You go through all that, and you still don’t know if it’s gone. 

‘It’s all percentages: if you do this, you get this much percentage knocked off the possibility of recurrence. And it’s always something pathetic like three per cent.’

After overcoming cancer and her divorce she found happiness with actor Aaron.

In 2022 Sam dubbed her husband Aaron ‘father to all 4 girls’ as they celebrated 10 years of marriage. 

’10 glorious years. My incredible husband, father to all 4 girls. I love you, I love you, I love you. love conquers all,’ she wrote.

In honour of the marriage milestone, the pair decided to renew their ‘vows and confess our love in front of our nearest and dearest friends and family.’ 

‘It was a magical unforgettable day and the sun did not stop shining on us both,’ Aaron gushed on Instagram.

‘We are blessed beyond belief. Sammy you are my love, my life, my soulmate, my wife, my world!’

In 2011 then-Prince Charles presided over the ceremony in which Sam received her OBE in honor of her photography and artwork.

‘It’s such an incredible honor to receive this award — something I would never have dreamt of,’ she told the BBC. ‘It’s very gratifying for an artist to get recognition at this level.’

It comes as Aaron ‘has been formally offered the opportunity to play James Bond’, putting an end to months of speculation regarding Daniel Craig’s successor. 

He is yet to officially accept the role, but should he do so he will become only the seventh actor to play the iconic British secret agent since the franchise launched in 1962.

A recent poll suggested Idris Elba was still the public’s number one choice for the role, despite being 51 – old for a Bond candidate – and already ruling himself out of the running in order to focus on his crime drama, Luther. 

But Aaron, who is known for his roles in Nocturnal Animals, Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, has landed the coveted part, reports The Sun.  

A source said: ‘Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it. The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back.

‘As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron is going to sign his contract in the coming days and they can start preparing for the big announcement.’ 

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Aaron for comment. 

Responding to the rumours that he could step into Bond’s shoes last week, Aaron played coy, telling Numero: ‘I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment.’

He began acting as a child and has seen his career go from strength to strength, with three huge film appearance this year alone.

Aaron will be starring as a famous action star who goes missing in The Fall Guy, opposite Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

And he will also be appearing in the hotly anticipated remake of 1922 gothic horror Nosferatu, directed by Robert Eggers and featuring a star-studded cast, including Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe.

But Aaron’s biggest upcoming role will see him rejoin the superhero universe, as he will be playing the titular role in Kraven the Hunter, the fifth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

He also has been nominated for two BAFTAs and previously won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes for Nocturnal Animals.

The Bullet Train star’s name has been in the running for Bond for a while now, alongside fellow A-list contenders like Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill and recent Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy.

In October last year, the Mail exclusively revealed that Aaron was the ‘one to beat’ to take the iconic role, while Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan was looking likely to helm the next film in the franchise.

The insider said: ‘Aaron Taylor-Johnson is currently the hot favorite to step into the iconic role, he’s the first choice for Barbara Broccoli – he is the one to beat.’

They added of Christopher: ‘He is extremely interested in doing something very different with the franchise. If he can get his way with producers, then he is all for it.’