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Baz Luhrmann's daughter was upset by rumours about her father's sexuality.
The 60-year-old filmmaker has been married to costume designer Catherine Martin – the mother of his children Lilly, 19, and 17-year-old William – since 1997 but has still been dogged by speculation he was hiding the fact he is gay, and his eldest child has recalled being mocked at school about the gossip.
Speaking on the ‘Under the Gloss' podcast, Lilly said: “I did get followed to school, by a truck that was paparazzi … They were bullying my dad there for a little bit there.
“I specifically remember I was driving in the car, on the radio, this guy was like, ‘Today we're going to be discussing, is Baz Luhrmann gay? Breaking news, they sleep in two different bedrooms.'
“And I went to school and the kids were like, ‘Is your dad gay?' That was the first time I felt embarrassed … Not embarrassed, but more like, ‘Why are these people talking about my dad? Why are they making fun?' I'm like, ‘They just have different sleeping schedules.' “
Lilly insisted she isn't “traumatised” by the gossip but it was the first time she realised her parents were in the public eye.
She said: “I mean, I'm not traumatised for life by it. I've gotten over it. There's worse things to go through. But it was the first time I was aware something was a bit amiss.”
The ‘Elvis' filmmaker previously explained he and Catherine sleep separately because they “need space” and time alone.
He said in 2014: “We worked out a long time ago that we both need space.
“We are surrounded by our teams of staff all day every day, whether traveling, at work and at our homes.
“I was finding I was saying things in passing that weren't properly thought through, things would become fraught. We both needed time to ourselves.”
And he and Catherine also admitted their differing schedules mean they need to sleep at different times.
Describing himself as an “insomniac”, Baz said: “I do not sleep, no matter how many barbiturates are involved, so I work at night.”
His wife added: “I don't lead a 9-to-5 existence, but those of us who make things or expect deliveries or work with people who put nails into pieces of wood, we tend to work from 7 am to 3 pm. Without my own bedroom, I'd have to kill him.”
