Nicola Peltz made a surprise return to TV in the season one finale of FX’s The Beauty as her husband Brooklyn Beckham’s feud with his family rumbles on.
The actress – who celebrated her husband’s 27th birthday on Wednesday – played a younger version of Isabella Rossellini’s character Franny in the final episode of the body horror series.
In the final episode, viewers saw the terrifying moment that Franny finally fell victim to her husband’s age-reversing beauty drug, as she was forcibly injected with it by her two sons.
This came despite the drug’s gruesome side-effects which had led to many of its users exploding into puddles of goo.
In a chilling scene, Franny awoke after being given the drug, and was horrified to see she was now a younger version of herself, played by Nicola, and immediately tried to end her life in protest by digging a piece of broken pottery into her neck.
Later in the episode, having survived the ordeal, Nicola’s version of Franny emotionally shared she feels ‘trapped’ in the younger version of her body after taking the drug.
The actress could be seen wearing a bejeweled top piece and low-waisted skirt – a look that channeled Rossellini’s iconic outfit from the 1992 film Death Becomes Her.
In one scene, she unveils her transformation to Kutcher and voiced her devastation over the situation that was forced upon her.
‘I feel like a prisoner, trapped inside a body that is not mine,’ Franny told Byron.
‘Everything that I have worked for, everything that I have earned, my scars, my stretch marks, the age I owned, taken from me.’
When he initially saw her for the first time as she confronted Kutcher’s character, he shockingly asked, ‘Franny?’
‘Don’t act so f***ing surprised, you smug idiot,’ she replied, causing him to quickly say, ‘No I – I had no idea. I swear.’
‘They knew exactly what you wanted and they did what was necessary to make it happen,’ she expressed, seemingly referring to their sons who injected her with the drug.
Kutcher then said while slowly approaching her, ‘I admit I’m not… upset. You’re so f***ing hot.’
But elsewhere in the finale episode of the Ryan Murphy show, he began trying to find a way to reverse the drug with an antidote.
Director Michael Uppendahl recently opened up to Variety about Peltz’s outfit in her scene – and confirmed that it paid homage to Rossellini’s role in Death Becomes Her.
‘It was Ryan’s idea, and as soon as I heard it, I thought it was spectacular,’ he told the outlet.
‘Someone recently started making that jeweled top again. It is kind of coming back in fashion, on a very high, rather exclusive level that Franny could afford.’
Peltz is no stranger to the screen and has starred in projects including The Bates Motel, The Last Airbender and Transformers: Age Of Extinction.
She also recently took on a leading role in the 2024 film Lola – which she also wrote and directed.
But her most recent television role had been in the 2022 biographical drama miniseries Welcome To Chippendales.
Peltz is preparing for her upcoming performance in the indie film Prima, where she plays the role of a prima ballerina named Margo.
The cast additionally includes Faye Dunaway, Jack Huston, Betty Gabriel and Mira Sorvino.
The premise is: ‘Margo, a classical ballet dancer sees her world shaken when modern changes threaten her company’s tradition, leading her to question the true cost of absolute dedication to art,’ per IMDB.
And her grueling training for the role has since been revealed which includes a strict diet and an intense fitness regime.
Peltz additionally underwent four months of ballet training which reportedly caused her weight to drop under 100 pounds.
On Wednesday, Nicola also paid a special tribute to husband Brooklyn in celebration of his 27th birthday.
She jumped to her Instagram page and shared a photo of herself alongside her husband in a room decorated with celebratory balloons.
Captioning the post, she wrote: ‘Happy birthday baby… I hope all your dreams and wishes come true!
‘You light up every room you walk into and anyone who knows you loves you… you’re the most special human and I love being your wife. I love you I love you I love you.’
Responding to her birthday tribute, he wrote: ‘I love you baby girl.’
Peltz appeared to have something special up her sleeve for Brooklyn, with the actress gifting him a box of twenty one personalized iced cakes, individually shaped to read ‘Happy Birthday Brooklyn.’
‘Make a wish!’ she trills as he tucks into his first cake, adding: ‘I love you. I hope your wishes come true.’
Hours earlier, Brooklyn’s parents David and Victoria Beckham shared their own birthday tributes, but have yet to receive any public acknowledgement.
Sharing childhood photos of the influencer, and tagging his wife Victoria, David used his childhood nickname for his son, Buster, as he wrote ’27 today. Happy Birthday Bust. We love you.’
Minutes later Victoria shared the same photo and wrote ‘happy birthday Brooklyn, we love you so much’, before uploading a photo of herself laughing with her son with a string of love hearts.
Brooklyn’s brother Romeo, 23, posted his own childhood throwback snap with his sibling on Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t include a caption.
His grandparents – Ted and Hilary Beckham – also posted pictures in honour of Brooklyn’s birthday and included photos of his wife Nicola.
The most recent reports suggest Brooklyn is on speaking terms with his grandfather Ted and his wife Hilary, even though he remains estranged from his parents. He’s reportedly been in regular contact with them.
Now based in the United States with his wife, Brooklyn recently outlined his desire to distance himself from his family in a six-page Instagram statement filled with lurid allegations.
Addressing social media followers in January, he claimed his parents had tried to sabotage his marriage and have always prioritized public branding over their family relationships.
