When it comes to a proposal, choosing the right ring is vital for any suitor.
Author Dominic Holland neatly summed up the challenges yesterday, when recalling his own proposal 30 years ago: ‘For most blokes, the stress of purchasing an engagement ring is being able to afford it.’
But then he went on to add: ‘I suspect that this was the least of Tom’s worries, more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller…’
Because while Dominic made something of a name for himself as a comedian, these days he’s more famous as the father of Hollywood actor and Spider-Man star Tom Holland.
And Tom, we now know, proposed to his girlfriend, the American actress Zendaya, in the US over Christmas, having (apparently) asked her father’s permission, bought a ring and planned it out.
Rumours of an engagement started earlier this week after her appearance at the Golden Globes awards ceremony on Monday.
While Zendaya was alone on the red carpet, looking stunning in a shimmering column of Louise Vuitton burnt-orange silk and wearing a 48-carat diamond Bulgari necklace, what really caught everyone’s eye was the diamond on the ring finger of her left hand (an east-west, cushion-cut, button-back, 5.02-carat dazzler on a slender gold band).
Back on this side of the Atlantic, no one could be prouder than the Holland clan – an extended and prodigiously talented bunch.
Zendaya wearing custom Louis Vuitton with Bvlgari jewelry arrives at the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 5, 2025 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
Rumours of an engagement started earlier this week after Zendaya’s appearance at the Golden Globes awards ceremony and she was spotted wearing a diamond ring
Tom Holland and Zendaya captured taking a leisurely stroll on a Sunday morning with Tom’s parents in 2023
Dominic and his photographer wife Nikki still live in the family home in Kingston, South-West London, where Tom and his three brothers grew up.
Dominic charmingly updated readers of his blog on the latest exploits of his eldest son yesterday, comparing the engagement to his own, 30 years ago, to Nikki, whom he met as a student at Leeds University. ‘Tom had everything planned out,’ he writes. ‘When, where, how, what to say, what to wear…
‘I on the other hand was woefully ill-prepared, almost as though I wasn’t taking it seriously.’
Amusingly, he notes that he didn’t even have a ring for his own proposal, in Amsterdam, admitting that his own marriage had an ‘inauspicious start’.
But he says, ‘here we are – 30 years later and still married. Four boys and everything pretty much in order, my “stardom” and riches aside, obviously’.
Wryly, he adds: ‘And I am comfortable with this [by the way]. I’m not short (financially) and I don’t envy those who are gawped at wherever they go, which brings me to the newly engaged couple.
‘I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.
‘And even though show-business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention, with us [as] an example, with Nikki helming this family and my “wisdom” on tap and a study in getting things mostly wrong and yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.’
Tom Holland and actress Zendaya Coleman arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Columbia Pictures’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ in December 2021
What an upbeat, positive and down-to-earth response from the man set to become father-in-law to Zendaya, 28, a woman so famous she only needs one name.
While Tom and Zendaya may be a Hollywood match (they met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016 and their relationship was confirmed when they were spotted kissing in a car in LA in 2021), they are very much a British pairing, too.
Tom, 28, bought a £2.5 million semi-detached townhouse, near Richmond Park and just a short distance from the house he grew up in, back in 2018.
Since then Zendaya, the star of films such as Dune and Challengers, has become a feature around these parts. Pushing a trolley at Waitrose, buying iced coffee from Gail’s, walking the dog in Richmond Park… she’s been seen doing it all.
A Californian girl, Zendaya has her own sprawling ranch home in Encino, on the outskirts of LA – near to where fires have been raging – but given Tom’s self-professed desire to step back from fame when fatherhood beckons, there couldn’t be a better place to settle down in than close to his mum and dad and the rest of the Holland clan.
Dominic and Nikki, both 57, have multiple siblings with children of their own, meaning Tom has a bevy of doting aunts and uncles, as well as cousins. And, of course, there are his brothers – twins Harry and Sam, 25, and 20-year-old Paddy.
It is Dominic and Nikki who’ve been the foundation on which Tom, who pirouetted to fame when he was cast as Billy Elliot in the West End aged 12, has depended.
As he once said: ‘My parents have chained me to the floor! It’s so important and I’m so grateful that they’ve done that, because otherwise you can get lost in the beautiful world that Hollywood is.’
Zendaya and Tom Holland ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ film photocall, Madrid, Spain – 14 Jun 2017
If Tom and Zendaya want a model for marital longevity, they need look no further than his parents. The Hollands celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Cornwall last September – 20 people, plus dogs.
Zendaya was in the thick of it, playing cornhole (a lawn game which involves lobbing bean bags through holes in a plank of wood) with the rest of the gang. That included Tom’s ‘Granny Tess’, his Irish paternal grandmother and the woman charged with the task of accompanying him to his first audition for Billy Elliot.
When Tom landed his first feature film, The Impossible, about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (which was shot on location in Thailand in 2010), Tess travelled out to join the cast and crew. She would whip up elaborate chicken feasts, followed by apple crumble and custard.
One of 12 children growing up in County Tipperary, Tess Quigley left Ireland to become a nurse, marrying teacher John.
Of her own siblings, no less than four of her sisters became nuns. One, Sister Philomena, who died in 2013, was a member of the Salesian Order, devoted to working with young people.
Meanwhile, Sister Breda, who died in 2017, entered the Sisters of Mercy at the age of 17, training as a nurse and midwife before becoming a hospital matron. She would later spearhead the creation of a day centre.
Her final mission, in 2004, took her to Pretoria in South Africa to work with the elderly and Aids patients – she was meant to stay for a year, but she remained there for five, setting up an orphanage for children whose parents had died from Aids.
The two other nuns are Sisters Christina and Margaret, who in November were in care homes in Ireland, where they were visited by Dominic and his mum. He wrote about the visit on his blog.
(L-R) Dominic Holland, Nikki Holland, Naomi Watts, Sasha Schreiber, Harry Holland attend an even in October 2024 hosted by Tom Holland
Sam Holland, Harry Holland, Tom Holland and Paddy Holland ‘Onward’ film premiere, Curzon Mayfair, London, UK – 23 Feb 2020
Dominic recalled an amusing conversation he had with Sister Margaret about Tom’s profession.
‘What does he do?’ asked his aunt, to which he responded: ‘He’s an actor’.
‘At this, her face turned a little sour,’ he wrote.
‘“Oh, dear, an actor. That’s not a proper job. They have lots of time when they’re not working.”’
‘They do, yes, but he’s fine. You needn’t worry about Tom,’ he replied.
‘And is he working at the moment?’ Margaret continued, proceeding to ask if her great-nephew is ‘OK for money’ and ‘is he married?’. On learning that Tom’s girlfriend is an actress, her response was delightful.
‘Oh, dear. Another actor…’
‘And so, it went on,’ writes Dominic. ‘We shared this clip with Tom just last week and we all had a laugh and recalled Margaret very affectionately.’
Tom Holland, Sam Holland and Harry Holland during the Pro-Am ahead of the 2023 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club in Virginia Water, Surrey
More laughter was to come as Dominic recounted his son’s casting in Romeo And Juliet, which he appeared in last year.
‘When I told my mum (Granny Tess) that Tom was heading back to the West End – to appear in Romeo And Juliet, what question do you think my mum asked me…
‘Oh, Dom, that’s wonderful news. Which part will he be playing?’
Tom’s family on his mum’s side are brilliantly practical. His grandfather, Bob Frost, who died last summer, was a self-taught tradesman who had a special bond with his grandson. Dominic writes: ‘They were similar in many ways. Both dyslexics. Both dextrous and energetic…’
Bob, who had a heart attack in his 60s and various health problems, found a new lease of life in watching his grandson’s career blossom. He watched Tom perform as Billy Elliot more than any other family member.
The Holland family clearly has talent in spades. Harry is a budding director and producer, who recently launched his own production company (Billy17) with Tom, while Paddy is an artist and actor.
Sam has clearly inherited the culinary skills of Granny Tess and is an up-and-coming chef. He was employed to cook for his brother while Tom was filming his second Spider-Man film.
And, of course, there is father Dominic. He was an award winner long before his eldest took centre stage, having won the prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe back in 1993.
Tom Holland and Zendaya at the World Premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Far From Home” in 2019
Tom Holland and Zendaya at the ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Photocall, London, UK – 15 Jun 2017
Zendaya and Tom Holland attend the Spider-Man: No Way Home Photocall at The Old Sessions House, Clerkenwell, London in December 2021
In 2000 he landed a Radio 4 show, The Small World Of Dominic Holland, and was a regular presence on the panels of shows such as Have I Got News For You.
But, as he says, he battled with self-confidence in the glare of the stand-up spotlight. After one particularly gruelling gig, he stepped back from big shows.
He has, however, continued to perform, and he writes prolifically – nine books to date. He is also proud of the fact that his sons have inherited his golfing prowess and is even more proud of the charity, The Brothers Trust, set up by the family in 2017, which financially helps other charities which go under the radar.
All of the Hollands appear to be dog lovers (Tom recently became the owner of a Doberman named Daphne). In Dominic’s Christmas message on his blog, he provided an update on Rosie, the rescue Staffordshire bull terrier, who joined the family after the demise of their Staffy Tessa last year.
‘Rosie has undoubtedly been the high point of 2024, an otherwise difficult year which began badly when we lost Tessa… Obstacles and difficulties mitigated by the beguiling Rosie who quickly established herself as everyone’s favourite Holland,’ he wrote.
Fortunately, Zendaya is a dog lover, too, and her miniature schnauzer Noon has already met the family, explored the local parks – and prefers Tom to his human mother (Zendaya’s words). Such is the bond, Tom’s new alcohol-free beer brand Bero includes a brew named Noon Wheat.
A TV show going behind the scenes chez Holland would be, one imagines, entertaining – even more so if Zendaya was added to the mix. Offers have been made, Dominic once revealed, but his view? ‘I couldn’t imagine anything worse.’
He might consider himself eclipsed in the working arena, but as he says: ‘However I fare as a comedian and writer, it will never eclipse my success at home.’
A template, perhaps, for his son, to follow as he prepares to embark on married life.
