When people say “small world,†they usually mean it’s a coincidence that you know someone they know. But one can’t fathom how small it is until you find out the mother of a Grammy-nominated musical trio was also the art teacher to one of the most influential directors of the 21st century. Licorice Pizza’s Alana Haim (also known as one-third of the sister trio HAIM) sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about her acting debut and stepping out from her sisters’ shadows. She revealed to Vanity Fair that her mother was actually Paul Thomas Anderson’s art teacher in grade school. When Haim told PTA about their connection, she said he “went into his son’s room and brought out a painting of the mountain from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He had painted it with my mother and then kept it all these years. And he was like, “I loved your mom. I can’t believe you’re Miss Rose’s daughters.†The youngest HAIM sister and Maya Rudolph’s husband (PTA) grew up in the San Fernando Valley and bonded over their love of the 818. They began collaborating after an introduction from Asa Taccone that led to seven music videos, one live song performance, and a short film directed by PTA.
Alana isn’t the only HAIM sister who’s making moves in their solo career. Eldest sister Este composed the music for the Netflix series Maid alongside composer Christopher Stracey. Danielle Haim also made her co-directorial debut for HAIM’s music video “The Steps†last year. To say talent runs in the HAIM family would be the very, very least.