Pete Best’s Niece Cast as John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi in Beatles Biopics

The cast of Sam Mendes’ four-part Beatles film continues to grow, and in one of the strangest twists, a relative of the Fab Four’s first drummer, Pete Best, is set to appear in the film. 

Best’s niece, the actress Leanne Best, has been tapped to play John Lennon’s aunt, Mimi, who raised the young musician after his father left and his mother, Julia, moved in with another man. While Lennon reunited with his mother, Mimi continued to look after him after Julia was killed in a traffic accident when Lennon was a teenager. 

Mimi was a commanding force, and Lennon later incorporated some of her sayings into the lyrics of “She’s Leaving Home” (“Sacrificed most of our lives,” “We gave her everything money could buy,” “Never a thought for ourselves”). Lennon once jokingly recalled how Mimi tried to steer him away from art and music, towards more practical professions, once even telling Lennon: “The guitar is all right as hobby, John, but you will never make a living at it.” 

As for Leanne Best, she’s been working steadily as an actress since the mid-2000s, scoring notable roles in projects like the BBC series Ripper Street and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Her uncle, Pete Best, was the original Beatles drummer, playing with the group from 1960 to 1962, before being dismissed and replaced with Ringo Starr. (Still no word yet on who will play Best in Mendes’ films.)