Callum Turner's humble beginnings: How actor was raised on a London council estate by a single mother and battled cannabis 'addiction' before shooting to fame and marrying £150million pop princess Dua Lipa

He might have married one of the world’s biggest pop stars in a three-day Sicilian ceremony with a rumoured cost of £1million – but life for Callum Turner was not always so luxurious.

The actor, whose legal wedding to Dua Lipa came last weekend at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London, grew up in a fourth-floor bedroom on the World’s End council estate in Chelsea.

Callum, 36, and his new bride, 30, jetted off to Palermo earlier this week, with 300 guests joining them for the celebrity wedding of the year.

He has worked with some of Hollywood's biggest stars and boasts a long list of acting credits - but as a child his dream job was rather different.

At first, he wanted to be a soldier, but later set his sights on playing for his beloved Chelsea, whose home ground Stamford Bridge was just a few miles away.

His mother, Rosemary, a nightclub promoter who brought Callum up single-handedly, couldn't afford match tickets, so he'd stay in on Saturday afternoons, throw open the windows and listen to the roars echoing across the skyline.

Little is known about Callum's father, who is believed to be Australian who lives there with the actor's half-brother and half-sister.

He has described his relationship with his dad as 'loose'.

They called his area 'World's End', a shabby stretch of the famous King's Road in west London that used to be a Victorian slum.

Speaking about his childhood, he previously said: 'It was a tough upbringing in certain ways but also a brilliant, beautiful upbringing in others. 

'There was a lot of love in my life and community.'

At school, he was gawky – 6ft by age 13 – and played up in class. 'I was in all the lowest sets,' he said, 'but not because I couldn't do it – because I didn't want to do it.'

Callum left secondary school at 16 to pursue a semi-professional football career and later attended college in west London.

He quickly realised he was not going to make it in the beautiful game and became interested in DJing on club nights.

He once told Time Out magazine: 'I've been going out with my mum since I was 16. It surprised my friends at the time, but now they think it's cool.

'I got into DJing through going out with my mum and through my love of music.'

 In an interview with The Face magazine in 2010, Callum, then 20, described Rose as his 'best friend'.

'Mum and I argue all the time… but then we just smile at each other and we're fine,' he added.

For her part, Rose said: 'As a mother, you come to the stage where you can give advice and hope that those you love are going to take it.

'But in no shape or form do I want to tell Callum how to live his life, because I've lived mine, I've made my own mistakes, and he's entitled to live his life too.'

Aged 17, Callum's good looks caught the attention of a model scout. It seemed an easy escape – but it wasn't to be.

Upon his return to the estate at 18, a friend offered him a job at high-end retailer Dover Street Market in the West End.

To pay his rent between acting projects he worked three jobs, two in shops and another in a bar.

At around the same time, he became a model, working in Japan and fronting a Burberry campaign in 2011.

'I had no idea what it was, I just wanted to make some money,' he told Glass magazine.

It was at this time that he realised he wanted to try acting. 

In between shifts, he signed up to Casting Call, scouring for auditions and working according to when drama classes were available. 

After a scattershot of minor roles, he finally found himself on the opening credits. 

He said: 'I treated the first three years between 22 and 25 as my drama school,' he told the publication.

'I didn't know if this was what I wanted to do. I didn't know if I could do it. When I started, I wasn't amazing, but I liked it.'

But Callum also started to get mixed up with drugs, smoking cannabis from 18 until he was 26.

'I used to smoke so much weed,' he later admitted. 'I was dealing with a depression or a frustration, and not having the understanding or the tools to deal with how I felt, so I self-medicated for too long.'

He continued: 'I was acting, doing films, and smoking weed every day. 

'I never smoked on set but as soon as I got home, I was like a real addict. I definitely missed four years of my life.'

Thankfully, Callum was able to knock the habit on the head, thanks to a 'determination to change and not miss [his] life'. 

Despite no formal drama training on his CV, he finally hit the big time.

He worked on TV dramas such as Ripper Street and War And Peace, and had a number of minor roles in movies including Victor Frankenstein in 2015.

The actor went on to win the lead role alongside Kate Beckinsale in The Only Living Boy In New York in 2017.

Callum followed that success by being cast as the heroic Theseus Scamander in JK Rowling's Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald in 2018.

By then, he was in a serious relationship with Vanessa Kirby, who he had met while making the 2014 film Queen And Country.

She called him 'my best friend' but work commitments killed off the romance six years ago.

Callum is making such waves that he's even been touted as the next James Bond.

Sources have told The Mail on Sunday that the actor – who is the bookies' odds-on favourite to take over from Daniel Craig – has been telling friends the role is his.

One source close to Callum said: 'He's been blabbing all over town. 

'Callum is the new Bond, it's been confirmed. Everyone in his circle is talking about it. It's the worst-kept secret going.'

The next 007 film, known only as Bond 26, is one of Hollywood's most hotly anticipated films, and follows Daniel's last outing as the spy in 2021's No Time To Die.

Callum has become the bookie's favourite in recent months, overtaking previous forerunners Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Norton and Idris Elba.

Now surrounded by the acting elite, many of them from upper-class upbringings, surely there's a risk Callum might feel somewhat excluded from the clique?

But he insisted he doesn't – yet. He said: 'I've got friends who've got loads of money and come from money, and they don't care, I don't care.

'Generally, people are nice… if someone comes with a [negative] energy, I'm not going to reciprocate.'

That said, reports have speculated that the actor has earned up to £5million to date.

Meanwhile, Dua's net worth is estimated at £150million in 2026. 

The pair started dating in 2024 and are now officially married as of last week in a London civil ceremony.

At their intimate nuptials, Dua radiated bridal elegance in a custom Schiaparelli skirt suit, white gloves, a Bulgari necklace and a wide-brimmed white hat designed by milliner Stephen Jones. 

The singer clutched a yellow bouquet and wore white Louboutin heels while strolling out of the registry office hand in hand with her new husband.

Dua and Callum were supported by close family before jumping into the back of a black cab and embracing as they were whisked away to start married life together.

The wedding only lasted between 30 and 40 minutes and Callum grinned boyishly as he held his new wife's hand in his and walked her down the steps under a rainbow of confetti.

Ahead of their main ceremony, insiders have been hailing the couple's nuptials as the 'showbiz wedding of the year', calling it Sicily's most high-profile marriage since Al Pacino's Michael Corleone wed Apollonia Vitelli in 1972 classic The Godfather.

No expense has been spared for the big day, with the pair said to have booked an entire floor of suites at the luxurious Villa Igiea hotel overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The ceremony itself will take place at the 17th century Villa Valguarnera, perhaps the most sumptuous of the villas in Bagheria, an idyllic town ten miles away from Palermo.

The stunning 18th century Palazzo Gangi – which is privately owned – will be the centre of the party on Saturday, with its spectacular Galleria degli Specchi (Hall of Mirrors) providing the perfect setting.

Around 300 family and friends will be attending the three-day event which began on Thursday with private jet slots booked up at Palermo's airport and a fleet of blacked out limos to ferry guests to various villas and hotels.

Sir Elton John, Mark Ronson and Charli XCX are among the music stars billed to attend, with Donatella Versace and Simon Porte Jacquemus from the fashion world.

In advance of the wedding, Dua is believed to have travelled to Italy to meet Donatella to finalise the details of the dress she is designing for the singer to wear on her big day.

Because of her long-time friendship with the designer, friends are convinced that Dua will wear a custom Atelier Versace gown.

A source close to the wedding told the Daily Mail's Katie Hind: 'This is going to be the coolest wedding, and so glam.

'Both Dua and Callum have been so excited and have been really involved with the planning. They want it to be epic.'

Private security firms have also been doing a roaring trade with teams of bodyguards also hired and all staff involved in the wedding have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Dua and Callum fell in love with Sicily during a holiday last summer and she is often pictured in the famous pink and black strip of the city's football club.

They also attended the wedding of Charli XCX and The 1975's George Daniel when they tied married last September in Tonnara di Scopello just down the road from Palermo.

According to Conde Nast, the nuptials have made Sicily the wedding destination of the year and bookings for the sun-kissed Mediterranean island are said to be shooting through the roof.