“Nepo babies” have been a thing in Hollywood since the beginning. Family connections and a parent in the industry = a career in modeling or acting. But in the current era of Hollywood, nepotism has definitely become a next-level issue. Most of the work goes to nepo babies, and the younger generations of nepo babies (the under-30s) are as clueless and tone-deaf about their privilege as can be. So, New York Magazine put “Nepo Babies” on their new cover and people are in their feelings about it.
To be fair, I think some of the younger nepo babies are talented and interesting. I like Maya Hawke (daughter of Ethan and Uma) and I don’t think John David Washington (Denzel and Pauletta’s son) belongs on this list. But Zoe Kravitz? Lily-Rose Depp? Jaden Smith? Dakota Johnson? Kaia Gerber? Burn them!! Or make them go to acting school and actually struggle for a year or two. From Vulture:
In 2022, the internet uncovered a vast conspiracy: Hollywood was run on an invisible network of family ties — and everybody was in on it! Everyone is someone’s kid, but it was as if everybody were somebody’s kid. Euphoria, the buzziest show on television, was created by the son of a major director and co-starred the daughter of another. Actress Maya Hawke was not only born to two famous parents but looked like them, too. Half of Brooklyn’s indie artists had dads with IMDb pages. Even Succession’s Cousin Greg turned out to be the son of one of the guys who designed the Rolling Stones’ lips logo. Aghast, content creators got to work. An unwieldy phrase — “the child of a celebrity” — was reduced to a catchy buzzword: nepo baby. TikTokers produced multipart series about nepo babies who resembled their famous parents, exposés on people you didn’t know were nepo babies (everyone knew), and PSAs urging celebrity parents to roast their nepo babies “to keep them humble.”
Vulture also has tons of articles about various nepo babies (who you might not have known are second-generation or third-generation). It’s all pretty exhaustive. I’m glad they’re pointing out that my nemesis Laura Dern is a nepo baby. I’ll admit that Angelina Jolie is a nepo baby too, even though she dropped “Voight” from her stage name and then her legal name. A lot of people suggested that someone should do a “Nepo Baby, but in journalism” piece. I never think about that, but it’s true.
Vulture also f–ked up by posting a photo of Malcolm Washington and labeling him John David Washington (they’re brothers).
Hire black folks, Vulture! 1st photo wasn’t even John David Washington. pic.twitter.com/srhsj5nKi8
— Luiza Levine (@luizalevine) December 19, 2022
Timothée Chalamet catching Nepo Baby strays for being the NEPHEW of the director of LEPRECHAUN 2 is so unserious hsjdhsjsjsjs pic.twitter.com/XFB1Nwg3XW
— Zoë Rose Bryant (@ZoeRoseBryant) December 19, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, covers courtesy of New York Magazine, Porter and Elle.
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- Maya Hawke walks the red carpet ahead of the movie “Mainstream” at the 77th Venice Film Festival on September 05, 2020 in Venice, Italy,Image: 563181900, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- Zoe Kravitz attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673573822, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Zoe Kravitz, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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- Laura Dern attends the Los Angeles premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World Dominion” on June 06, 2022 in Hollywood, California,Image: 697595342, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Laura Dern, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
The worst is when the nepo babies deny getting any special treatment. Yes, some of them can act and are good looking but so are other struggling young people out there without the “special” last name. I remember how much I loved Dexter but the season with Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks’ son, was unwatchable for me. He’s terrible! But he keeps getting acting roles because of his parents. So frustrating.
The funniest example is Ben Stiller’s quote, “Hollywood is ultimately a meritocracy.” Hahahahaha! Coming from him, that is quite rich.
I agree it’s really the older nepo babies (save angel on earth Jamie Lee Curtis) like Ben stiller and Sean penn who squawk the worse against being called privileged by their lineage. Why they all don’t go by other names then? I remember seeing tell me lies and being impressed by Jackson white’s acting before knowing who his mom is because he didn’t change his name to hers like Tracee Ellis Ross did (who I like too and it’s too bad she felt she had to flaunt her famous name).
Cool. Now do politics.
We can do both.
and Sports.
In law, medicine, banking, academia and just about any other field (construction, plumbing, auto dealerships) offspring following in a parent’s business is pretty normal.
Did any of your neighbor’s, family friends, parents’ colleagues ever give you a job or an intro? Did you ever do any after-school or summer work for someone who knew your through your family? Did you scoop ice cream in a relative’s Shoppe? That’s nepotism too.
Call out Caroline or any other Kennedys, Pritzgers & Rockefellers too. Dedee Pfeiffer wouldn’t have much work if her brother-in-law David E Kelly didn’t hire her.
Some offspring & relatives are talented & succeed. Others don’t.
We can walk and chew gum at the same and call out everyone who has gotten their position through nepotism.
The difference is though with someone like Caroline Kennedy – I don’t see her whining to magazines about how “shes the hardest worker” and her success has nothing to do with her family name.
I feel this. My husband is an attorney, and we have one child who (like me) doesn’t have the temperament or the desire, and is happily planning a career in engineering. The other one is her father’s small female reincarnation and is chomping at the bit to join his firm. She’s 10 and “My Cousin Vinny” is one of her favorite movies. She makes well-reasoned arguments about EVERYTHING. She (like him) gets CALMER when she argues, while normies (like me) get flustered and annoyed. Her brain just works that way.
Yes, there’s a nurture component, but there’s a lot of nature there, too. And it’s natural for parents to want to give their kids any opportunity/advantage they can. My real problem is the “born on third base, thinks they hit a triple” ethos that so many of these people display. It’s okay to acknowledge that you got in the room because of who mom or dad was, but you stayed in the room under the power of your own merits.
I agree that there is nepotism all over but many of those professions have objective barriers. Getting a medical, engineering, or law degree isn’t something someone can do for you. And I don’t think you would last in construction or plumbing if you can’t do the job. Sure, it helps to have someone who has done it before you, but some jobs can’t be faked. As an actor/model, you need no qualifications at all and there is nothing objective about it so it feels different.
That’s a bit different. Those fields don’t have the same astronomical odds in which people can succeed in them. They also require qualifications. In the case of someone like Kendall Jenner, she cannot walk or pose or do anything that most models are required to do. It has never been an issue for a moment though, for her in terms of jobs. In this industry it is frequent for anyone without those skills to be lauded, and the product is often poor as a result and it shows.
You’re totally right, While many Hollywood kids are getting jobs despite being untalented, many people in general are getting all kinds of jobs despite lack of competence. Hollywood is just an industry like any other and operates on the same logic, not fairness, not democracy, not justice but profit and profit only.
My original comment was sarcastic because everyone knows Hollywood thrives on nepotism as does politics. Yes of course nepotism exists in all things. The very fact of your parents having college degrees increases your chance of having one. But as others have already pointed out, there’s family tradition and there’s nepotism to the exclusion of others. These are different things. No one is saying Hollywood babies should be excluded from Hollywood but it’s absolutely fair to call out privilege and ask for credentials. Providing evidence of talent and hard work is no more or less than is asked of any of us.
@Zazzoo I think that’s a good point and something I’m turning over in my head as we discuss this. I went to college because it was just expected of me, both of my parents have graduate degrees and that was that. My brother wanted to be a doctor so my mom (a nurse but at the time working at a very well respected hospital/university in research) reached out to people she knew for their opinions on his college major, which college was a better choice, that kind of thing. That’s an advantage for sure but not nepotism.
So while I think nepotism obviously has a very clear definition, I think generally speaking we see how your parents’ (or friends or other family’s) connections and experience can help you. And it can be problematic because it leads to the “old boys club”, keeps white people in places of power (because often they are the ones in those positions to begin with, so the beneficiaries of their nepotism tend to be white as well) etc.
It obviously happens in all industries and in some industries its more harmless than others and on some levels its more harmless than others but its a problem across the board.
But this is a celebrity gossip site so we’re talking about celebrities and models and actors etc. Like you said its absolutely fair to call out privilege and ask for credentials.
The ones who I think have better answers when this topic comes out are the ones that I think are more talented in general, so maybe that’s not such a coincidence.
I mean, I do call those out too! And legacy kids in Ivy League. While people can claim that getting into med or eng school is harder than getting into acting, I’m not sure it’s the case. You do get an easier access to mentors, better coaching for your interviews, some members of the reviewing committees might know your folks, etc. AND your family is richer than a single mom who works as a secretary. All of which helps tremendously.
Anyone who is/was 1st gen in college/grad school, knows the difference between us and the kid whose whole family went to college and whose relatives work in Academia, these kids have a huge advantage and it should be acknowledged. Social climbing is super hard, and made almost impossible for certain groups because those higher up love to stay with their kins and will create systemic barriers to keep the rest of us out. It’s just that actors/musicians are easier to spot than a 4th gen cardiologist
As was mentioned yesterday, there have always been nepo babies. The thing is, some of them it could be argued, were more talented than their parents. Liza Minnelli. Michael Douglas. But the older generation of nepo babies acknowledged and were celebrated for being the children of famous parents. This new crop wants to deny it all. They can’t wrap their mind around the fact that their success is greatly due to their name. And most of them are so, so basic. Lily Depp. Kaia Gerber. Zoe Kravitz. Scott Eastwood. Please, Nobody would look at twice at them if not for their last name
So true. There is nothing wrong with using your connections to get a job. It happens in every industry. But don’t sit there and pretend that your connections weren’t what made you stand out. I think their denial is also what blinds them to the fact that they have to work hard to actually do their job well. They have to improve. Take some acting lessons, as Kaiser suggests. When I helped my sister’s bf get a job at my firm, I told him to not embarrass me. He took that to heart and was our hardest working associate. Some of these nepo babies don’t realize that they are terrible actors, and that this is what’s making people stress the fact that they are nepo babies.
I think the old guard wasn’t ashamed to admit they were nepo babies BECAUSE they were better than the parents. “Yeah, I was privileged but I proved my worth” sounds much better than “Yeah, I’m privileged, now leave me alone”. Nepo babies know they’re JUST nepo babies and it’s eating them alive – hence the denial of it at every occasion.
How about the Barrymores, for starters?
They were not always better than but they very much acknowledged the fact that they got into the family business. As awful as life has been at times for Liza, Jane and Henry Fonda or Drew Barrymore (and it was often terrible!), none ever claimed they had to work twice as hard to make it than complete randos.
I don’t know why people suddenly have a problem with nepo babies in Hollywood. It’s been like that for decades. I mean, Robert Downey, Jr and Liza Minnelli are also nepo babies.
That said, Zoe Kravitz has always rubbed me the wrong way, even though I hero worshipped her mother as a tween. I wanted Denise Huxtable’s clothes SO bad!!
It’s as old as Hollywood. See Douglas Fairbanks Jr, son of Sr and stepson of Mary Pickford.
I think this newfound distaste for nepo babies stems from the fact that most of them are getting jobs that they are under qualified for. For example Lily Rose Depp getting Chanel contract at the age of 16 cause her mom was a Chanel Muse or creepy Zoe Kravitz getting mainstream roles despite having charisma of a wet wood log.
Also you’re spot on about Zoe’s vibes. She once confessed her attraction towards Jaden Smith when he was underage and she was 24 in a magazine interview. She’s screwed in head.
Acting is just a trade, a la carpentry. Personally not upset our painter’s son grew up to take over his parents business. I guess it’s the “handling” of it by the 2nd generation that puts up the ire. Plus it seems like “easy money” to us plebs?
I think the difference is that a bad carpenter or a bad painter probably doesn’t continue to get hired because of who his or her parents are. But lousy actors and lousy models seem to continue to get work regardless of their actual talent. You are also talking about fields with low vs. high entry barriers. Nepos are taking extremely limited spots.
In my opinion it’s a model that doesn’t work in the entertainment industry as it has become. And most of the current ones are WAY more visible in terms of exploiting the family connection. As in, it’s the only thing I know about them even when sometimes they’ve done more than two things. That’s not the case for someone like Liza Minnelli (and I’m a millennial so it’s not like I don’t keep abreast of current stars).
Kids of people in the industry getting work have been a thing forever … Anjelica Huston, Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore.
But yeah… I am tired of the denying it gave you a hand up. It did.
I was going to add I’m tired of people being famous for just having famous parents or whatever without any real talent. But that has also been going on too… I think social media etc. just amplifies it.
yes, the problem isn’t the existence of nepo babies. it’s the delusional, entitled demeanor most of the current crop have. also it’s a lot bigger of a thing now.
i could list a handful before the current crop, and most were obvious. I used to joke about how the movie Goonies was like that, given that it starred sean astin, josh brolin and martha plimpton. that’s only 3 in one movie, and it stood out as a lot back in the day. and frankly, the 3 of them DID end up spending the next 30 years proving themselves.
now it’s a much larger number, you can point to movies and shows that are *mostly* nepo baby casts, and i would say the majority of new movies and shows that get media buzz have at least 1 now.
There needs to be some lines in the sand drawn! Cousin Greg being called a nepo baby because his dad was a graphic designer?! And Timothee Chalamet for being the nephew of the Leprechaun 2 director? Ummmm, nahhhhh.
But Kaia Gerber, Dakota Johnson, Brooklyn Beckham etc can all go suck it. It’s fine (I suppose) if you’re a nepo baby, but bloody well admit that you had an unfair advantage getting through the door!
(Also, the cover and headline of that article are chefs kiss!)
I giggled at Cousin Greg too. I really doubt anybody is getting auditions because their dad designed a logo.
If it’s all about the connections, it’s relevant. Just because someone isn’t big famous doesn’t mean they aren’t well connected.
Weird that they mentioned those guys but left out Meryl Streep’s daughters and Tom Hanks’ sons.
Only because they are a bit older than the current crop which like someone said seems overwhelming now and probably because of social media. But I almost feel sorry for Chet hanks and Louisa jacobson because of their glaring lack of talent.
In the article, they briefly mention Chet Haze as decidedly NOT having the IT factor of his father. Meryl’s daughter absolutely deserves to be skewered because she sucks as an actor and has zero screen presence (I only know one—not sure if it’s Louisa—with the pale face and delivery so forgettable it’s not worth googling her name).
They oddly left out Margaret Qualley, who I think is acclaimed and famous enough to warrant an inclusion. Is it because she really is quite talented? Or that she started out as a phenomenal dancer? Or she simply doesn’t look or act like Andie McDowell and doesn’t have a famous last name? I’m sure Qualley would be really happy with the exclusion/oversight.
I’m with the others – nepo babies have always been a thing, and that’s true in every industry. Having connections gives you a leg up, it gets you in the door, gets you the interview or audition, and sometimes it gets you that job.
It doesn’t mean that every nepo baby isn’t talented or doesn’t work hard on set or whatever. But it does mean you have those connections and that leg up etc. I hate when nepo babies are like “all my name does is get me in the door.” Like that’s not a HUGE thing in itself!!!
(and for some of them, it does a lot more than that, bc some of those people should not be the big stars they are and not get the roles they are getting. Meryl Streep’s daughter did not belong in The Gilded Age, for example. She could not hold her own against the others in that show.)
Getting your foot in the door is THE most difficult thing. For example, getting onto the books of your parent’s top notch agent (as a favour to your parent) is a huge advantage when it comes to getting access to the important auditions – the auditions that people without those connections don’t even hear about.
I don’t love seeing Maya Hawke used as the example of this because her take on it is pretty reasonable and acknowledges exactly what you said about getting your foot in the door being the hard part: “I feel like the only way to handle the nepotism thing — which definitely gives you massive advantages in this life — is, you will get chances for free, but the chances will not be infinite; so you have to keep working and do a good job. If you do a bad job, the chances will stop. That’s my ethos.”
These kids can’t help who their families are, and it isn’t any more unusual for actors’ children to become actors than it is for doctors’ children to become doctors. The key is to acknowledge their advantages, stay humble, and make sure that in time their work can speak for itself.
@mj – I agree. Duh nepotism is and always has been a thing, everywhere. But if someone acknowledges it, like Maya Hawke, eh. I don’t care so much then. It’s when they Ben Stiller things and pretend that they did it all on their own. It gives me big Prince William “I’m the smartest and the bestest and I did by myself!” vibes.
It’s when they act like they got there on their own merit. Most of them have not. But it’s true that someone like John David Washington has got actual talent and isn’t anywhere near the same level of nepo baby as Dakota Johnson.
Going into the family business, nothing new about that. It’s just with celebs and their huge egos and need to assert “I got here entirely on my own merit” —well, in some cases, yes; in other cases, no way!
There is no nepo baby “boom” lol. As the post says, a lot of older actors are nepotism babies too. Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, Tracee Ellis Ross, Gwyneth Paltrow, Carrie Fisher, Robert Downey Jr., Drew Barrymore, and many more (which isn’t to say they’re undeserving, but factually, their parents are famous and that probably helped). I bet 70% of Hollywood has some sort of family connection. I understand why Gen Z thinks it’s a new phenomenon with their generation, but I don’t get why Vulture is giving that idea weight. This is a bit goofy.
I can’t stand Laura Dern. All she is Nepo and a serial screwer. No talent, over emoter etc.
Some of the Nepo babies are painfully homely in addition to having no talent and we are to laud their achievement of having the parental credit cards?
There is an old saying that I have heard for close to 60 years in the business world: It’s not what you know, but who you know. Nepto hiring is nothing new
I think that a lot of children follow in their parents footsteps- families of doctors, policemen, teachers, it’s very common.
The thing about this is that this industry is very different, and as other have said it builds a lot about connections and opportunities.
Very true. Also, the other industries like the law, medicine and others have schooling and stringent training requirements which helps weed out the offspring who just want an easy road. Show business however just happens to have the least amount of training with the most amount of income and fame.
Nepo babies have always existed, but it feels like the latest crop is particularly weak. I guess if we give them time we’ll end up with some Academy Award winners eventually. FWIW, I really enjoyed Colin Hanks in Fargo and Mad Men and I think Jack Quaid, Rashida Jones, Ben Stiller, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Drew Barrymore, and Kate Hudson all have proved themselves.
I do like Nepo babies Chris Pine, Jennifer Anniston, Mariska Hargitay, & Lily Collins.
All of these comments are right on the mark.
This current generation so many of them are models, influencers, and the parents are pushing it constantly.
The kids of Will Smith, Cindy Crawford, Beckham, Zoe Kravitz, Pamela Anderson kids with Tommy Lee, Rafferty Law, kids of Lisa Rhinna, Madonna daughter, Lourdes.
Hailey Bieber, Ireland Baldwin, Dakota Johnson, Jack Quaid all annoy me. I see nothing interesting in any of them.
I am still amazed that “influencer” is a considered a proper job for anybody. I know it’s profitable but it’s not a needed occupation is it, really?
I mean, influencers work in marketing/advertising. It’s simply a new way of advertising so it doesn’t feel as “legit” to some, but it is. It takes skills to understand social media, how to film compelling content, how to grow and retain an audience, how to advertise products in a convincing way, etc.
It’s a profitable job because companies pay them a ton to sell their products and services, and it must give them good results if they continue to pay out.
Exactly. Influencer social media is just a new (and much cheaper) medium for companies to use to reach potential consumers.
You forgot the queens of all nepo babies, the two daughters of Lori Loughlin (TV actress & Hallmark channel staple) who was caught trying to buy her daughters into a prestigious school by paying people to take their tests for them, and faking athleticism to land a scholarship, etc.
There is nepotism in every industry, so I don’t judge the entertainment industry for having nepo babies. I just wish the ones who are on and on about how unfair it is to be called nepo babies and how they have to work twice as hard as anyone else to prove themselves, to kindly shut their mouth. Do your job, make connections on your own along the way and PLEASE don’t complain when people point out the advantages and privileges of having famous parent/powerful family name.
I have mixed feelings about nepo babies. I think it’s comes down to the individuals talent and whether they are actually producing interesting work. A lot of nepo babies like lily rose depp have starred in quite a few things but most I’m not familiar with, but she still frequents the red carpet and is on the cover of magazines. Her acting career doesn’t match up with her celebrity status. But then there’s maya hawk, who I saw on stranger things before I knew who her parents were. A lot of gen z will know her before they know her parents. Also she’s carving out quite an interesting career for herself as an individual and not as a 2.0 version of Uma Thurman.
Now nepo models are a whole other matter, Bella, Gigi and Kate moss daughter would never ever make the cut, ever.
Add Heidi Klums’ daughter to that nepo model list. No way would she have gotten into the front door without her mom.
It seems this generation is a little thin skinned regarding this matter. I’m sure back in the day Vanessa Redgrave, her sister Lynn benefited from being sir Michael Redgrave’s daughters, but you didn’t read whiny interviews or denials they they were part of an acting dynasty. Maybe the fact that Vanessa, her daughter Joely, someone like Daniel Day Lewis took time to actually hone their craft in some school or academy like RADA for instance helped them feel more legitimate.
I saw Kyle Eastwood in concert a few years back. Great musician,unpretentious, seemed like he totally belonged with others on stage. But I guess he took time to listen and learn, otherwise the jazz world wouldn’t have welcome him very warmly.
I think the most sensitive are those who cruise on their name and parents network only.
Scott Eastwood would never have made it on his birth name (which WASN’T Eastwood)
I don’t know anything about Scott. Being interested in the jazz scene, Kyle is the only one I’m familiar with.
I agree, I think that’s what rubs me the wrong way is they just get entry without doing the work. I am in the music world and there are a plethora of nepo babies abound but the ones that actually succeed are the ones that went to school to actually learn the craft and didn’t just utilize their names to get gigs and contracts. The only advantage that they would have had is the ability to create and practice without worry how your bills are going to be paid..
The current nepo babies are not talented or charismatic.
See, I think Nepo Baby encompasses more than just the kids of celebrities who benefit from family connection to get cast in things without having to actually go to school for it or hustle their way up the ladder. It just applies to the mediocre ones who don’t acknowledge they’d be nothing without the connection. Humble, genuinely talented and hardworking nepotism beneficiaries, I don’t have any problem with them that extends beyond the general sense of unfairness about how the world has always been this way. And it applies to all industries, not just entertainment.
Dakota Johnson, Lily Rose Depp and Zoe Kravitz would have never made it without their famous last names so I hope they are not too upset about this cover.
The excerpt from the article posted was going after the breathless internet denizens more so than the actual “nepo babies”.
Yeah but there’s also people in Hollywood with very little talent that aren’t Nepo babies. What’s the excuse there? Oh yeah, they “look good” or are “hot”. Nepotism is everywhere…even in the “normal” world. It’s in every office and workplace. It’s not right, but it’s not something exclusive to Hollywood.
That’s so weird, but I was listening to an old episode of conan o’brien’s podcast. He was talking about meeting Timothee before he got famous. He said Timothee was nephew of his friend. So, if he was meeting all these famous people like that, it makes sense they included him in this way.
The only Nepo baby I like is Billie lourd. Cause she admitted she got that Star Wars role cause of her mom. She straight up said I only got it bc of my mom. And I’ve seen her in other stuff and I like her as an actress. The “models” annoy me most.
As is Jennifer Aniston (I always wondered if their feud started before Brad – as nepo babies probably not with the age diff but I still wonder lol )
As are all the Bergmans, Sheens, and Douglases to name just a few but we know lol (they were all smart enough to not tread into these waters of discussion at all , I think anyway)
I think we only care if the nep baby isn’t talented. Nobody seems to begrudge oh, Carrie Fisher for getting into movies at 18 because she was good. We only.really care if they suck and get roles anyway due to nepotism.
I think you summed it up pretty well!
I agree with this article and the points are well-made. When I think of my high school class in a small New England city (no celebs around) I can think of people who followed a family profession: a dentist’s children wanted to go into dentistry; a lot of families were like Blue Bloods. The daughters of what were then called secretaries learned to type and anticipated similar jobs. My father majored in math and I have 3 out of 6 siblings who do jobs related to numbers. None of these people are wealthy or famous, but a proclivity to follow family professions may be genetic or innate in some way? I knew a number of people who became nurses because their mothers were nurses. I had a classmate who became a firefighter because his father was one and so was his grandfather.
It’s easy to criticize the nepo babies but they aren’t the ones doing the hiring.
Just like it shouldnt be on women to solve mens violence, its not on nepo babies to ensure acting/modelling are meroticracies.
Put the criticism where it belongs.
We all benefit from privilege at some stage or another. Every single person does!
It’s not just that nepo babies get a foot in the door, it’s that many of these kids who come from great wealth and privilege never really have to work for success, that rubs people the wrong way. There’s no waiting on tables or driving an uber in between auditions, until either your big break finally comes — or you just give up, or accept that you’ll spend your life always working a “day job.” And there’s no worrying about how you’re going to support yourself, or retire comfortably, if it doesn’t work out. There’s no stressing about Plan B — because even if a nepo kid doesn’t become a movie star, chances are they’re going to end up with a good career in the film industry, as a producer or camera operator or whatever. Or they can use their exceptional connections in other ways — like becoming a jewelry designer whose products are worn by A-list actors at industry events.
Late to the game, but my favorite nepo-baby is Jeff Bridges!
I always laugh when nepo babies talk about how hard they work. Someone growing up with incredible privilege like them literally have no idea what hard work is. If you’ve always had a maid and never had to do chores or not get what you want, you don’t know what hard work is sweetie. Also to break into show business you have to actually live around LA or NYC usually, places that are incredibly expensive for most people. Just being born in the right area makes your chances of making it a million times better because you have a home, connections and a support system. Someone packing up their old car and driving from small town USA to LA and having to find friends and work with zero connections is really hard and I love when I read about a celebrity who was brave enough to give it a shot and makes it.
Focusing on actors is missing the truly big problem with nepotism in Hollywood, which is behind the scenes. Talentless and even abusive hacks write and direct and produce because their grandparents did. It’s destroying Hollywood storytelling on its most basic level.
The worst of them is that Beckham man child, he’s just dreadful.
I’m glad people are calling this out and naming them because a lot of us forget just how many of them are nepo babies. The celebrity worship days are over. Only the very young still “Stan” celebs. The fact is though these people are not our friends and we really should stop propping them up or defending them like we are on their payroll.
Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore, Dakota Johnson, Scott Eastwood, Kate Hudson, Zoe Kravitz and Jennifer Aniston to name a handful are actually terrible actors and would never have the careers they have without their family connections. Drew is one of the worst because now she has a show where she fawns over other celebrities and it’s nauseating tbh except it’s Drew and we all have to pretend it’s not because she’s so nice and has had problems.
🙄
ain’t your ginger prince a nepo brat?