Nepo babies: How nepotism is running rampant in Hollywood

In recent years, internet users got obsessed when they uncovered a so-called conspiracy: most emerging stars were actually the children of the Hollywood elite. Social media dubbed the new celebrities "nepo babies," which is a catchy way to talk about the beneficiaries of rampant Hollywood nepotism.

Pictured: Lily-Rose Depp

TikTokers made dozens of exposés about celebrity nepo babies. Celebrities like ‘Euphoria’ star Maude Apatow (daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann), model and actress Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis) and Zoë Kravitz (daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet) all commented on the issue.

The trend really exploded into popular discourse when ‘New York Magazine’ published a 4,000-word cover story on the topic. “Nepo baby: How could two little words cause so much conflict? A baby is a bundle of joy; a nepo baby is physical proof that meritocracy is a lie. We love them, we hate them, we disrespect them, we’re obsessed with them,” wrote Nate Jones.

Photo: Instagram/NYmag and vulture

Jones walks readers through the typical nepo babie journey: Being born into a famous household, resembling famous relatives, sharing selfies and comments on social media and then getting help from mom and dad to get a great industry job. If it doesn’t work, they'll try again from the top.

Photo: Instagram/NYmag and vulture

The son of David and Victoria Beckham was an example. He tried to follow in his parents’ footsteps, playing for the Arsenal F.C. Academy and then modeling for the likes of ‘Vogue.’ He later rebranded as a photographer and published a book of blurry elephants. Then, he clumsily tried to be a professional chef, with his $100,000-per-episode cooking videos racking up millions of views.

Photo: Instagram/NYmag and vulture

Talent managers told the journalist that many nepo babies lack talent but are still hired. This can be due to either name appeal/followings or to get in good with their parents. Others, meanwhile, do land gigs due to merit. Some, insiders said, do have the same special “it factor” that made their parents famous.

One of the first big reactions came from Jamie Lee Curtis (daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh), who called herself the OG Nepo Baby. She said the conversation was designed to “diminish, denigrate and hurt” and said connections to Hollywood shouldn’t negate talent.

Pictured: Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh with their two daughters, Jamie Lee and Kelly Lee

After the publication of the New York Magazine article, social media was buzzing over the controversy. Celebrities of all stripes, but particularly nepo babies themselves, started speaking out.

Photo: Tim Bish / Unsplash

“The issue is that many [nepo babies] don’t acknowledge… privilege…and then attribute their success only to their own talent. They fail to acknowledge that there are thousands of actors, singers, etc. out there who are just as or more talented than nepo babies yet don’t get to the status of nepo babies,” read a response to Curtis's post that got nearly 2,000 likes.

Pictured: Phil Collins and his daughtetr, 'Emily in Paris' actress Lily Collins

“The nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms, the ones working for banks, and the ones working in politics, If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business,” tweeted Lily Allen.

Allen was slammed on Twitter for her remark and later tweeted that “she deserved nothing.” Comments included: “Nepo babies cosplaying as working class, whilst taking the space of working class artists, far worse though,” and “nepotism in art creates an echo chamber of the same perspectives for decade after decade while shutting out any new voices.”

Allen continued by pointing out some of the downsides to having famous parents. “Many of the nepo babies are starved of these basic things in childhood as their parents are probably narcissistic,” she wrote, adding that touring and shooting schedules are not parent-friendly. Twitter users said working-class families can have similar struggles.

Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, told The Independent she doesn’t really care about nepotism. “I look at my kids and we’re a storytelling family. It’s definitely in our blood… I don’t care where you come from… if you work hard and you kill it, it doesn’t matter.”

Kate Moss’s half-sister and internet model also took to Twitter. “I’m so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren’t rich and famous or successful.. Obviously it’s not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that. But guess what? Life isn’t fair,” Lottie Moss said in a since-deleted tweet.

Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. also weighed in on the debate on Tiwtter. “My dad told me in a perfect world, I would play him in straight outta compton.. I was already in college for screenwriting at USC. I accepted the challenge. And auditioned for two years before getting the role. After that it was up to me, he couldn’t hold my hand through my career.”

Daughter of U2 rock star Bono, Eve Hewson, brought some humor to the discussion, saying she was “devastated” she wan’t featured in the article. “Haven’t the seen my hit show Bad Sisters. The NERVE,” she tweeted, adding she was going to get the phrase tattooed on her behind.

Hewson later went viral by pointing out that the CEO of ‘New York Magazine’ Pamela Wasserstein is also a nepo baby, with her dad having bought the magazine in 2004. She added: “I very, very much appreciate how lucky I am in life. I’m just having a laugh here! Please don’t take anything I tweet too seriously.”

In 2023, Honor Swinton-Byrne, daughter of actress Tilda Swinton, told The Times that its important to "own" nepotism. "I completely admit and am grateful for the fact that I was considered for 'The Souvenir' because of my connections," she said, refering to a film she starred in. "But at the same time I continue to act and get jobs because I have skill. I’m still doing it."

In 1998, Houston, who came from a famous background, discussed the same phenomenon on The Magic Johnson Show. “To have that legendary background is very becoming, but once you get in there, you gotta prove yourself to be good or better… nepotism is not all that easy.”

In November, the model and 'Idol' actress also pushed back on charges of nepotism. “The internet seems to care a lot about that kind of stuff. People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part,” she told Elle US magazine.

Other models reacted to her comments. “I spent years building my career, flying to Europe with no money to book shows. When I finally got the opportunity to open for a big brand as a black man, they gave it to newcomers with famous parents. I stop doing shows after that. So no matter what teach your children humility,” tweeted Adonis Bosso.

Model Nyagua Ruea added that she doesn't know of one black model who's benefited from nepotism. “We’ve all had to watch a nepo/white model walk into a casting/fitting you’ve been at for HOURS.. & be in & out of the room in no less than 30 minutes,” she said on Instagram.

The Guardian’s Rebecca Shaw said that while it’s fun to moan about nepo babies, the real problem is that working in the arts is highly inaccessible for most people. Just 7.9% of people from working-class backgrounds are in the arts today, compared to 16% in the 1950s, according to a new UK study.

Photo: Lux Charters / Unsplash