“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…If you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything!”
The conversation around “nepo babies” — aka the children of famous parents — has long been a contentious one. While several celebrities with famous family members in Hollywood have embraced and acknowledged their privilege, there are a fair few who have pushed back on or even outwardly rejected the label. Here’s a roundup of some of the most divisive takes:
1. Earlier this year, Patrick Schwarzenegger — who is, of course, the son of Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger — said in an interview with The Times, “I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is. They’re not seeing that I’ve had ten years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end or the hundreds of rejected auditions I’ve been on.”
2. Zooey Deschanel — whose father, Caleb Deschanel, is a cinematographer, and mother, Mary Jo Deschanel, starred in Twin Peaks — went viral last year after insisting that her famous parents didn’t help her career. “It’s funny because people will be like, ‘Oh, nepotism.’ I’m like, ‘No.’ My dad’s a DP [director of photography]. No one’s getting jobs because their dad’s a DP. It’s definitely not,” she said on The School of Greatness podcast.
3. Zoë Kravitz — who is the daughter of A-listers Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet — stated during a 2022 GQ interview, “It’s completely normal for people to be in the family business. It’s literally where last names came from. You were a blacksmith if your family was, like, the Black family.”
4. Gwyneth Paltrow — who is the daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actor Blythe Danner — memorably suggested in 2022 that nepo babies (a term that she later described as an “ugly moniker”) have to work “twice as hard” as their peers. “As the child of someone, you get access other people don’t have, so the playing field is not level in that way. However, I really do feel that once your foot is in the door, which you unfairly got in, then you almost have to work twice as hard and be twice as good,” she said.
5. Back in 2023, Ben Platt — who is the son of Hollywood producer Marc Platt — awkwardly swerved a question about nepotism during a chat with Rolling Stone. For context, Ben starred as the high-schooler protagonist in Dear Evan Hansen, which was produced by his dad, when he was almost 30 — a casting choice that many people attributed to his family ties. When asked to share his thoughts on the “nepo baby” discourse, Ben said, “We’re going to skip right over that if we can.”
6. Jackson White’s mom, actor Katey Sagal, claimed earlier this year that her son “hates” being called a “nepo baby.” “He didn’t lean into any of that. You know, he has a different last name than me, and a lot of people don’t know that he’s my kid, and he takes a lot of pride in that,” she said.
7. Lily-Rose Depp — who is, of course, Johnny Depp’s daughter — told Elle magazine in 2022 that she wasn’t a fan of the nepo baby label, either. “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. Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that,” she said.
8. Dakota Johnson — whose parents are actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith — has sparked backlash time and again for her takes on nepotism. Last year, she said of the discourse on The Today Show, “When that first started, I found it to be incredibly annoying and boring. Like, if you’re a journalist, write about something else. It’s just lame.” Days later, she revealed that while her dad cut her off financially for pursuing acting instead of going to college, she was able to rely on her mom for help when she found herself short of money. “I definitely had moments where I couldn’t afford groceries and things like that, and I needed to ask my mom to help me,” she said.
9. O’Shea Jackson Jr. — who is the son of rapper and actor Ice Cube — caused a stir in 2022 after claiming that he had to get his “ass up and make it work” to earn his breakout role, which was playing his own dad in Straight Outta Compton. He tweeted, “I had to get my ass up and make it work. From the roles I chose. The work ethic I put into them. My professionalism on sets and promo tours. Even leaving HIS agency and goin to find a team of my own.”
10. A few years ago, Jamie Lee Curtis — who is the daughter of late actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh — said on Instagram, “There’s not a day in my professional life that goes by without my being reminded that I am the daughter of movie stars. The current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.”
11. And finally, Lottie Moss — who is the younger sister of supermodel Kate Moss — faced fierce backlash in 2023 after sharing her two cents on all the nepotism discourse. She tweeted, “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.”
“If you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other peoples success go and try and create your own!” she added.
Yikes. Can you think of other celebs who made divisive remarks about nepotism or their privilege? Let us know in the comments.