celebrity

'I don't really care.' Celebrities on what life as a nepo baby is really like.

Nepo babies all over Hollywood are quaking in their Chanel boots right now. Of late, there has been increasing interest - or should we say scrutiny? - in just who these "nepotism babies" are and the perceived privilege they're afforded given their famous parent, parents, or lineage.

Think Brooklyn Beckham, Lily-Rose Depp, Dakota Johnson, and Zoe Kravitz. That's just four. If you want the full list, New York Magazine has very helpfully provided a detailed illustration of every single Hollywood nepo baby currently existing in the universe. The accompanying Vulture article has since gone viral.

Did we need this extremely detailed list and analysis of nepo babies? Probably not. But it's human nature to be voyeuristic, and many of us who are not Hollywood nepo babies (there's quite a few of us) couldn't help feel a twinge of "Well, these nepo babies deserve it." As the article states, "We love them, we hate them, we disrespect them, we're obsessed with them."

Curtis added: "For the record, I have navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame brought me, I don't pretend there aren't any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own. It's curious how we immediately make assumptions and snide remarks that someone related to someone else who is famous in their field for their art, would somehow have no talent whatsoever. 

"I have come to learn that is simply not true. I have suited up and shown up for all different kinds of work with thousands of thousands of people and every day I've tried to bring integrity and professionalism and love and community and art to my work. I am not alone. 

"There are many of us. Dedicated to our craft. Proud of our lineage. Strong in our belief in our right to exist."

This article was published on December 22, 2022 and has since been updated with new information. 

Feature Image: Getty.

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Top Comments

shauna020473 2 years ago 3 upvotes
I see this as an issue of being aware of one's privilege.  Those who succeed because of inherited privilege are just that, privileged. It doesn't mean they didn't work hard for it or deserve it ... but it does mean it was probably easier for them than for the next person. Connections, money, educational opportunities, experiences, having free time, where you live, what you look like, disability, gender, sexuality, even just knowing people who have that career already.... it can all make a difference...
An ideal world would offer lots of opportunities to anyone who had talent and drive.
simple simon 2 years ago 3 upvotes
@shauna020473 I read an interesting comment on the FB page for this article: "When you have advantages you don't really notice them because you think the World is like that for everyone.".
Whatever you grow up with, that's all you know, so you think that's normal, and is the case for all.

simple simon 2 years ago 3 upvotes
A genuine question: Is being given opportunities in the entertainment industry because your family are rich/famous really that much different to being given opportunities because you inherited... say, good looks from your family? 
laura__palmer 2 years ago 1 upvotes
@simple simon Let's look it at is this way
Is being given opportunities in the legal industry because your family are lawyers really that much different to being given opportunities because you inherited... say, good looks from your family? 
I'd say, yes it is different than inheriting good looks and both my example and your example are examples of nepotism. Inheriting good looks from your family is not nepotism. 

mb1111 2 years ago 5 upvotes
@simple simonInherited good looks is not nepotism but I get your point. It definitely gives you a leg up in life, I particular if you are an extremely good looking woman 

My opinion with the nepotism babies is that some of them work hard and should have nothing to be ashamed of. I hate internet shaming. They can’t help who their parents are and why shouldn’t they take advantage of it. It’s not like the entertainment and media industry has ever worked on a level playing field  and it is a prime example of people getting ahead based on the looks they were born with. It is very difficult to think of an unattractive singer despite the fact that I am sure people who are not classically or stereotypically attractive can sing dance and act. 
simple simon 2 years ago 2 upvotes
@mb1111 inherited good looks is not nepotism
No it isn’t. But neither is being given opportunities because of who your family are. I think it’s only nepotism when a family member actively participates in it being decided that you are given those opportunities.
It’s not like the entertainment and media industry has ever worked on a level playing field and it is a prime example of people getting ahead based on [their] looks
We need to remember the entertainment industry is a business; it exists to make money. And they believe they are likely to make more money when a performer is (stereotypically) attractive.
It is very difficult to think of an unattractive singer despite the fact that I am sure people who are not classically or stereotypically attractive can sing dance and act.
There was a Reddit thread where insiders tell the secrets of their field. One insider said those stories you hear about a young person recording songs in their bedroom, putting them on YouTube and getting a million hits, then a recording company signing them up, were BS. 

They said what happens is the recording company will find a young, white, slim and (stereotypically) attractive person and sign them up, but they want to make it look the artist developed their career organically. So, what they will do is get the artist to record songs in their bedroom, put them on YouTube, get a bot to give them a million hits, then have this story put out that only afterwards the recording company discovered them and signed them up.

I don’t really follow modern music closely, but whenever I would come across these stories, what always struck me as strange was that the artist was almost always a young, white, slim and (stereotypically) attractive individual. I.e., the exact type of person the recording company would be looking to sign up.