“Nepo-baby” was a term that, just a few years ago, would have befuddled most people. “What is a nepo baby?”, most would ask. That would be before the controversial New York Magazine cover on the subject, or the now years of social media discourse that led up to it. It all began when a tweet made by Canadian tech-support specialist Meriem Derradji expressing her surprise at Maude Apatow being a “nepotism baby”. The Twitter user explained that Apatow’s parents are Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, and in turn opened a can of worms that is causing more and more of a stir as time goes by.
There doesn’t seem to be all that much of a debate online about nepotism in Hollywood. For the most part, the masses seem to think that nepotism is an unfair advantage. Furthermore, they feel that coming from a famous name is invariably an advantage, even when the offspring in question swear they distanced themselves from their heritage and thus, advantages, as much as they could. In response, a swath of celebrities has spoken up in defense of the nepo-baby— which sometimes means themselves.
What is a Nepo-Baby?
Debra Hill Productions
A nepotism baby, or nepo baby for short, is the child of a famous or influential figure that benefits from their parent’s position when entering the very same field of work themselves. In Hollywood, this refers most often to actors that are the children of actors, but singers, models, and social media stars have likewise been scrutinized. As outlined in the New York Magazine feature, the amount of Hollywood stars, both big and small that have roots in Hollywood is astounding. With some actors changing their names entirely, some have gone largely undetected until the internet decided to go on this deep dive into the world of Hollywood connections.
The New York Magazine made one notable error in their assessment of nepotism, and it’s one that’s visible on the very front cover of the issue. The magazine refers to a supposed “nepo-baby boom”, which implies that this is a new phenomenon. It is everything but. Long-established stars such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Kate Hudson, Ben Stiller, Mariska Hargitay, Sofia Coppola, Tracy Ellis Ross, and George Clooney— to name a few— all come from famous parents or families.
What Spurred the Conversation
Lionsgate
The nepo-baby conversation began when a Twitter user pointed out the famous parentage of Euphoria star Maude Apatow, effectively coining the term “nepo-baby”. The young actress has earned a large fanbase from her performance as the shy Lexi Howard in the HBO series, but some would say that her stardom would have never been possible if the doors hadn’t been opened for her on account of familial connections. Most of these sorts of stars claim that they have earned their careers through hard work and talent. As many on social media have pointed out, having a famous parent will always be a better standpoint to launch a career than coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere with no famous last name or resources. Even if you try to distance yourself from the privilege your family name carries, growing up with wealth, resources, and advice from successful industry professionals is a significant leg up over people who have none of these things.
Jamie Lee Curtis has come under fire for her response to the conversation, in which she said: “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.”
For some critics, this response seems to further point out that these celebrities just don’t get the point of the criticism. Nobody is saying that Jamie Lee Curtis isn’t talented, they just want her, and actors like her, to recognize the advantage they had in breaking into the industry.
Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, also spoke up on the issue, “The nepotism thing, I mean… I don’t really care. I look at my kids and we’re a storytelling family. It’s definitely in our blood. People can call it whatever they want, but it’s not going to change it.” She concluded, “I don’t care where you come from, or what your relationship to the business is. If you work hard and you kill it, it doesn’t matter.”
Hudson essentially dismisses the noise with an “ok, so what?”, which begs the question — what do critics really hope to gain from this discourse? Kate Hudson laid it down: successful artists tend to have artistic children that go on to prolong the family’s creative legacy. This dynamic isn’t going anywhere, and at the end of the day, public opinion doesn’t change the fact that these actors have and will continue to enjoy successful careers.
On the other hand, there certainly are those that very evidently have nothing to stand on in their careers except for a famous last name. Lottie Moss, the younger sister of supermodel Kate Moss, was lambasted on Twitter after suggesting that people redirect their anger into productivity in their own careers. One Twitter user (@matildae22), commented on the younger Moss sister’s largely unfruitful modeling career, suggesting that is why the young model doesn’t see nepotism as such a huge advantage.
Is the Conversation Going to Go Away?
Warner Bros.
So what do the critics want this conversation to yield? Do they want to bar the children of celebrities from entering the same industry as their parents? Obviously not, so then they must just be calling for accountability and an acknowledgment of privilege; except Kate Hudson basically did that, and the discourse rages on as it did before. Perhaps there is no real end goal to the discussion, but rather it serves as an outlet for the everyday person to vent their frustrations. If the nepo-baby is here to stay, then so too can the critics dig in their heels and continue to point out the inequities.
The conversation might never truly go away, especially when one contextualizes it within the greater issue of Hollywood’s changing landscape. With the rise of a new golden age in television and the declining profitability of mid-budget theatrical releases, the presence of the nepo-baby is just another aspect of the industry that is evolving and adapting to a new era.
