Nepo Babies Who’ve Admitted Privilege Vs. Those Who Haven’t

There’s been a lot of talk about nepotism in the entertainment industry lately. In case you aren’t familiar, some celebrities are being called nepo babies, accused of only successful because their famous parents helped them get their foot in the door.

While some have genuinely thoughtful responses to the whole thing, others refuse to acknowledge they even benefit from nepotism. Here are 17 different famous people who have been hit with the nepo baby label, and what they had to say.

She was recently praised for her response to nepo baby criticism. “There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway,” she told the London Times. “It’s okay to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. It’s a lucky place to be.”

Allison told Vulture her opinions on the topic. “To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn’t the same — it’s ludicrous,” the actress said. “It doesn’t take anything away from the work that I’ve done. It just means that it’s not as fun to root for me.”

When asked how she feels about being ‘outed’ as a nepotism baby, Maude explained that she tries to remain positive. “I try not to let it get to me because I obviously understand that I’m in such a lucky position,” the actress told Net-a-Porter in 2022. “A lot of people [in a similar position] have proven themselves over the years, so I’ve got to keep going and make good work.”

The model and business owner revealed her thoughts on being a nepo baby last year. “I’m one of the luckiest people on the planet to be able to live the life that I live,” she told WSJ Magazine. “But I do think that it’s challenging for me a lot more than it’s not.”

She made headlines last year for wearing a shirt that said “nepo baby,” which she told The Sunday Times all about. “When you’re out and about and people are stopping your dad or uncle and asking for pictures, you start to understand why,” she said. “That was me being, like, ‘I’m very aware of the situation [and] I’m going to wear it loud and proud because you are already labeling me as such and it’s true.’”

She told Elle in 2022 that she didn’t agree with the nepo babyplaced on her. “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 said. “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.”

During an interview with the School of Greatness podcast, the actress denied benefitting from nepotism. “It’s funny because people 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.” However, she did mention that her parents gave her “creative help” with reading lines and offering direction.

While on The Today Show, the actor shared her thoughts on nepotism discourse. “When that first started I found it to be incredibly annoying and boring. If you’re a journalist, then write about something else. That’s just lame.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2023, the actor was asked, “You were on the cover of New York Magazine‘s Nepo Baby issue. I’m curious, what was your response to that? And what do you make of that whole discourse?” In response, Ben simply said, “We’re going to skip right over that if we can.”

The actor has always called the term “nepo baby” an “ugly moniker.” She added, “I just hope that my children always feel free to pursue exactly what they want to do, irrespective of what anybody’s going to think or say.”

In an interview with GQ in 2022, she pushed away the idea that actors who have famous parents are any different from actors who don’t. “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.”

In an interview with Elle in 2023, the model shared her perspective on nepotism. “I won’t deny the privilege that I have. Even if it’s just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for,” she said of her mom. However, mentioning acting specifically, she added, “No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid. That just isn’t how art is made, and what I’m interested in is art.”

On her show, she addressed being a nepo baby. “One part of me is like, ‘I’m a nepo baby! Who cares,” she said. However, she added, “My fear is that I don’t want people who are trying to make it feel bad because everyone thinks, ‘Oh, it’s just because of your parents you got here.’ Again, that would be in any family business. If you came from a family of lawyers, and someone said, ‘Oh well her dad runs the firm.’ It’s like well, she still took the bar and got here of her own volition so as long as we’re not catty about it and celebratory of it, that’s the tone I want.”

As the daughter of Will and Jada Smith, Willow “Being Black in America, even with privilege, which I’m never going to deny that I have, you’re still Black,” she told Allure. “And I love being Black. People would look at me and [say], ‘Okay, well, her parents are this and this and that, but she still is like me. She still has brown skin.’ And we all know that that doesn’t exempt you from anything, and that’s a place of connection.”

On the Table For Two podcast, the actor shared her thoughts on “nepo babies.” “People like to say, ‘Oh, you know, you have a leg up because you’re a family in the industry,’” she said. “But then the other side to that is, you know, you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people don’t have good experience being to be with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”

“Technically I’m a nepotism baby,” she told The Times in 2023. She later added that her parents “came from very little.” “I’ve always acknowledged that I come from privilege… My parents told me, ‘Just because you have parents who were successful, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t walk into the job being as nice and as hard-working as you can be,'” she said.