Celebrity offspring have come out to deny claims of nepotism in the industry, claiming that they too have had to earn their stripes.
It’s an easy assumption to make that having a famous parent is an enormous advantage when it comes to making your way in Hollywood.
Whether it be networking with key figures, or simply handing down their genetics and last names, it’s easy to see how that could make life a lot easier.
Well, easy to see unless you actually are a child of famous parents.
Model-turned-actress Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, is the latest famous celebrity offspring to refute claims of her privilege in the industry.
Depp, who is set to star in HBO’s The Idol alongside The Weeknd in 2023, addressed the ongoing ‘nepotism baby’, or ‘nepo baby’ debate in an interview with Elle.
Depp said her casting in such roles has more to do with her talent than her last name.
“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,” said Depp.
“The internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things. 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.”
These quotes have caused an uproar in the entertainment industry, with self-made celebs calling on their born-famous friends to recognise their privilege.
Tale as old as time
Much of the discussion of nepo babies comes from the modelling world.
With catwalks and magazines filled with supermodel spawn like Kaia Gerber (daughter of Cindy Crawford), Gigi and Bella Hadid (Yolanda Hadid), Leni Klum (Heidi Klum), Damian Hurley (Liz Hurley) and Lila Grace Moss Hack (Kate Moss), it’s no wonder.
But famous children have long held a place in Hollywood.
Drew Barrymore, for example, comes from a long line of famous Hollywood directors and actors stretching back to the 1700s.
And Nicholas Cage, real name Nicholas Kim Coppola, is part of the Coppola dynasty. His uncle is critically acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola.
While criticism of legacy actors like Barrymore and Cage is limited, the criticism directed at new-era nepo babies seems to stem from their denial of privilege.
Kendall Jenner, daughter of Kardashian family matriarch Kris Jenner and Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, has also long denied that her famous family made her entry into the world of fashion any easier.
Having been the top-earning model four years running, Jenner claims that she got her start in the industry just like any other hopeful model would have.
In fact, she said being part of the Kardashian clan was a disadvantage.
“Of course I had a platform, and I never took that for granted. I always knew that was there. But that almost made my job a little bit harder,” she told TV host Andy Cohen at the Keeping Up With The Kardashians reunion episode in 2021.
“People probably didn’t want to hire me because I was on a reality-TV show.
“I think it’s just a perception that people have that I was like, ‘give it to me’ and I had it,” Jenner said, with the click of her fingers.
“It definitely was not that.”
But in the same interview, just minutes prior, Jenner had admitted that it was her mother and manager Kris that made her modelling dreams a reality.
“I presented the cutest little modelling book to my mom when I was 14, and then she did her Kris Jenner things and then made it all come to life.”
Actress Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of actress Lisa Bonet and rock legend Lenny Kravitz, has also chimed in.
Kravitz’s career has reached new heights of late, donning the iconic Catwoman suit in The Batman and producing a track in Taylor Swift’s record-breaking album Midnights.
Kravitz defended her position, saying it was “completely normal” for the children of stars to follow their parents in the entertainment industry.
Kravitz even said having famous parents was a source of “deep insecurity”, suggesting it was something she had to overcome in order to pursue her own career.
Earning your stripes
Such denials of privilege have angered several models, including Italian model Vittoria Ceretti.
Ceretti called out Depp in a scathing Instagram statement.
“I bumped into an interview of a so-called ‘nepo baby’ or whatever y’all call it,” she wrote.
“I would really love to see if you would have lasted thru [sic] the first 5 years of my career. Not only being rejected, because I know you have a sad little story about it (even if at the end of the day you can still always go cry on your dad’s couch in your villa in Malibu),” she continued.
“You have no f–ing idea how much you have to fight to make people respect you. TAKES YEARS. You just get it by free day one.
Tweet from @ModelsFacts
Ceretti’s statement was shared and echoed by dozens of her fellow models, as documented in a lengthy viral Twitter thread, including self-made model Anok Yai.
She was discovered at her university homecoming celebration when a photographer asked to take a photo of her.
That photo soon went viral on social media, with dozens of modelling agencies knocking at her door.
But times were still tough.
“I remember barely being able to afford living in New York but having to budget out flights, hotels, cars for work; taking out loans so I could buy food, drowning in debt, seeing myself on billboards but having a few dollars to my name.
“I had to fight for Every. Single. Thing. But I didn’t mind – I wanted to earn my stripes.
Yai had a powerful message addressed to ‘the privileged’: “I am not saying that having privilege is a bad thing – it’s a blessing, more power to you.
“And I know you work hard and have your struggles just like the rest of us.
“But goddamn if you only knew the hell we go through just to be able to stand in the same room that you were born in.”
Getting it right
While the criticism of these nepo babies is perhaps justified, some have actually gotten it right by acknowledging their privilege.
Stranger Things actress Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, said having famous parents “made it so easy for me to do the thing that I love”.
“I think I’ll get a couple chances on their name and then if I suck, I’ll get kicked out of the kingdom,” she told People
“And that’s what should happen. So I’m just going to try not to suck.”
Gigi Hadid also acknowledged her position in an interview with Vogue Australia, saying it even made her feel guilty.
“There are so many girls who come [from] all over the world and work their arses off and send money home to their families like my mother did, and I wanted to stand next to them backstage and for them to look at me and respect me and to know that it’s never about me trying to overshadow or take their place.”
