“Nepo babies” (or “nepotism babies”) have been the talk of the entertainment industry since New York Magazine’s December/January issue, which featured a definitive guide to the: “actors, singers [and] directors who just happen to be the children of actors, singers [and] directors”.
Industry connections have always made it easier to break into Hollywood. Academy Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Hollywood stars Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, recognises that she “clearly had a leg up”, while Jeff Bridges, whose father (actor Lloyd Bridges) put him up for parts in his own films, acknowledges that he wouldn’t have had the career he has if it wasn’t for his famous father. But the problem isn’t just American.
Academic research has shown that the British media – and the UK screen industries more broadly – has a problem with accessibility and diversity, which is putting those industries at risk.
