Nepotism has always been around. It makes sense a parent would want to give their child every opportunity they can. Lately, nepotism has been under a societal microscope since a 2022 New York Magazine cover story explored the topic, especially as it relates to Hollywood. The term “nepo baby” has become a sort of buzzword when one discovers a famous actor's equally famous lineage.
Gwyneth Paltrow, a nepo baby herself, is a mother of two children from her marriage to musician Chris Martin and two stepchildren from her marriage to producer Brad Falchuk. In a recent Bustle article, she made it clear that she does not like the term and is offended by it. She wants her kids to choose whatever path they want in life, even if that means following in her footsteps.
Gwyneth is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director/producer Bruce Paltrow. She seemed to embrace the term in January 2023 when she commented on Hailey Bieber’s Instagram post. Hailey, the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, was wearing a shirt that read “nepo baby.” Gwyneth wrote: “I might need a few of these.”
Gwyneth has since changed her tune, calling the term an “ugly moniker.” The topic came up when she was discussing her daughter Apple. “Now there’s this whole nepo baby culture, and judgment that exists around kids of famous people,” Gwyneth explained. “She’s really just a student. She just wants to be a kid and be at school and learn. But there’s nothing wrong with doing or wanting to do what your parents do.”
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Gwyneth thinks Hollywood’s children get an especially bad reputation that is not justified. “Nobody rips on a kid who’s like, 'I want to be a doctor like my dad and granddad,'” she mused. “The truth is if you grow up in a house with a lot of artists and people making art and music, that’s what you know, the same way that if you grow up in a house of law, the discussions around the table are about the nuances of whatever particular law the parents practice.”
“I think it’s kind of an ugly moniker. 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,” she concluded. She wants her kids to follow their hearts and not worry about the judgment of others.
Gwyneth is not the only actor who has spoken out about the term. Kate Hudson seemed unbothered by it. She is the daughter of actors Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson. “The nepotism thing, I mean … I don’t really care,” Kate told the Independent. “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.”
While it is popular to call out Hollywood’s nepotism, Kate believes it exists everywhere. “I actually think there are other industries where it’s [more common],” Kate said. “Maybe modeling? I see it in business way more than I see it in Hollywood. Sometimes I’ve been in business meetings where I’m like, ‘Wait, whose child is this? Like, this person knows nothing!’ 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.”
Jamie Lee Curtis entered the chat via an Instagram post. She is the daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. “I have been a professional actress since I was 19 years old so that makes me an OG Nepo Baby,” she wrote. “I’ve never understood, nor will I, what qualities got me hired that day, but since my first two lines on Quincy as a contract player at Universal Studios to this last spectacular creative year some 44 years later, there’s not a day in my professional life that goes by without my being reminded that I am the daughter of movie stars. The current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.”
Ethan Hawke, father of Maya Hawke, embraces the term. "Put simply, I’m a nepo dad!" he mused to Variety. "And I’m not embarrassed about it."
