A Dive into the World of Star Kids and Nepotism Babies of Hollywood
Hollywood has had its fair share of nepotism babies- a term coined recently in the depths of the interweb- a kind of fascinating phenomenon that seems to mean children who are born into famous, rich or otherwise powerful families, and who have the privilege of inheriting monarchies, business empires, wealth and star power- the credibility of which, though, is often questioned.
A recent instance of this has been when the internet shamelessly mocked Jennifer Anniston, who in her appearance on Variety’s Actor on Actor, spoke about her disgruntlement with the fact that almost anybody is getting famous lately, stating “You’re famous from Tiktok. You’re famous from Youtube. You’re famous from Instagram.” Twitter and other forms of social media were quick to respond, and the public went ablaze with accusations that mimicked her own “nepotism baby” status. Comments like “When did Jennifer Aniston all of a sudden become the créme of the crop in terms of acting ability?” and “Jennifer’s parents were both millionaire actors embedded in the film industry. Their connections allowed for Aniston to have the career that she has” seemed to be making the rounds.
Whatever be the reaction and vitriol against such comments, the public has always been fascinated with the case of star kids and nepotism babies. When the likes of celebrities with famous parents like Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid decided to pursue their respective modelling careers, public opinion was largely divided and their catapulting towards stardom was carefully monitored and watched with bated breaths as their every move was scrutinised. The daughter of Johnny Depp (who has himself been making the rounds lately in the tabloids thanks to his utterly grossing public divorce to Amber Heard), Lily-Rose Depp has emerged as the ‘It-girl’ for the nepotism baby status, with her luxurious lifestyle, distinct fashion sense and peculiar tastes in the films she decides to act in. Carving out their niches do not seem to be particularly difficult for the star kids in Hollywood, as many have emerged as fan favourites- examples of which include Maude Apatow who starred as the beloved character “Lexi” in the popular series ‘Euphoria’, Zoë Kravitz as the new Catwoman in the 2022’s “The Batman” and Dakota Johnson. Film-makers and directors, some of which have managed to attain certain critical acclaim as well, such as Sofia Coppola who is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, still perhaps have their parents to thank for as a kind of head-start in their careers.
However, star kids do not just limit themselves to the artistic endeavour of film-making or acting. The children of Jada-Pinkett Smith and Will Smith seem to have coined a reputation as musicians- both Jaden Smith and Willow Smith are in the current mainstream music scene with hits that seem to entice a lot of the youth across a fair share of social media platforms. As one Twitter user quirkily pointed out,
“All nepotism babies go thru several phases. 1-failed photography career 2-failed modeling career 3-failed music career 4-failed acting career
— bree (@BubonicBabes) April 21, 2022
Perhaps what elicits our fair share of envy, vitriol and fascination towards these star kids is their ability to be able to ‘do what they want’ with their lives- keeping aside the capitalistic endeavour of making money or having to feed or clothe themselves- simply because these things are already furnished for them. Keeping that in mind, who wouldn’t then want to start a modelling career off of Instagram or try their chops at singing a tune or two?
