11 Famous Parents Who Don’t Think Their Kids Should Be Called Nepo Babies

Find out what these celebrity parents had to say about nepotism…

1. Ryan Phillippe

Ryan Phillippe recently spoke out about nepo babies, explaining that he believed that it’s unfair to place the label on celebrity children because kids from all walks of life often end up following in the footsteps of their parents. When it comes to his children Ava and Deacon, who are both working towards a career in entertainment, he said it just made sense.

“That’s what always annoys me about this whole nepotism talk with the industry. You know, so many people grow up and end up doing what their parents do, you know, to some degree or another…To me, I always get offended for the children of actors and entertainers when people bring that up because yeah, of course, that’s what they’ve grown up around,” he shared with with Extra.

He continued, “By the way, that familiarity makes them handle some of what is hard about this industry. You’ve gotta have a thick skin. There’s so much rejection and nasty things that can be said about you. It’s not all celebration. These kids have grown up watching on set with Reese [Witherspoon] or with me. It seems natural, I think.”

2. Gwyneth Paltrow

As the daughter of Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow has been accused of being a nepo baby herself. While she admits that being the child of someone famous may get your foot in the door “unfairly,” she says you have to work “twice as hard and be twice as good.”

“People are ready to pull you down and say, ‘You don’t belong there,’ and ‘You’re only there because of your dad or your mom,’” she said on an episode of Hailey Bieber’s YouTube series, Who’s In My Bathroom?

As for her children, Gwyneth says the criticism of her daughter Apple has been unnecessary — and it’s understandable that she’d be influenced by the creative people around her.

“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. Nobody rips on a kid who’s like, ‘I want to be a doctor like my dad and granddad,’” she told Bustle. “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…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.”

3. Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan really doesn’t appreciate the nepo baby title, especially when it comes to her son Jack Quaid. She says by giving him that label, it dismisses all the hard work he’s put in through the years — particularly because she believes he’s been a naturally talented actor from a very young age.

“Jack is really talented. He’s more of a natural than I’ll ever be. That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege,” she said in an interview with Glamour.

She continued, “I remember seeing him in a middle school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He was playing Bottom. I was newly divorced from his dad and he was seated at the other side of the gym. I had my head in my hands and was like, ‘Oh, no. He’s good. He’s really good.’ I leaned forward, and I see Dennis, and he’s also leaning forward with his head in his hands. I just knew.”

4. Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks’ children have become involved in the entertainment industry but instead of nepotism, he just sees it as a family business. Growing up, it’s what his children were exposed to so it only makes sense that they’d want to pursue it as well. And even if they were able to get their foot in the door easily, they still had to be good at what they did.

“Look, this is a family business. This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all of our kids grew up in. If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year,” Tom shared with Reuters.

He added, “The thing that doesn’t change no matter what happens, no matter what your last name is, is whether it works or not. That’s the issue anytime any of us go off and try to tell a fresh story or create something that has a beginning, and a middle, and an end. Doesn’t matter what our last names are. We have to do the work in order to make that a true and authentic experience for the audience.”

5. Vanessa Paradis

Vanessa Paradis’ daughter, Lily Rose Depp, has become an on-the-rise star in Hollywood despite the fact that many people call her a nepo baby. While discussing Lily’s career, Vanessa shared that just because someone is a child of a celebrity, it doesn’t mean the right opportunities will come their way. In fact, sometimes these children are just being used in order to get to their parents.

“Today, everyone has an opinion to give, social networks, the tabloid press. ‘Nepo babies,’ just the expression is awful. A child whose parents are famous already has a part of [their] personality removed from [them]: people are interested in [them] to reach [their] parents. People are wrong. Doors open for these ‘children of,’ but they are not always the right doors,” Vanessa told Madame Figaro.

She continued, “Sure, the temptation is probably great to suggest a ‘child of’ in a casting call, but if [they’re] bad at [their] job, [they’re] not going to stick around for long. And then, above all, [they] will be involved in bad projects. My daughter, I have seen her work for eight years. She is a hard worker like you rarely see. She works hard on her roles and her auditions. She did a lot of castings where she wasn’t chosen, and she was unhappy about it, like the others. I truly believe that those who succeed are those who work hard and are talented, whatever their name is. My daughter is one of them.”

6. Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore’s son, Caleb Freundlich, has pursued a music career but she doesn’t think that makes him a nepo baby. While discussing nepotism in Hollywood, Julianne shared that people have connections in all industries — but it’s hard work that makes it matter.

“I think it’s kind of this weird thing that’s happening on social media. A lot of us have advantages that are given to us by our families and by our relationships, and certainly, in terms of community building, you always want to help your family and your friends,” she explained to Express. “People should be given opportunities wherever. But, honestly, we only succeed based on our hard work and our abilities.”

7. Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke’s daughter Maya has followed in his footsteps as an actor and has been accused of being a nepo baby. When asked how he feels about the nepotism label, Ethan said that the word has unnecessarily become negative even though children have always followed their parent’s career paths.

“I feel sorry for this generation that this word [nepotism] has somehow turned into being derisive when it’s the history of mankind,” Ethan shared with Today. “‘The apple doesn’t fall from far from the tree’ is a very old expression. I like what [college football coach] Deion Sanders says about it. When he works with his kids, he says, ‘Have you seen them play?’”

8. Robin Wright

Robin Wright’s children, Dylan and Hopper Penn, have both pursued careers in entertainment and she doesn’t see any issue with casting her children in her projects. While she says everyone is treated equally on set, having family around is a great bonus and can add to a film or show.

“It is the nature of the beast. They get your gene. And when they get your gene and it works, what’s wrong with that?” she told E! News. “You’re treated the same as everybody. You’re not given some kind of seniority. And, really and truly, you’re still responding to the material as any actor would like, ‘I really want to play that part.’ And the parts that Dylan and Hopper have gotten, they’ve been great parts to play…It is a business, that never changes. It’s just a different emotional value because you know each other so well.”

9. Will Smith

Will Smith has received backlash for putting his children in his movies as they grew up — but to him, he doesn’t see it as nepotism. Instead, he looks at it as an opportunity to teach them the family business.

“I grew up in a family business, so for me, my father and my mother taught me on the family business. We were working together, was how we were raised. So, for me, that’s how I wanted to raise my kids,” he shared with SiriusXM. “That’s how I wanted to teach my kids in seeing me in my best light and doing my art, the thing I do best, and they’re right there. And I get to teach them in the actual moments of creation, so I was willing to have that backlash.”

10. Noel Gallagher

When Noel Gallagher weighed in on the nepo baby debate, he admitted that he didn’t think it was such a bad thing. While his sons are too young to take advantage of his fame, he says his daughter Anaïs has gotten the opportunity as a filmmaker to make a documentary about his career.

“It depends which way you look at it. My daughter, she follows me around with a camera and she films me and all that. She did a film about the making of the album. I guess you want to keep things close to home, but they have to be good at what they do,” he told The Independent, jokingly adding, “It’s not the worst thing in the world if you get your kids working for you, they’re cheap, do you know what I mean?”

11. Katey Sagal

Two of Katey Sagal’s children have pursued careers in acting and music and while she admits a famous last name can help you get in the door, she believes it’s truly only talent that can make someone successful.

“Once you get in the door, which is definitely hard to get in, then you’re on your own. It doesn’t matter what your name is. It doesn’t matter who your parents are. It doesn’t matter. Your talent has to stand on its own, or it’s not going to happen. It’s such a hard industry to break into that if you have a connection, use it. And also, as a parent of kids that both do this, I would be the first one to say to them, ‘Don’t do this. You’re not good enough. It’s too hard. Go find something else,’” Katy shared with The List.