Vulture has done the lord’s work by exposing all the nepotism babies crawling around Hollywood and naturally the list is longer than you’d think.
In its massive expose full of infographics and family trees, Vulture divides the nepo babies into a heap of categories to help us understand the difference between them all. It’s a super interesting read, and there are definitely recognisable actors on there who you had no idea were from famous blood.
Before we go exploring the nepoverse, a quick reminder on what a nepo baby is. Basically, it’s someone with famous parents or parents whose vast connections would make their dream career more of a reality.
Now you’re up to speed let’s do this thing.
The Up And Coming Nepo Babies
Vulture warns us of a few nepo babies who haven’t quite reached star status yet, but are definitely making waves. We’re probably going to see a lot more of these people in the future.
Names listed here include Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis (son of actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Isabelle Adjani), Destry Spielberg (daughter of Steven Spielberg), Honor Swinton-Byrne (daughter of Tilda Swinton and John Byrne) and the super-hottie himself Charlie Hall (son of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall) who you may recognise from The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Vulture also reminds us that two of the current writers for Saturday Night Live (SNL) are the sons of SNL producers. We love an incestuous workplace dynamic.
The Nepo Babies You’ve Defs Heard Of
Next up comes the nepotism babies you’ve probably heard of. Maybe. They aren’t hugely successful on their own but they’ve definitely been around.
These celebs include Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks), Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore), Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of Ron Howard) and of course, Billie Lourd (daughter of Carrie Fisher and granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds) — one of the only good nepo babies.
The Nepo Babies Who Are Almost Famous
These nepotism babies are on the very cusp of breaking away from the legacy of their parents but still aren’t more popular than them.
Names here include Euphoria‘s Maude Apatow (daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann), Schitt’s Creek‘s Dan Levy (son of Eugene Levy), Tenet star John David Washington (son of Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington) and Stranger Things‘ Maya Hawke (daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman).
A name that surprised me here was Ben Platt (son of producer Marc Platt) who has been in three movies produced by his father — one of them being Dear Evan Hansen — which received backlash for trying to convince us a 29-year-old was in high school.
Superstar Nepo Babies
Vulture called this class of celebs the “platinum-grade nepo baby”. It features a bunch of celebs who are pretty famous on their own, almost to the point that you forget their parents are too.
These superstars include The Ellen Show‘s Dakota Johnson (who is a third generation nepo baby from a long line of celebs), Hannah Montana‘s Miley Cyrus (daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and goddaughter of Dolly Parton), How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days’ Kate Hudson (daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson) and High Fidelity‘s Zoe Kravitz (daughter of the hottest couple in history, Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet).
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Elite Nepo Babies
These nepo babies are the ultimate form of Hollywood success. They have famous parents, sure, but their popularity is so detached from them that it’s almost like they don’t matter.
These are people who are leagues beyond whatever fame their parents may have had. In fact, I won’t even name their parents because their names aren’t well known.
Stars include Jurassic Park‘s Laura Dern, Amal Clooney‘s husband George Clooney, Law & Order‘s Mariska Hargitay, By The Sea‘s Angelina Jolie and The Addams Family‘s Anjelica Huston.
Parent Connection Industry Babies
Vulture describes these celebs as those with parents who aren’t quite famous but would definitely have connections in the industry to help out their careers.
These celebs include Billie Eilish (whose mother was a voice actress), The Princess Diaries II‘s Chris Pine (child of lesser-known actors), Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart (daughter of a TV producer), Jonah Hill and his sister Beanie Feldstein (children of the accountant for Guns N Roses’ tours), Dune‘s Timothee Chalamet (nephew of a director), Gossip Girl‘s Blake Lively (child of lesser-known actors) and your 2021 Spotify Wrapped’s Phoebe Bridgers (daughter of a set builder).
I guess Hollywood really is just a bunch of celebs and their kids running around and doing what they please.
