9 Celebrity Kids Who Don’t Think They’re Nepo Babies

“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is.”

The debate surrounding nepotism in Hollywood has been going on for years and while it’s clear that children of celebrities have an advantage in the entertainment industry, not all of these famous offspring feel that being called a “nepo baby” is a fair label. These up-and-coming stars say that they’ve put in the work to earn their place — and sometimes, their famous families have actually made things harder for them. While the public may disagree, these stars reject the nepo baby label.

Find out what these stars had to say about nepotism…

Patrick Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Patrick Schwarzenegger has landed quite a few major roles in Hollywood, but he doesn’t want to be considered a nepo baby. He explained that he really doesn’t like the label because he feels that he puts in just as much work as everyone else.

“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is. They’re not seeing that I’ve had ten years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end or the hundreds of rejected auditions I’ve been on,” he told The Times.

Emma Roberts

As the niece of Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts acknowledges that people believe her career is based on nepotism. She disagrees, noting that if it were all about nepotism, she would have landed many more roles throughout her career.

“A lot of people think that, and they talk about nepotism, which I think is so ridiculous considering it’s obviously not true; because I’ve auditioned for so many things and never gotten the part. Also it’s like, you know, maybe someone can get you one part, but they can’t really get you 10 parts,” Emma once told Popeater.

Dakota Johnson

Dakota Johnson hasn’t held back when it comes to how much she dislikes the nepo baby label, despite coming from an acting dynasty family. Dakota, who says she was financially cut off by her famous father Don Johnson when she decided to pursue acting as a teen, has called the label “lame” and boring.”

“When that first started, I found it to be incredibly annoying and boring,” she shared on the TODAY show. “Like, if you’re a journalist, write about something else. It’s just lame.”

O’Shea Jackson Jr.

O’Shea Jackson Jr., whose father is rapper and actor Ice Cube, has turned down the nepo baby label because he believes he put in the work to earn his career. Despite his breakout role being in his father’s film, Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea says he still had to work as hard as everyone else.

“I had to get my ass up and make it work. From the roles I chose. The work ethic I put into them. My professionalism on sets and promo tours. Even leaving HIS agency and goin to find a team of my own,” he wrote on X.

Lourdes Leon

Lourdes Leon may be Madonna’s eldest daughter but she says she’s paved her own way — despite what other people may assume. In fact, she wanted to be independent from her mom as soon as possible and following her high school graduation, she started paying rent at her own apartment and covered her own college tuition.

“People think I’m this talentless rich kid who’s had everything given to her, but I’m not,” she told Vogue.

Lily Rose Depp

Lily Rose Depp, whose parents are Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, says she’s always rejected the label of nepo baby. Reflecting on her career, Lily Rose says it hasn’t been easy and she’s had to work even harder to prove she isn’t just the child of a famous person.

“It is obviously a really easy assumption to make to think that I would just have roles landing on my doorstep because of my name, but that’s an idea I’ve always kind of rejected. I’ve always been under the impression that I have to work twice as hard to prove to people that I’m not just here because it’s easy for me. I feel like you’re not what your name is. If you’re not right for something, they’re not just going to hire you because your name looks good on the post,” she told Australian Vogue.

Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Deschanel may not be the first person you think of when you hear nepo baby but she does come from a family in entertainment. Her mother, Mary Jo Deschanel, starred on Twin Peaks and her father, Caleb Deschanel, was a cinematographer.

“It’s funny because people will be like, ‘Oh, nepotism.’ I’m like, ‘No.’ My dad’s a DP [director of photography]. No one’s getting jobs because their dad’s a DP. It’s definitely not,” she said on The School of Greatness podcast.

Lottie Moss

Model Kate Moss’ younger sister Lottie Moss faced backlash when she shared her thoughts about the nepo baby label. In a social media post, she wrote that she understands that it’s not fair that some people are born into famous families — but people should stop using that as an excuse to not work hard.

“I’m so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren’t rich and famous or successful. Obviously it’s not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that but guess what? Life isn’t fair,” she wrote in a now-deleted post on X. “If you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other peoples success go and try and create your own!”

Jackson White

Katey Sagal’s son, Tell Me Lies actor Jackson White, absolutely “hates” being called a nepo baby. The actress shared that her son doesn’t want anything to do with the label and tries to separate himself from his famous family.

“He didn’t lean into any of that. You know, he has a different last name than me, and a lot of people don’t know that he’s my kid, and he takes a lot of pride in that,” she said.