The nepo baby has become the nepo breadwinner. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most well-known nepo celebrities who are way more famous than their parents.
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00:00I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow.
00:07Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most well-known nepo
00:12celebrities who are way more famous than their parents.
00:15You don't need your daddy's money.
00:18Then leave it there.
00:21Number 10.
00:22Drew Barrymore.
00:23It didn't take long for Drew Barrymore to eclipse her father.
00:26Drew was born to John Barrymore, who himself was part of a long line of actors.
00:31You do now, huh?
00:34Yeah, it's funny, but it's a mean kind of funny if you're in my place.
00:40Despite a solid filmography, including a starring role in High Lonesome, John never became a
00:46household name.
00:47That's certainly not the case for Drew.
00:49She started acting at just 11 months old and eventually landed the role of Gertie in Steven
00:54Spielberg's E.T.
01:04She was just 7 when the movie released in the summer of 1982, and she quickly overtook
01:08her father in the fame department.
01:10Said fame has never really let up, and she has become the most prominent member of the
01:15Barrymore family.
01:16Thank you for guiding me in the right direction.
01:20I would like to rise to your occasion and your guidance, and I love you.
01:24And thank you.
01:25I am humbled and honored.
01:27Number 9.
01:28Lenny Kravitz.
01:35You might not know Lenny Kravitz is related to anyone famous because he doesn't share
01:40their name.
01:41He is actually the son of Roxy Roker, who you might know better as Helen Willis on The
01:45Jeffersons.
01:46Better get busy.
01:47Uh, Helen, what about the shopping?
01:50Oh, shopping?
01:51That'll have to wait.
01:52I have to read over this material and get busy on the newsletter.
01:55Kravitz decided from a young age that he didn't want to be an actor, but a musician.
02:00This desire was supported by his parents, who took him to many concerts as a young child.
02:05This helped foster in him a love for music, a love that would eventually culminate in
02:10more than 40 million sold albums, top five singles, and four consecutive Grammy Awards.
02:16That said, his mother's passion seemingly had an influence, and he would also have a
02:20go at acting in the Hunger Games movies, among others.
02:23I want to do something that they're going to remember.
02:26Did they explain about trying to get sponsors?
02:28Yeah, but I'm not very good at making friends.
02:31We'll see.
02:32Number 8.
02:33Gwyneth Paltrow.
02:34Very well, madam.
02:35You have us playing the violin.
02:37What happens next?
02:38Next, Mr. Allen.
02:39Yes.
02:40What do we do now?
02:41Why, just what you'd expect.
02:44We dance.
02:45Blythe Danner made herself a great career, winning two Emmys, a Tony, and starring opposite
02:51Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents.
02:54Yet her daughter is still more famous than she is.
02:57Your eyes are red.
02:58A few tears for your long lost boss?
03:01Tears of joy.
03:02I hate job hunting.
03:03Gwyneth Paltrow was born to Danner and Danner's late husband, Bruce Paltrow, who himself was
03:09in the industry, having notably directed episodes of St. Elsewhere and Homicide, Life
03:14on the Street.
03:15Paltrow first acted in a made-for-TV movie that her father directed, and her godfather,
03:20Steven Spielberg, later cast her as young Wendy Darling in Hook.
03:23And with that, a legendary career was off, a career that would include billion-dollar
03:28blockbusters and the Academy Award for Best Actress.
03:32I'll have poetry in my life, and adventure, and love.
03:42Unlike a lot of guys in showbiz, he encouraged all of us kids to get in and become actors.
03:50He loved it so much.
03:52Lloyd Bridges is an acting legend.
03:55He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, having appeared in a number of acclaimed and
03:59popular films like Little Big Horn, High Noon, and Airplane.
04:03Young Jeff often acted with his father, appearing alongside him on Sea Hunt and The Lloyd Bridges
04:09Show.
04:10This led to better and better work, and in 1971, Jeff starred in The Last Picture Show
04:14and earned himself an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
04:18Peter didn't let us look at any dailies, but we had a feeling we were doing something kind
04:23of special.
04:25And to this day, that film, to me, just kind of sits by itself.
04:29It was a sign of things to come, and the first of seven Oscar noms thus far.
04:34Go back to the early 50's and tell people that Lloyd Bridges' son would be more famous
04:38than him, and no one would believe you.
04:41I haven't got time, Marv.
04:44Okay.
04:45Let's get down to business.
04:46You want me to stick, you put the word in for me like I said.
04:506.
04:51Jennifer Aniston
04:52I'm going to one day, I'm going to do that.
04:53I really know I'm going to get out of this house, that's another story, and I'm going
04:57to be on there.
04:58I'm going to be that.
04:59And then I got a Bob's Big Boy commercial, and I got into SAG.
05:03We mean, it doesn't get much bigger than Jennifer Aniston.
05:06Arguably one of the most famous stars of all time, Aniston has dominated both television
05:12and film, with box office grosses of well over a billion dollars.
05:16Oh, it's amazing.
05:17It's amazing.
05:18It's amazing.
05:19It's so much better than what I had at Ralph Lauren.
05:22The money is great.
05:25She was born to actress Nancy Dow and her more famous husband, John Aniston, who played
05:29Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives for nearly 40 years.
05:34He even received the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, shortly before
05:39his death at the age of 89.
05:41And while decades on a soap opera is quite the accomplishment, he was probably even prouder
05:46of what his daughter has managed to accomplish.
05:49I knew right from the beginning when she started auditioning for things.
05:54Because she got called.
05:55She always got a call back.
05:56Always.
05:57I said, well, it's just a matter of time.
06:01Number five, Miley Cyrus.
06:04We all want to believe in love.
06:08We all want to believe in something bigger than just us.
06:17Often regarded as a pop icon, Miley Cyrus came in like a wrecking ball and is now more
06:22famous than her father, Billy Ray.
06:25A legendary country artist, Billy Ray Cyrus is widely known for his debut album, Some
06:30Gave All, which spent 17 consecutive weeks at number one, sold over 9 million copies
06:36in its first year, and produced the chart-topper Achy Breaky Heart.
06:48The album was released in May 1992, just six months before Miley was born.
06:53She was given the name Destiny Hope as a sort of good luck charm, her parents basically
06:58manifesting their wish that she'd do well in life.
07:00We think it worked.
07:09Number four, Jamie Lee Curtis.
07:11Somehow, some way, Jamie Lee Curtis is more popular than both of her parents, and that
07:16is quite the accomplishment.
07:19To both reach the heights that they did in their careers, and they were the first people
07:28I thought of, the second my name was called.
07:34Her father, Tony Curtis, was huge in the 1950s, notably starring opposite Marilyn Monroe in
07:40Some Like It Hot and scoring an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Defiant Ones.
07:45Meanwhile, her mother, Janet Leigh, scored her own Oscar nom playing Marion Crane in
07:50The Legendary Psycho.
07:51We all go a little mad sometimes.
07:54Haven't you?
07:58Yes.
08:00Sometimes, just one time can be enough.
08:06Unfortunately, Tony wasn't around for Jamie Lee, and she was raised by Leigh and her stepdad,
08:11Robert Brandt.
08:12But that didn't deter her from acting, and after a brief stint in law school and some
08:17TV roles, Curtis starred in John Carpenter's Halloween.
08:21The rest is history.
08:23There is no one you've ever met who loves being an actor on a movie set more than me.
08:29Number three, Angelina Jolie.
08:31Congratulations.
08:32Now, is this your first Academy Award?
08:33Yeah.
08:34I'd like to say hello.
08:35That's a gorgeous dress.
08:36Beautiful.
08:37Are you nervous for your dad tonight?
08:39Sort of.
08:44This is another actress who had a rocky relationship with her famous father.
08:48Jolie was born to actor John Voight in 1975, a few years before he won the Academy Award
08:54for his performance in Coming Home.
08:56Voight had been famous long before his Oscar win, as he was considered an icon of the late
09:0160s counterculture, a reputation that was fueled by his role in Midnight Cowboy.
09:06Well, I hope you know what you're in for.
09:09I'm a truly dangerous person.
09:10I am.
09:11If someone does me bad like you, I swear, if I'd have caught up with you that night,
09:15there would have been one dead rat so long by now.
09:17You understand me?
09:18Jolie would later star with her father in the movie Looking to Get Out, and would go
09:22on to win an Oscar herself for Girl Interrupted.
09:26It was just one of Jolie's many accomplishments, accomplishments which have helped her surpass
09:30her dad's fame.
09:32You make something you truly enjoy, and you hope that it brings the same level of interest
09:38and joy in someone else.
09:40So to try to be really bold.
09:42Number 2.
09:43Whitney Houston
09:44Just as she will always love you, the world will always love the late Whitney Houston.
09:58She was one of the most awarded entertainers of all time.
10:01One of the greatest singers ever, and had seven consecutive number one singles, a record,
10:07all while selling over 200 million records.
10:10So yeah, she was pretty popular.
10:21Whitney has long overshadowed her mother, Sissy Houston, who herself won two Grammys
10:26and sang backup for the likes of Elvis and Aretha Franklin in addition to her solo work.
10:32Speaking of singing backup, that's how Whitney got her start, notably performing alongside
10:36her mom at various cabaret clubs and with her on the song Think It Over, which reached
10:41number five on the U.S. Dance Club chart.
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11:12Number 1.
11:13Robert Downey Jr.
11:15Well, it's easy to guess who Robert Downey Jr. is related to.
11:19Yep, Robert Downey Sr.
11:22Or as he was known then, just Robert Downey.
11:32Sr. was a filmmaker and actor, landing a number of small roles and working on low-budget movies
11:37that were popular in the anti-establishment era of the 60s and 70s.
11:42In these movies, he would often cast his wife, Elsie Anne, and kids, including young Junior,
11:47who started acting at the age of five.
11:56Suffice to say, Junior has long eclipsed both his mother and father in popularity, winning
12:02an Oscar and leading one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time.
12:07From low-budget counterculture movies to the MCU, it doesn't get much different than that.
12:23Can you think of any other examples?
12:25Let us know in the comments below.
12:33Do you agree with our picks?
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