Some nepo babies have been able to make it with little to no help — but others wouldn't be household names if it wasn't for their parents. From a rock star's son to the President's daughter, these celebs owe it all to their famous moms and dads.
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00:00Some nopo babies have been able to make it with little to no help,
00:04but others wouldn't be household names if it wasn't for their parents. From a rock star's son
00:09to the president's daughter, these celebs owe it all to their famous moms and dads.
00:15Director Judd Apatow may very well have given his daughter a career boost
00:19when he cast her in roles for a few of his films. Maud is arguably most well-known for her role as
00:26Lexi Howard in Euphoria, but her big break came courtesy of her famous dad.
00:31It also probably helps to be the daughter of actor Leslie Mann.
00:34Who better to seek advice from than a parent who has already made a name for themselves?
00:39Judd Apatow-directed films Maud can be spotted in include The King of Staten Island,
00:44Funny People, Knocked Up, and This Is 40. The actor and her sister Iris have been given roles
00:50in their father's films since they were children. Judd Apatow appeared on Serious
00:54Jibber-Jabber with Conan O'Brien and spoke about directing his daughters in 2012, saying,
01:00"...my kids are strangely funny, and they're bored of being on set,
01:04so they're not scared that cameras are around."
01:07The director continued,
01:08"...they get sucked into what their real problems are with each other,
01:11like they're so annoyed with each other that they're not distracted by the fact
01:15that they're shooting a movie and it needs to go well."
01:17Judd and Leslie talk about their daughters often,
01:20something that Maud isn't always the biggest fan of.
01:24Does that bother you at all?
01:26Um, yeah. Sometimes. I mean, they really throw me under the bus.
01:30They think it's okay.
01:31A lot.
01:33Gwyneth Paltrow is so well-known on her own that it's easy to forget that she was born into fame.
01:39The A-lister's mother is actor Blythe Danner, while her father is the late director,
01:44Bruce Paltrow. Gwyneth was actually cast in her first movie role thanks to her famous father.
01:50Bruce put his daughter in his 1989 made-for-TV film High, which he wrote and directed.
01:56The late Bruce Paltrow not only gave his daughter a major career boost,
02:00but he also gave her blunt, yet helpful advice on navigating fame and staying down-to-earth.
02:06During an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Gwyneth talked about a time when
02:10her father sat her down after she'd won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love.
02:14He said, in his inimitable Brooklyn way, um, you're kind of turning into an a----.
02:21Although you might think that Gwyneth has had it easier due to the guidance and connections
02:25she's received from her famous mom and dad, she herself might not agree. As a guest on
02:31Hailey Bieber's Who's in My Bathroom? in 2022, Gwyneth made a smoothie and shared,
02:36"...as the child of somebody, you get access that other people don't have,
02:40so the playing field is not level in that way. However,
02:43I really do feel that once your foot is in the door, which you unfairly got in,
02:47then you have to work almost twice as hard and be twice as good."
02:51Angelica Huston is always a delightful actor to watch, but it's undeniable that her father,
02:58legendary director John Huston, played a role in her Oscar win. Angelica was given the role
03:04of May Rose Pritzy in her father's 1985 film Pritzy's Honor, for which she won an Oscar
03:10in the category of Best Supporting Actress. Angelica's father may have helped her earn
03:15an accolade that many actors can only dream of, but what did she think of working with her dad
03:20on other projects? It was a mixed bag. His film she starred in as a teenager,
03:25A Walk with Love and Death, cost her a shot at starring in Romeo and Juliet.
03:30Speaking about her father, Angelica told The Guardian in 2006,
03:34"...ultimately, he wrote a letter to Franco Zeffirelli to say that I wouldn't be doing
03:38Juliet, which infuriated me, and that instead I would be working with him."
03:43As for her A Walk with Love and Death character, the actor said,
03:46"...I wasn't crazy about the part. I was a big snob at the time.
03:50I felt that the script was a bit saccharine. It struck me as being incredibly corny."
03:54Angelica was a bit more passionate about her character in Pritzy's Honor.
03:58She shared that she read the book that inspired the movie ahead of filming,
04:02and later helped influence John to move forward with directing the project.
04:07When your father casts you in the finale of the greatest crime saga in film history,
04:12the pressure to perform is pretty high. That's exactly what happened to Sofia
04:17Coppola when she was cast in director Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III as Michael
04:23Corleone's daughter Mary. The young actor took on the role after Wynonna Ryder stepped away
04:28from the project at the last minute due to an illness. Sofia famously became a director after
04:34starring in the movie, and it might have been for the best that acting wasn't the star's primary
04:39passion, because she didn't exactly receive praise for her performance.
04:43"...No, I got beat up and it was right when I was 18, so you're already feeling a little
04:46awkward about yourself, so it wasn't pleasant. But, you know, it wasn't the end of the world."
04:52Critics slammed Sofia's acting work, and even The Godfather Part III as a whole.
04:57During an interview with Vulture, Francis took the blame for the harsh criticism of his daughter's
05:02acting, saying,
05:03"...I felt that I did this to her."
05:05Of course, Sofia went on to have a wonderful career of her own,
05:08but it must have hurt her terribly to be told,
05:11"...you ruined your father's picture."
05:13When in fact, she hadn't, in my opinion. At any rate,
05:16the whole subject of The Godfather III was painful for me. In a separate interview with
05:21The Independent, Sofia confessed that she has a hard time re-watching The Godfather Part III,
05:27but she doesn't blame her dad.
05:29Critics may not have had anything nice to say about the star's acting,
05:33but her directing skills have garnered a different reaction.
05:36She's the mastermind behind a number of successful films, including Lost in Translation,
05:41The Bling Ring, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and more.
05:46Francesca Eastwood got her big break after her father, Clint Eastwood,
05:50cast her as a waitress in the 2014 film Jersey Boys and launched her film career.
05:56Given the fact that Francesca was the daughter of one of the most well-known actor-directors
06:00in Hollywood, her last name earned her fame even before she landed a role in the movie.
06:05She and her sister Morgan Eastwood documented their lives on the short-lived 2012 reality show
06:11Mrs. Eastwood & Company. Francesca is now much more than a reality TV star, though.
06:17After using her small role in Jersey Boys as a jumping-off point,
06:21she's earned roles in a number of other projects, including MFA, The Vault,
06:27Outlaws & Angels, and more. It seems that the actor is in the process of creating a portfolio
06:32of work that will help her gain respect and recognition beyond her famous last name.
06:38Carving out her own legacy is something Francesca has been passionate about.
06:42In 2014, she told Refinery29,
06:45"...everyone thinks it must be so easy for me. But it's challenging to differentiate
06:49yourself from your family and have your own identity. I want to have longevity
06:54and to do things that are meaningful, and you have to really prove yourself for that."
06:58She added that this challenge motivates her to work harder, elaborating,
07:03"...that struggle isn't bad. Nothing in my mind is bad. It gives me a stronger drive to have
07:08my own career." In 2022, Francesca signed on to star in a thriller movie called Clawfoot.
07:15Donald Trump's kids are perhaps some of the most infamous examples of inheriting success and wealth.
07:21His daughter, Ivanka Trump, got a job in the White House after her father was elected
07:25President of the United States in 2016. Some might say that she didn't have the skills for the role,
07:32that Donald's status helped her earn the job, regardless of her lack of experience in politics.
07:37Ivanka officially became an advisor to the former president
07:41two months after Donald took office. She had been working for her father since he was elected,
07:46but didn't have an official title at first, according to CNN.
07:49Ivanka focused on a number of issues during her time in the White House.
07:53For example, she helped create the Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative.
07:58The former advisor also spent time traveling to help improve workforce development.
08:03Ivanka's stint in the White House wasn't the only role her father helped her land.
08:07She also worked as an executive vice president at the Trump Organization,
08:12focusing on acquisitions and development. The businesswoman announced in 2017
08:17that she planned to temporarily step down from her role at Donald's company, writing on Facebook,
08:22"'When my father takes office as the 45th President of the United States of America,
08:27I will take a formal leave of absence from the Trump Organization
08:31and my eponymous apparel and accessories brand. I will no longer be involved with
08:36the management or operations of either company.'"
08:39"'I really do think of my role as daughter, and I'm there to support my father.'"
08:44It seems that Jon Bon Jovi's son, Jesse Bon Jovi,
08:47knows how to capitalize on his family's connections and influence.
08:52The rock star's son partnered with his father to start a wine company called Hampton Water,
08:56which was rated at 90 points by Wine Spectator for four consecutive years, according to its website.
09:03Although Jesse likely plays an imperative role at the company,
09:06it might be safe to say that his father's fame helped him earn the opportunity
09:10to own and market such a successful business in the first place.
09:13The father and son spoke about Hampton Water at the New York Water Experience,
09:18according to Wine Spectator. Jon Bon Jovi told reporters,
09:21"'This is not a celebrity wine. This is a fine wine, made with love and created with family.'"
09:28Jesse Bon Jovi also chimed in,
09:30"'We really wanted to create a wine that not only had a catchy name and a label that stood out,
09:36but also had the complexity and structure to be taken seriously by the wine community.'"
09:41During an interview with Pooh Australia,
09:43Bon Jovi revealed that his son is in charge of the business side of things at Hampton Water.
09:48He joked,
09:49"'I'm just the number one employee.'"