Avoiding nepotism with a name change. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at next-generation talents who decided NOT to cash in on a famous last name.
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00:00Hey, we got names, you know?
00:01I'm sure you do, and I bet they're very nice names.
00:04I might even learn them.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo,
00:06and today we're looking at next generation talents
00:09who decided not to cash in on a famous last name.
00:12Did you get teased a lot as a kid?
00:14No, I did not.
00:15Did you tease a lot of kids?
00:16Because judging from these names you're picking,
00:18you don't seem to be very sensitive.
00:1910. Samia
00:29Since she released her first singles in 2017,
00:32pop singer Samia has seen a rapid rise.
00:35The singer's full name is Samia Najimi Finnerty,
00:38as in Kathy Najimi and Dan Finnerty.
00:40Her parents are both veteran actors who are best known
00:43for their TV and comedy work respectively.
00:45Made out a lot.
00:46Yes, Dan, we made out and we fell in love,
00:49blah, blah, blah.
00:49Blah, blah, blah, more making out.
00:51Then we got married, we had a kid.
00:53Who would have guessed that Peggy Hill's kid
00:54would become an edgy pop star?
00:56Samia may have grown up learning how to navigate
00:58the entertainment industry,
00:59but it was her artistry that broke her into music.
01:02The successes she's achieved are based on talent
01:04first and foremost.
01:129. Olivia Wilde
01:15I definitely felt most confident in my skills
01:17as an actor's director.
01:19You know, in those moments of communicating
01:21with the actors,
01:22I felt just completely in my element.
01:24Olivia Wilde has achieved tremendous success
01:27on both sides of the camera.
01:28The surname Wilde is actually a famous one
01:31taken from Oscar Wilde,
01:33but it's just her self-given professional name.
01:36Her real name also holds esteem,
01:38but in British journalism.
01:40Andrew Cockburn took his parents' legacy to America,
01:43serving as editor of Harper's Magazine
01:45and collaborating with his wife Leslie
01:47on many hard-hitting stories and documentaries.
01:49Having spent so much of my life now
01:51covering stories overseas,
01:53wars,
01:56sort of post-apocalyptic scenes in Somalia or Afghanistan,
02:01what amazed me was how much damage
02:03could be done right here at home.
02:05Their daughter opted for fictional filmmaking,
02:07where her award-winning parents
02:09could still have lent a lot of clout.
02:11However, Olivia Cockburn adopted a stage name
02:14to honor a literary legend.
02:16She also takes advantage of her platform for activism.
02:19Despite straying from the family business of journalism,
02:22Olivia is doing the Cockburn and Wilde names
02:25both a great service.
02:26I benefited from some great female role models
02:28and I still do,
02:29but hopefully this movie itself
02:31is a kind of role model.
02:33You know, I hope there's directors out there
02:35who decide,
02:35you know what, screw it,
02:36I'm just gonna go for it.
02:38Number eight, Malia Anne.
02:39Like, I guess you had to leave.
02:43Yeah.
02:44Seriously, what have you been up to?
02:47Okay, filmmaker Malia Anne
02:48is not quite an independent celebrity yet,
02:51but she's on her way out
02:53from a very bright spotlight.
02:55Her parents are none other than
02:56former U.S. President Barack Obama
02:59and First Lady Michelle.
03:00Malia and Sasha Obama grew up
03:02as two of the biggest socialites in politics.
03:04The Obamas have since entered the film industry
03:07with higher ground productions,
03:08but one was willing to start from the ground up.
03:11Yeah, and it's amazing.
03:17I'm living the dream.
03:18Going by only her first and middle name,
03:20Malia Anne co-wrote an episode of Amazon's Swarm
03:23and made the award-winning short film The Heart.
03:26These credits could be just the beginning
03:28of a promising career removed from the White House.
03:31We hope that you enjoy the film
03:33and that it makes you feel a bit less lonely
03:37or at least reminds you not to forget
03:40about the people who are.
03:41Number seven, Layla George.
03:43Please, I just want to know the truth.
03:45No, you don't.
03:46I promise you, my father's a good man.
03:48Australian-American actress Layla George
03:50quickly established herself as a scene stealer
03:53with the blockbuster Mortal Engines
03:54and the TV drama Animal Kingdom.
03:57People may have been surprised to learn
03:58that George's real last name is D'Onofrio.
04:01Her father, Vincent,
04:02is a legendary Hollywood character actor
04:05who in fact directed George
04:06in the 2019 Western The Kid.
04:09Ever since you got into acting,
04:10was it always a goal to kind of work with your dad?
04:12Oh, you hope that that's going to happen.
04:14It's so difficult to make these things
04:16happen in this industry
04:17because things fall through.
04:18I mean, I wanted it to happen like a lot,
04:22maybe more than she did actually, yeah.
04:24It's also hard to hide the connection
04:26to Italian-Australian actress Greta Scacchi
04:28as George is the spitting image of her mother.
04:31Nonetheless, speaking to her middle name
04:33has allowed her to cultivate her own fan base.
04:36If we need something from someone, we cut them in.
04:39If someone brings us a job, we give them a piece.
04:43We could build a network.
04:45Number six, Elle King.
04:54Award-winning country rocker Elle King
04:56credits her stepdad with sparking her love for music.
04:58Her biological father is veteran actor
05:01and comedian Rob Schneider,
05:02who may have pulled some strings
05:04to get his daughter a cameo
05:05in Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo.
05:07After that, Elle King, real name Tanner L. Schneider,
05:11went by her middle name and her mother's maiden name
05:13to break into the music industry.
05:23According to her,
05:24her famous father wasn't a model dad,
05:27sending her to weight loss camp
05:28and forgetting her birthdays.
05:29Schneider has apologized,
05:31although given their vehement disagreements over politics,
05:34Tucker Carlson's podcast
05:36might not have been an ideal choice of platform.
06:00Nora Jones has long been a beacon
06:02of modern pop stardom and jazz.
06:04Her father also had a unique impact
06:06on music around the world.
06:08She was conceived during an affair
06:09between an American concert producer
06:11and Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar.
06:14Gitali Nora Jones Shankar
06:15didn't see much of her father growing up
06:17and had her name legally shortened at age 16.
06:21She then climbed her way to great renown
06:23from the New York lounge scene.
06:24I basically learned how to sing
06:26and play at the same time
06:27because it's kind of a coordination thing.
06:28Sure, yeah.
06:28Yeah, so it was great practice.
06:30And every once in a while,
06:32the whole restaurant,
06:32like one person would just start clapping
06:34and then slowly the whole restaurant
06:36would start clapping.
06:38But then usually they weren't clapping at all.
06:40Jones has collaborated
06:41with her half sister Anushka Shankar,
06:43who's sometimes a guest on her podcast.
06:45She may otherwise be far removed
06:48from Indian classical,
06:49but her talent and success
06:50live up to the Shankar legacy.
07:03Singer-songwriter Henry Wolfe
07:05has made a splash in indie folk,
07:07while youngest sister Louisa Jacobson
07:09is making an impression
07:10in the family business.
07:11I thought I might find a job.
07:14Would that be out of the question?
07:16Only if you wish to live with me.
07:18Well, I don't want to be idle.
07:20Their mother is the iconic actress Meryl Streep,
07:22whose four children are all stars themselves.
07:26Middle daughters Mamie and Grace Gummer
07:27are particularly prolific actresses
07:29under the respected name
07:30of their sculptor father, Don.
07:32Henry sticking to his middle name
07:34is a testament to his personal brand
07:35in a different industry.
07:45Louisa actually followed that credit style
07:47because there was already a Louisa Gummer
07:49in the Screen Actors Guild.
07:50It's just as well
07:51as she is making a name for herself
07:53just like her big brother
07:54and their revered parents did.
07:55Grace, where will you go?
07:58I'm not sure, but don't worry.
07:59I've got a job I enjoy
08:00and plenty to do.
08:02Will you stay in New York?
08:04I hope so.
08:08I want the next coach of Team USA
08:10to become a household name.
08:12I want you to become synonymous with winning
08:14and winning to become synonymous with Hendricks.
08:16Actually, actor Emilio Estevez
08:18achieved personal stardom
08:20by not changing his name.
08:21His father, Ramon Gerard Antonio Estevez,
08:24is better known by the stage name Martin Sheen.
08:26Sheen changed his name to avoid prejudice
08:29against Hispanic Americans,
08:30but later regretted it
08:31and told Emilio not to follow suit.
08:33He said, don't make the same mistake I did.
08:36But, you know, you're young
08:37and you want to push back against the old man.
08:39You know, what does he know?
08:41It turns out he knew a lot.
08:43While Emilio's brother, Charlie,
08:45also opted to go by Sheen,
08:46Emilio ultimately decided
08:48to follow his dad's advice.
08:49He was also reluctant
08:50to drop the catchy alliteration
08:52of his real name and, quote,
08:53didn't want to ride into the business
08:55as Martin Sheen's son.
08:56Granted, the family resemblance
08:58is hard to miss.
08:59It was a mysterious, uh,
09:02kind of feeling I had
09:03that I knew him long before he arrived.
09:06I knew him all my life.
09:06I just didn't know
09:08when he was going to show up.
09:09When he showed up, I said,
09:10oh, you're the guy.
09:11Number two, Angelina Jolie.
09:13You call this a life?
09:15Taking daddy's money,
09:17buying your dollies and your knickknacks.
09:19Oscar winner Angelina Jolie
09:20has achieved incomparable stardom
09:22for her acting range and philanthropy.
09:24She's also one of the definitive cases
09:26of a legacy star
09:27who managed to break from the legacy.
09:29Do you think Angelina's a breath
09:30of fresh air for Hollywood?
09:32She's there, warts and all, 100%.
09:33This is me.
09:35He's saying how honest I am and outspoken.
09:38Her father, John Voight,
09:39is himself an Oscar-winning legend
09:41who was estranged from his children
09:42for much of their lives.
09:44Angelina Jolie Voight
09:45entered into acting
09:46under her first and middle name.
09:48She eventually made this change legal
09:50amid conflicts with her father.
09:52Their relationship has been turbulent
09:53through the years, to say the least.
09:55Their starkly opposed political activism
09:57is particularly high-profile.
09:59But despite these conflicts,
10:01Voight and Jolie's prolific careers
10:03are separately distinguished.
10:05I used to always tell him,
10:06you never start a fight,
10:07but you always finish it.
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10:23There aren't many names in Hollywood
10:25more recognizable than Nicolas Cage.
10:27And he got there without leaning
10:29on one of the most respected names
10:31in Hollywood.
10:32You, over the side,
10:33we're changing the name.
10:35Now!
10:37Yes, it's got to check out.
10:39The way I looked at it,
10:40what's in a name?
10:41Nicolas Kim Coppola
10:43is the nephew of iconic director
10:45Francis Ford Coppola.
10:46But Nicolas stands alone
10:48with a handle inspired by
10:49the famous movie,
10:50The Last of Us.
10:51He stands alone with a handle inspired
10:52by composer John Cage
10:54and Marvel superhero Luke Cage.
10:56Cage overcame the highest nepotism
10:59to become an acclaimed
11:00and beloved megastar
11:01in his own right.
11:02Sons Weston and Kal-El, however,
11:04seem to have been proud
11:05to enter the industry as Cages.
11:07And fair enough.
11:08I've learned a lot from observation,
11:11self-discovery,
11:12and then also my father taught me
11:13about the importance of understanding
11:15that we are the instrument
11:17when we are acting.
11:18Who are your favorite
11:19secret nepo babies?
11:20Drop some names in the comments.
11:29Do you agree with our picks?
11:30Check out this other recent clip
11:32from Ms. Mojo.
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