These 5 celebrities have all emerged as stars – but it isn’t their first brush with fame – they happen to come from a famous family or have at least one famous parent. Struggling against those who claim they’re only in the spotlight because of their connections, these stars have discussed how they feel about nepotism in Hollywood and if they think being from a famous family is actually a help or hindrance.
Zoe Kravitz
Zoe says she has always been aware of people judging her based on who her parents are: “I’m hyper-aware that people are judging me based on who my parents are. You book jobs like Mad Max because of you and not because of your dad. George Miller doesn’t f–king care who my parents are. There was a point in my teens where I was very self-conscious and didn’t want to make any music because I would get compared to my dad. But I knew I was working hard. I’m not a f–king genius, but I know who I am as an artist.”
Rashida Jones
Rashida always felt pre-judged: “I would never say ‘poor me’, but there definitely was a lot of pre-judgment about how I got my job in the beginning, when the truth is I was just another actress getting knocked back at auditions for years. I do have a hang-up about it sometimes. No, I just don’t care any more.”
Lily Collins
Lily never felt like she had a particular advantage just because of her famous father: “When I first met with agents I was asked, ‘Well, what makes you so special? Everybody in LA is a cousin or a daughter of someone.’ At the beginning, that was the most interesting thing about me. Now I’ve done eight films, it’s an afterthought. I get kids who say, ‘Oh, I love your movie, but my mum loves your dad.’ It’s really nice to be able to share that with him, but it doesn’t define who I am career-wise.”
Kendall Jenner
Kendall never wanted to get ahead just because of her family’s fame: “I’m not trying to use a family name or anything. In reality I worked pretty hard for this … It wasn’t like I just got it magically and it just happened.”
Ireland Baldwin
Ireland thinks being from a famous family doesn’t mean you’ll land work: “I think that people aren’t necessarily going to hire you, especially in this industry, just because of who your parents are. Because, honestly, they’re not going to waste their time and they’re not going to blow money on someone. They don’t give a sh-t. You have to have it, or you don’t have it, and you have to work hard.”
