The term “nepotism baby,” more commonly “nepo baby,” was popularized in 2022 by Vulture to describe stars whose family connections advanced their careers. Many of the rising stars of today, such as actress Zoë Kravitz, actress Margaret Qualley and singer Matty Healy, have fallen into fame because of their family connections, eliciting different feelings from UA students.
“I think you have to have a connection in general to get into entertainment,” said Walter Mink, a junior majoring in computer science and geography. “Like, if I tried to start making music today, it would probably be pretty difficult.”
Nepotism has existed in the media for a long time, and older stars such as actor Nicolas Cage, actor George Clooney and actress Jennifer Anniston also enjoyed high family connections.
“They are born [with] a silver spoon to a degree, so they already have certain advantages over other people,” said Hazel Floyd, a senior majoring in political science and philosophy.
Some of the nepo babies looked upon favorably by students include singer Gracie Abrams, actress Maya Hawke and singer Willow Smith, all of whom students liked because of their raw skills.
However, students criticized other celebrities because of their apparent lack of talent.
Model and photographer Brooklyn Beckham was a nepo baby looked down upon by Kylie Scott, a junior majoring in nursing.
“Just look up his photo book. That man doesn’t know how to take photos,” Scott said.
Some students think that when nepotism in media takes away spots from regular people, it affects diversity in media.
“The old Hollywood establishment is probably going to be heavily white,” Mink said.
According to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report in 2023, people of color are only 22% of lead actors, 17% of directors and 12% of writers in theatrical movies, but diversity is increasing. Most of the major production studio executives are also white, with 94% as of 2022.
“I feel like it might be harder for more diverse ethnicities to have certain popularity that a nepo baby might have because, for example, Black communities are just now coming up and out,” Floyd said. “So I don’t think we really have that foot in the door quite yet.”
While there are issues that nepotism creates for others trying to break into the industry, students just want nepo babies to be honest about the benefits their family has given them.
“It just depends on if they can admit it and not have to be like, ‘I just did everything on my own, and my name doesn’t matter,’” Scott said. “It’s okay to be talented and have a name, just accept it.”
Scott said that while she likes some of Abrams’ music, she doesn’t like that, as she sees it, Abrams acts like her family didn’t contribute to her fame.
If nepo babies want to be respected, they need to have talent beyond just their family name, students said.
“Just be good at what you do. If I don’t like you it’s probably not gonna be just because you’re a nepo baby,” Mink said.
