What is a “nepotism baby”? Put simply, the term “nepo baby” refers to stars who grew up experiencing the lifestyles of the rich and the famous because they are the children of famous, rich parents.
While these lucky celebrity children are now talented stars in their own right, it seems like a safe guess that their parents’ industry connections and being afforded opportunities (for example, to study at some of the best art schools — and consequently drop out when their careers started heating up) may have been part of the catapult that launched them to stardom.
Despite Gwyneth’s Paltrow claims that nepotism babies need to work twice as hard, we still believe that being born to Hollywood royalty has given many nepotism-baby stars a major head start. Read on for our list of 15 so-called “nepotism babies” — AKA stars who were born to wealthy and famous families.

Maya Hawke
Maya went to various creative schools, where she got her start in acting (from the private and non-graded Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn to Juilliard) before landing her first big role as the lead in the 2017 BBC adaption of Little Women. The Stranger Things and Do Revenge star is rumoured to be cast alongside Samuel L Jackson and her mother, Uma Thurman, in an upcoming project called The Kill Room.
For her part, Maya has acknowledged her luck when it comes to her parents. "I'm very grateful for the fact that they made it so easy for me to do the thing that I love," she told PEOPLE. "I think I'll get a couple chances on their name and then if I suck, I'll get kicked out of the kingdom. And that's what should happen. So I'm just going to try not to suck."

Gracie Abrams
No stranger to growing up rubbing elbows in Los Angeles with a famous set, the 23-year-old "I miss you, I'm sorry" singer is making a name for herself and is currently signed to Interscope Records. The singer recently took to the stage at festivals like Osheaga and Lollapalooza.

Maude Apatow

Brooklyn Beckham
Today, Brooklyn has transitioned to a new career as a chef with an online series called Cookin' With Brooklyn. He also recently wed longtime girlfriend Nicola Peltz.

Nicola Peltz
Born in New York but currently residing in L.A., the actress/writer/director (according to her Instagram bio) has several upcoming projects, including a role in the upcoming mini-series Welcome to Chippendales.

Lily Collins
Collins landed her first role at two years old (on the British sitcom Growing Pains) and has been acting ever since, though her career didn't kick off until she acted alongside Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side in 2009.

Lily-Rose Depp
Depp, who has both American and French citizenships and is fluent in both French and English, has starred in a number of films in both the US and France. Up next for her is a starring role on a new television project, The Idol, alongside singer The Weeknd.

Willow and Jaden Smith
Both acted in the early years, before making the more serious foray into music. Today, Willow works alongside her mother hosting Red Table Talk, while Jaden is making splashes in the fashion world.

Hailey Bieber
As the daughter to Stephen Baldwin and niece to Alec Baldwin, she grew up well-connected and initially had dreams of pursuing a career as a professional ballerina (which ended due to a foot injury) before taking modelling seriously.
Hailey recently joined the celeb skincare army with the launch of her own line, Rhode.

Dakota Johnson
Her mother Melanie Griffith was also the daughter of actress and model Tippi Hedren (best known for her work in The Birds, but can we also take a moment to appreciate the iconic name?). Johnson is best known for her work in the 50 Shades series and in her personal life has been dating Coldplay front man (and fellow nepotism baby Gwyneth Paltrow's ex) Chris Martin since 2017, though the pair are notoriously private.

Kaia Gerber
She made her modelling debut at 10 years old for Young Versace. Now at 21, she's been the face of multiple campaigns, featured in numerous television shows and was named the Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.

Phoebe Dynevor

Gigi and Bella Hadid
Some of their younger years were documented on RHOBH when the two budding stars were living with their mother and just starting out in the modelling industry (some of which has received criticism, like Yolanda's dieting advice for the young models).
Still, it appears that the Hadid sisters are aware of their head start in the industry. “I know I come from privilege, so when I started there was this big guilt of privilege, obviously,” Gigi told Vogue Australia.

Sofia Richie
Like the Hadid sisters, Sofia's lavish early years can be seen on reality shows like Candidly Nicole, and later on various Kardashian-adjacent shows when she was linked with Scott Disick. Sofia recently announced her engagement to music exec (and son of the CEO and chairman of Universal Music Group), Elliot Grainge.

Timothee Chalamet
His family had a history in the entertainment industry: his mother was a Broadway dancer, his sister an actress and his aunt and uncle are both filmmakers.
The talented actor grew up among creatives, in an artists' building in New York that was once home to other stars like Alicia Keys and Larry David. When not in New York, his family often summered in France