22 Famous Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Nepo Babies

Although the term itself dates back to the early ‘90s, “nepo baby” has been something of a buzzword in the past decade or so, as ever more sons, daughters, and grandkids of major stars and media figures have begun making names for themselves in the entertainment world.

This is by no means anything new, of course: Charlie Chaplin’s daughter Geraldine has been in movies since the 1950s, and Liza Minnelli followed her mother to stardom in the ‘60s. But in recent years it seems nepo babies have become all but inescapable—as has the discourse surrounding whether or not their fame and opportunities are quite so well deserved. 

Some nepo babies, of course, are well known—pop royalty Miley Cyrus, Hollywood star Dakota Johnson, and recent Oscar nominee Kate Hudson among them. But you might be a little more surprised to A-list parents on some of these famous names’ family trees. 

HAILEY BIEBER 

She now has a famous husband, of course, but Hailey Bieber’s maiden name was Baldwin: Her father is actor Stephen Baldwin; her uncle is Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Alec Baldwin.

NICOLAS CAGE 

Hollywood royalty in his own right, Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is one of a number of famous names in the legendary Coppola acting and filmmaking dynasty. His uncle, for instance, is director Francis Ford Coppola (making fellow filmmaker and actor Sofia Coppola, Francis Ford’s daughter, Cage’s cousin). 

OONA CHAPLIN 

If that surname looks familiar, you’d be quite right. Known for playing Talisa Stark in Game of Thrones, and more recently seen in the Avatar sequel Fire and Ash, Oona Chaplin is the daughter of aforementioned acting legend Geraldine Chaplin, and granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin (and, through her mother, great-granddaughter of Eugene O’Neill).  

GEORGE CLOONEY 

“Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby?” asked Emma Roberts in an interview regarding her own family ties in 2024. She’s quite right too, given that Clooney’s aunt, Rosemary Clooney, was one of the biggest stars of the ‘50s and ‘60s. (Her son Miguel Ferrer was also an actor, and George Clooney’s cousin.) 

LILY COLLINS 

Emily in Paris star Lily Collins is the daughter of Oscar-winning British pop legend Phil Collins. Her husband, filmmaker and director Charlie McDowell, meanwhile, is the son of fellow British legend Malcolm MacDowell and Back to the Future star Mary Steenburgen (who is now married to Ted Danson, making him Charlie’s stepfather). 

TAYLOR DEARDEN 

The Pitt star Taylor Dearden is the daughter of Oscar nominee and Breaking Bad lead Bryan Cranston. Dearden is the maiden name of her mother Robin Dearden, who is also an actress. 

CARA DELEVINGNE 

Both Cara and her sister Poppy Delevingne are the daughters of multi-millionaire London property developer Charles Delevingne, and grew up in a Grade-II listed mansion house in London’s Belgravia.

Their mother Pandora, meanwhile, was the daughter of publisher and English Heritage chairman Sir Jocelyn Stevens, while their grandmother was lady-in-waiting to Princes Margaret. Through both their parents, however, the sisters are descended from several aristocratic lines in the English nobility, while Cara alone can count the likes of Joan Collins and the former Condé Nast chairman (and current Provost of Eton College) Sir Nicholas Coleridge among her 16 godparents. 

FIONA DOURIF 

Taylor Dearden’s fellow The Pitt star Fiona Dourif also comes from an acting background: her father is Brad Dourif, known for the likes of Child’s Play and The Lord of the Rings movies. 

CHARLIE HALL 

Actor Charlie Hall is the son of Seinfeld and Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who is in turn the daughter of billionaire businessman Gérard Louis-Dreyfus). 

JARED HARRIS 

Perhaps best known for his roles in The Crown and Chernobyl (which won him a BAFTA in 2020), Jared Harris is the son of legendary actor Richard Harris, known for his role as Dumbledore in the early Harry Potter movies. 

MARISKA HARGITAY 

Law & Order star Mariska Hargitay is the daughter of Hollywood legend and “blonde bombshell” Jayne Mansfield. Tragically, Mansfield died in a car accident in 1967; 3-year-old Hargitay and her two siblings were in the back seat of the car at the time, but survived with only minor injuries. 

MATT HEALY 

As any self-respecting Brit will tell you, The 1975 frontman Matt Healy is the son of British TV acting legends Tim Healy and Denise Welch.  

WHITNEY HOUSTON 

It’s easy to forget that pop icon Whitney Houston came from a staggeringly talented family. Her mother was two-time Grammy-winning soul star Cissy Houston, while her cousin is Dionne Warwick and her godmother was Aretha Franklin. 

RASHIDA JONES 

Parks and Recreation star Rashida Jones is the is the daughter of music legend Quincy Jones and Twin Peaks star Peggy Lipton. Her maternal grandfather Harold Lipton, meanwhile, was a noted basketball executive who co-owned the likes of the San Diego Clippers and the Boston Celtics in the ‘70s and ‘80s. 

BILLIE LOURD 

American Horror Story star Billie Lourd is the daughter of fellow Star Wars alum Carrie Fisher, who was in turn the daughter of Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds.  

BEN PLATT 

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner Ben Platt is the son of Hollywood producer and four-time Oscar-nominee Marc Platt, who produced the likes of La La Land, Mary Poppins Returns, Wicked, and a string of live-action Disney remakes. (Given he reportedly walked out of a Rolling Stone interview after that was pointed out, though, it’s perhaps best not to bring it up.) 

JACK QUAID 

With his surname, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Jack Quaid’s father is Dragonheart, The Day After Tomorrow, and The Substance star Dennis Quaid. His mother, however, is fellow Hollywood legend Meg Ryan.

MARGARET QUALLEY 

The Substance star Margaret Qualley is the daughter of Hollywood legend Andie MacDowell, along with fellow actress and singer Rainey Qualley.  

EMMA ROBERTS 

Star of the likes of American Horror Story, Madame Webb, We Are the Millers, and Scream 4, Emma Roberts is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts, and niece of Julia Roberts. 

ISABELLA ROSSELLINI 

Given how stellar a career she has had herself, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that recent Oscar nominee and all-round Hollywood icon Isabella Rossellini is the daughter of Hollywood legend Ingrid Bergman and Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini. 

MAYA RUDOLPH 

Saturday Night Live legend Maya Rudolph’s mother was singer Minnie Riperton, while her father was songwriter and producer Richard Rudolph. 

JASON SCHWARTZMAN 

Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, and Saving Mr. Banks star Jason Schwartzman is the son of Rocky actress Talia Shire—who is yet another name on Hollywood’s immense Coppola dynasty. As a result, Schwartzman is also Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew, and Nicolas Cage’s cousin.