14 Stars Who Got Real About Being a Hollywood Nepo Baby, From Gwyneth Paltrow to Lily-Rose Depp

The daughter of Uma Therman ("Kill Bill," "Pulp Fiction") and Ethan Hawke ("Dead Poets Society") Maya Hawke didn't hesitate to comment on having famous parents and acknowledge it has afforded her a level of privilege in show business.

In a September 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, the "Stranger Things" actor said, "I have no idea who I would be if I was somebody else. I feel like the only way to handle the nepotism thing — which definitely gives you massive advantages in this life — is, you will get chances for free, but the chances will not be infinite; so you have to keep working and do a good job. If you do a bad job, the chances will stop. That's my ethos."

When asked how she handles comments about nepotism, she said, "I don't really interact with either the haters or the complimenters very much. I love this piece of advice I've gotten, which is that if you read the good reviews, they're partly true, and if you read the bad things that people say, they're also partly true."

Model Kaia Gerber, daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and model and Casamigos cofounder Rande Gerber, openly acknowledged her privilege in a January 2023 interview with Elle. "I won't deny the privilege that I have. Even if it's just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for." Still, she seemed to refute the idea that nepotism in Hollywood is that big of an issue, adding, "Yes, nepotism is prevalent, but I think if it actually was what people make it out to be, we'd see even more of it."

Lily Collins ("Emily in Paris") is the daughter of British musician and songwriter, Phil Collins. In a November 2022 Vogue France interview, Collins vulnerably shared how she remains self-conscious of how her father's success may shape how others view her.

"I didn't want anyone to think that I was using my name as a free pass. I am proud of my father, but I wanted to be myself, not just his daughter," the actress explained. "For that reason, I was willing to wait for my breakthrough." She added that she doesn't take her career for granted, explaining, "I'm not resting on my laurels, this industry is very competitive, and opportunities are hard to come by!"

Model Lily-Rose Depp expressed her disagreement with criticism against nepo babies. In a November 2022 interview with The Cut, the daughter of superstar actor Johnny Depp ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Edward Scissorhands," "Fantastic Beasts") and French model-singer Vanessa Paradis said, "People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part." She continued, "Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There's a lot of work that comes after that."

On Jan. 6, beauty guru and model Hailey Bieber stepped out in a white cropped T-shirt that read "Nepo Baby." Although she hasn't commented directly on being the product of Hollywood nepotism, the tee spoke for itself.

Bieber, married to musician Justin Bieber, comes from a lineage of prominent actors. From her dad, Stephen Baldwin ("Born on the Fourth of July," '"he Usual Suspects"), to uncles Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock," "The Boss Baby") and Billy Baldwin ("Gossip Girl"), Bieber has been surrounded by connections and entertainment personnel her entire life.

Gigi Hadid is the daughter of supermodel and reality TV personality Yolanda Hadid. While the high-fashion model and sister of Bella and Anwar Hadid hasn't commented on celebrity nepotism recently, she has previously spoken out about having built-in Hollywood connections thanks to her parents.

"People say that I don't deserve to be where I am because I come from this successful family," Hadid said at a 2018 Reebok event. "My dad was a refugee, my mum was on a farm, went to New York, and worked to send money back to her family… I work hard to honor that."

In 2022, she opened up a bit more about her family. "Technically I'm a nepotism baby," Hadid said in a March interview with The Times. "My parents came from very little. I've always acknowledged that I come from privilege," she continued. "My parents told me, 'Just because you have parents who were successful, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't walk into the job being as nice and as hard-working as you can be."

"Girls" and "M3GAN" star Allison Williams openly acknowledged that being the daughter of a popular NBC news anchor, Brian Williams, has had a positive impact on her career.

"It's just unfair. Period, end of the story, and no one's really working that hard to make it fair," she told Vulture in a January 2023 interview. "All that people are looking for is an acknowledgment that it's not a level playing field," she said. "It's just unfair. Period, end of the story, and no one's really working that hard to make it fair. To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn't the same — it's ludicrous. It doesn't take anything away from the work that I've done. It just means that it's not as fun to root for me."

Williams continued the discourse during a Town & Country interview the same month, acknowledging that all of the main stars of her breakout show, "Girls" were well-connected in the industry. "[We weren't] random, like from towns where there's no one else that has ever broken through, she said. "For someone with no connections to our business to get to the place where I was able to start, skill aside — that's what people mean. And that's legitimate."

"The only problem with being a nepotism baby is when you don't have self-awareness," Baldwin, the daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, said in a TikTok video shared in August 2022. "Nothing is worse than when someone is born into a famous family or between two famous parents — or one famous parent — and they fail to acknowledge how these doors were opened for them and how they've had it a lot easier than other people and they make up this fake struggle."