THE ECONOMIST: Famous offpspring are getting the gigs in Hollywood, but are nepo babies such a bad thing?

When Lily Collins, daughter of rock star Phil Collins, was starting out as an actor, agents asked her: “Well, what makes you so special? Everybody in LA is a cousin or a daughter of someone.” She was later cast as the irritating star of Emily in Paris.

Hollywood crawls with “nepo babies” (as the offspring of famous folk are called). Over the past five years Google searches for “nepo babies in Hollywood” have been at least 50 times higher than they were in the previous half-decade. Look around, and you see them everywhere. At least ten films currently showing in American cinemas feature them: there’s Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman (in One Night Only), and Margaret Qualley, daughter of Andie MacDowell (in The Dog Stars).

But how many nepo babies are there, really? Giggster, an online film-location marketplace, has looked at US films released between 2000 and 2025. It compiled a list of some 4400 actors under the age of 35 who had appeared in them, then worked out who had at least one parent already working professionally in entertainment. Across the 25-year period, 28 per cent of these actors did. Nepo babies are commanding more roles and more lines. In 2000 they made up 6.6 per cent of appearances by young actors, but by 2025 that share had more than doubled, to 16.3 per cent.

Another recent study by Stephen Follows, a film-data analyst, found that this is an industry-wide trend. He drew up a list of almost 7000 people who had written, directed or starred in the 100 biggest films each year since 2000. He then looked at whether a close relative was already working in film or television. Some 28 per cent of top actors, 26 per cent of directors and 18 per cent of writers had a family tie. Most big films — 70 per cent — had at least one nepo baby in an important creative role.

There may be a couple of reasons why Hollywood is keeping it in the family. One could be that connections are becoming more important in show business.

The barriers to entry are lower than in the past — actors can submit an audition tape from anywhere — meaning that gatekeepers have a trickier job. Pre-existing networks are a fast way to vet aspiring stars.

Another reason is marketing. In the competition for people’s attention, studios are looking for ways to set their films apart — and casting a nepo baby can generate buzz. For example, Michael Gandolfini was cast in a Sopranos prequel after his father, the star of the original series, died; and MacDowell and Qualley were cast as mother and daughter in mini-series Maid.

Nepo babies often attract derision. Many see them as evidence that Hollywood values big names over big talent. Michael and Zak Zakar, twin brothers who are writers and actors and hosted a podcast called Wish I Was A Nepo Baby, argue that well-connected youngsters who are “fucking atrocious” at acting aren’t landing great roles for any other reason but bloodline. Nepotism especially rankles in an industry where the rewards are immense but the opportunities scarce. “It’s hard to get auditions,” the Zakar twins say.

Some see nepo babies as part of a broader trend in entertainment: a reliance on proven hits. Evan Shapiro, a producer, reckons nepotism is a symptom of a lack of originality in Hollywood. He argues that it shapes not only how some companies are run but also what they choose to make.

“The incestuous nature of hiring practices” is resulting in “the Habsburg chin” of entertainment: it is “why mainstream media is impotent today. It’s why they can no longer produce new ideas.” (Anyone who has sat through a film with a 4, 5 or 6 in the title may agree.)

But higher-ups in Hollywood defend nepo babies. “I actually think nepotism … is incredibly helpful,” says one senior executive at a talent agency.

“People who grow up in and around the business — they just know what they’re getting into. They have a good mindset.” If an aspiring actor has family connections, “they might get a look faster”, but “ultimately, if they’re not good, they’re never going to go anywhere”.

Many of today’s most beloved (and bankable) actors — including Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney — had those connections. And some nepo babies insist they have to be extra talented to be taken seriously. “You have to work almost twice as hard and be twice as good,” Gwyneth Paltrow, the daughter of a film-maker and actress, has said. “People are ready to pull you down and say you don’t belong there.”

Dynasties are not unique to entertainment. In The Field Guide to Nepo Babies, Fran Hoepfner notes that in the 17th century the Italian word nepotismo referred to the papal habit of making cardinals of their nearest and dearest. This happened so often “that these promoted papal nephews had their own name: cardinalis nepos. (Nepos is Latin for nephew or grandson) In plenty of businesses, the heir apparent is the boss’s eldest child. Lots of children admire their parents and want to follow in their footsteps. Still, no one objects when a mechanic’s son becomes a mechanic, whereas some may bristle at the casting of Sandra Bullock’s daughters in Practical Magic 2.

In a business like Hollywood, access will always matter. For a lucky few, a Rolodex of agents, producers and directors is part of their inheritance.