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11 ‘Nepo Babies’ on TV and in Movies You Might Not Know Have Celebrity Parents

Did their famous moms and dads help them succeed in show biz? You decide

spinner image Louisa Jacobson attends The Gilded Age FYC screening in New York City; John David Washington attends the Amsterdam World Premiere in New York City; Riley Keough attends the Daisy Jones and The Six advance screening in New York City
(Left to right) Louisa Jacobson, John David Washington and Riley Keough
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Entertainment media has been abuzz the past few months with talk of “nepo babies,” celebrities’ children who benefited (we might assume) from nepotism. The latest class of A-listers with celebrity parents includes Dakota Johnson and Zoë Kravitz, but multigenerational acting clans are a tale as old as Hollywood itself, going back all the way to the Barrymores. For every Kate Hudson, Jamie Lee Curtis or Laura Dern, there’s a newcomer who you might not have realized hails from an industry family. Here are 11 second-generation stars to keep on your radar.

Lily Collins

spinner image Lily Collins stars in the Netflix series Emily in Paris
Lily Collins as Emily Cooper in "Emily in Paris."
Netflix

Her famous dad: Phil Collins

If you’ve spent any time swooning over Netflix’s light-as-a-soufflé comedy Emily in Paris, you may have been taken with the coltish charms of Lily Collins. The 33-year-old actress, who starred as Snow White in Mirror Mirror, is the daughter of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Phil Collins, 72, and in the show’s most recent season, she followed in her father’s musical footsteps with an earnest cover of Burt Bacharach’s “Alfie.” Lily Collins recently married another “nepo baby”: Her husband, director Charlie McDowell, is the son of Malcolm McDowell, 79, and Mary Steenburgen, 70.

Watch it: Emily in Paris on Netflix

​John David Washington

spinner image John David Washington at the Broadway opening night of The Piano Lesson at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York
John David Washington attends "The Piano Lesson" on Broadway opening night at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York on Oct. 13, 2022.
Efren Landaos/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images

His famous dad: Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington’s son made his screen debut as a child actor in Malcolm X, and after a brief foray into college- and professional football, John David, now 38, made his way back to the family business, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Spike Lee’s BlackKkKlansman. Last year, he made his Broadway debut in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, and Denzel has expressed interest in bringing the play to the big screen. You may have also seen the younger Washington in the 2022 David O. Russell comedy thriller Amsterdam, in which he plays a World War II veteran and lawyer.

Watch it: Amsterdam on HBO Max, Prime Video

Zoe Perry

spinner image Zoe Perry stars in the CBS series Young Sheldon
Zoe Perry as Mary Cooper in "Young Sheldon."
Darren Michaels/Warner Bros. Entertainment/CBS

Her famous parents: Laurie Metcalf and Jeff Perry

On The Big Bang Theory, Laurie Metcalf, 67, earned an Emmy nomination for playing Sheldon Cooper’s mother, Mary. When producers were looking to cast a younger Mary for the prequel series, Young Sheldon, they didn’t have to look far: They went with Zoe Perry, 39, daughter of Metcalf and Jeff Perry, 67, who cofounded the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and later starred as White House chief of staff Cyrus Beene on Scandal. Zoe’s sitcom son, teen actor Iain Armitage, also comes from a theatrical family; his father is Tony-nominated Broadway star Euan Morton, who is stealing scenes as King George III in Hamilton

Watch it: Young Sheldon on Apple TV, HBO Max, Paramount+, Prime Video

Jack Quaid

spinner image Jack Quaid stars in the Prime Video series The Boys
Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell in “The Boys.”
Prime Video

His famous parents: Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan

The son of Dennis Quaid, 68, and Meg Ryan, 61, can be seen in his breakout role as civilian tech specialist Hughie Campbell in the Prime Video superhero series The Boys, after appearing in The Hunger Games, Scream and HBO’s Vinyl. Next up, Quaid, 30, is set to play theoretical physicist Richard Feynman in the splashy Christopher Nolan–directed biopic Oppenheimer, which is generating Oscar buzz months before its release. Bonus nepo baby: Among Oppenheimer’s sprawling cast is Swedish actor Gustaf Skarsgård, one of four actor sons of Stellan Skarsgård, 71. 

Watch it: The Boys on Apple TV, Prime Video

Louisa Jacobson

spinner image Louisa Jacobson stars in the HBO series The Gilded Age
Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook in "The Gilded Age."
Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO

Her famous mom: Meryl Streep

If you watched the HBO period drama The Gilded Age, you may have had a twinge of recognition every time the character Marian Brook, the penniless niece of the two main characters, came on screen. That’s because she’s the sister of actresses Mamie and Grace Gummer — and, oh yeah, the daughter of Meryl Streep, 73. Unlike her sisters, the 31-year-old Yale School of Drama grad couldn’t take the last name of her father, sculptor Don Gummer, 76, because there was already a Louisa Gummer in the Screen Actors Guild. 

Watch it: The Gilded Age on Apple TV, HBO Max, Prime Video

Lewis Pullman

spinner image Lewis Pullman stars in the film Top Gun: Maverick
Lewis Pullman as Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd in "Top Gun: Maverick."
Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures

His famous dad: Bill Pullman

If a global box office of nearly $1.5 billion is any indication, there’s a good chance you were one of the many, many movie lovers who saw last year’s Top Gun: Maverick, which is nominated for six Oscars, including best picture. Among the sequel’s new class of pilots is a nepo baby who’s just starting to take off at age 30: The bespectacled Lt. Robert “Bob” Floyd is played by the son of Bill Pullman, 69. He’ll get an even bigger showcase when he takes on the lead role in the upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 vampire novel Salem’s Lot.

Watch it: Top Gun: Maverick on Apple TV, Paramount+, Prime Video

Riley Keough

spinner image Riley Keough stars in the Prime Video series Daisy Jones and The Six
Riley Keough as Daisy Jones in "Daisy Jones & The Six."
Lacey Terrell/Prime Video

Her famous family: Lisa Marie, Priscilla and Elvis Presley

The daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley and eldest grandchild of Elvis and Priscilla made her feature film debut in the 2010 musical biopic The Runaways. She’s since garnered awards attention for her performances in The Girlfriend Experience and American Honey, and she codirected last year’s War Pony. These days, you can catch Keough, 33, on the new Prime Video musical miniseries Daisy Jones & the Six, in which she plays the frontwoman of a Fleetwood Mac–inspired band in 1970s Los Angeles.

Watch it: Daisy Jones & the Six on Prime Video

​O’Shea Jackson Jr.

spinner image O'Shea Jackson Jr. on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of Cocaine Bear at Regal LA Live
O'Shea Jackson Jr. attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Cocaine Bear" at Regal LA Live on Feb. 21, 2023.
Araya Doheny/FilmMagic

OK, maybe the lineage of O’Shea Jackson Jr., 33, is a little bit less of a mystery than those of some of the other people on this list: After all, he has the same name and face as his father, better known as the rapper Ice Cube, 53, and he even played his dad in his screen debut, the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. At the time, Cube told Jimmy Kimmel that even though his son was “born to play the part,” Jr. had to audition like everyone else. He can be seen in the horror-thriller-comedy Cocaine Bear, about a bear that goes on a rampage after accidentally ingesting massive amounts of — well, you can probably guess from the title.

Watch it: Straight Outta Compton on Apple TV, Prime Video

Maude Apatow

spinner image Maude Apatow stars in the HBO series Euphoria
Maude Apatow as Lexi Howard in "Euphoria."
Eddy Chen/HBO

Her famous parents: Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann

The daughter of director Judd Apatow, 55, and actress Leslie Mann, 50, Maude Apatow, 25, got her start as a child actress playing Mann’s daughter in films directed by Apatow, including Knocked UpFunny People and This Is 40. In recent years, she has taken on a decidedly more grown-up role as Lexi Howard in HBO’s not-for-the-faint-of-heart high school drama Euphoria. One of the highlights of the Emmy-winning drama’s second season involved Lexi staging an elaborate play about her classmates. Maude is also taking a spin on the stage: She recently made her New York City stage debut playing Audrey in the off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors.

Watch it: Euphoria on Apple TV, HBO Max, Prime Video

Domhnall Gleeson

spinner image Domhnall Gleeson stars in the FX on Hulu series The Patient
Domhnall Gleeson as Sam Fortner in "The Patient."
Suzanne Tenner/FX

His famous dad: Brendan Gleeson

Last year, you may have caught the FX on Hulu psychological thriller The Patient, about a serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson, 39) who takes a therapist (Steve Carell, 60) hostage so he can help curb his murderous impulses. The Irish actor, who earned nominations from the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards, may look familiar from his appearances as Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter films and General Hux in the latest Star Wars trilogy — or his face might ring a bell because he’s the son of The Banshees of Inisherin star (and fellow redhead) Brendan Gleeson, 67, who also took a turn at Hogwarts as Professor Mad-Eye Moody.

Watch it: The Patient on Hulu

Peter Craig

spinner image Peter Craig at the 95th Annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon
Peter Craig attends the 95th Annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton on Feb. 13, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.
Monica Schipper/WireImage

His famous mom: Sally Field

The son of Sally Field, 76, and her high school sweetheart Steven Craig, Peter Craig, 53, cowrote The Hunger Games, Ben Affleck’s The Town and Top Gun: Maverick — for which he earned an Oscar nomination this year.

Watch it: Top Gun: Maverick

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