I don’t think most nepo babies would necessarily self-describe as nepo babies, but they’re usually quick to acknowledge the benefits of nepotism in Hollywood. Not Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, who told Elle she thinks the internet cares more about a young actor’s parents than the industry does.
“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,” Depp claimed. “It’s weird to me to reduce somebody to the idea that they’re only there because it’s a generational thing,” she added. “It just doesn’t make any sense. If somebody’s mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you’re not going to be like, ‘Well, you’re only a doctor because your parent is a doctor.’ It’s like, ‘No, I went to medical school and trained.’”
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Wherefore, then, the obsession with nepo babies? According to Depp, it’s possibly because of the patriarchy. “I just hear it a lot more about women, and I don’t think that it’s a coincidence,” she stated. Personally, I’m really not sure that’s true (Brooklyn Beckham, Jaden Smith, etc.), but we can move on.
Lily-Rose Depp also cites The Patriarchy when she explains why she doesn’t want to comment on her dad’s recent legal cases. “I feel like for a lot of my career, people have really wanted to define me by the men in my life, whether that’s my family members or my boyfriends, whatever,” the actor told Elle. “And I’m really ready to be defined for the things that I put out there.” Fair enough!
