Top 10 Nepo Babies Who Surpassed Their Parents Fame
The nepo baby has become the nepo breadwinner. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most well-known nepo celebrities who are way more famous than their parents.
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00:00I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow.
00:07Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most well-known nepo
00:12celebrities who are way more famous than their parents.
00:15You don't need your daddy's money.
00:18Then leave it there.
00:21Number 10.
00:22Drew Barrymore.
00:23It didn't take long for Drew Barrymore to eclipse her father.
00:26Drew was born to John Barrymore, who himself was part of a long line of actors.
00:31You do now, huh?
00:34Yeah, it's funny, but it's a mean kind of funny if you're in my place.
00:40Despite a solid filmography, including a starring role in High Lonesome, John never became a
00:46household name.
00:47That's certainly not the case for Drew.
00:49She started acting at just 11 months old and eventually landed the role of Gertie in Steven
00:54Spielberg's E.T.
01:04She was just 7 when the movie released in the summer of 1982, and she quickly overtook
01:08her father in the fame department.
01:10Said fame has never really let up, and she has become the most prominent member of the
01:15Barrymore family.
01:16Thank you for guiding me in the right direction.
01:20I would like to rise to your occasion and your guidance, and I love you.
01:24And thank you.
01:25I am humbled and honored.
01:27Number 9.
01:28Lenny Kravitz.
01:35You might not know Lenny Kravitz is related to anyone famous because he doesn't share
01:40their name.
01:41He is actually the son of Roxy Roker, who you might know better as Helen Willis on The
01:45Jeffersons.
01:46Better get busy.
01:47Uh, Helen, what about the shopping?
01:50Oh, shopping?
01:51That'll have to wait.
01:52I have to read over this material and get busy on the newsletter.
01:55Kravitz decided from a young age that he didn't want to be an actor, but a musician.
02:00This desire was supported by his parents, who took him to many concerts as a young child.
02:05This helped foster in him a love for music, a love that would eventually culminate in
02:10more than 40 million sold albums, top five singles, and four consecutive Grammy Awards.
02:16That said, his mother's passion seemingly had an influence, and he would also have a
02:20go at acting in the Hunger Games movies, among others.
02:23I want to do something that they're going to remember.
02:26Did they explain about trying to get sponsors?
02:28Yeah, but I'm not very good at making friends.
02:31We'll see.
02:32Number 8.
02:33Gwyneth Paltrow.
02:34Very well, madam.
02:35You have us playing the violin.
02:37What happens next?
02:38Next, Mr. Allen.
02:39Yes.
02:40What do we do now?
02:41Why, just what you'd expect.
02:44We dance.
02:45Blythe Danner made herself a great career, winning two Emmys, a Tony, and starring opposite
02:51Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents.
02:54Yet her daughter is still more famous than she is.
02:57Your eyes are red.
02:58A few tears for your long lost boss?
03:01Tears of joy.
03:02I hate job hunting.
03:03Gwyneth Paltrow was born to Danner and Danner's late husband, Bruce Paltrow, who himself was
03:09in the industry, having notably directed episodes of St. Elsewhere and Homicide, Life
03:14on the Street.
03:15Paltrow first acted in a made-for-TV movie that her father directed, and her godfather,
03:20Steven Spielberg, later cast her as young Wendy Darling in Hook.
03:23And with that, a legendary career was off, a career that would include billion-dollar
03:28blockbusters and the Academy Award for Best Actress.
03:32I'll have poetry in my life, and adventure, and love.
03:42Unlike a lot of guys in showbiz, he encouraged all of us kids to get in and become actors.
03:50He loved it so much.
03:52Lloyd Bridges is an acting legend.
03:55He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, having appeared in a number of acclaimed and
03:59popular films like Little Big Horn, High Noon, and Airplane.
04:03Young Jeff often acted with his father, appearing alongside him on Sea Hunt and The Lloyd Bridges
04:09Show.
04:10This led to better and better work, and in 1971, Jeff starred in The Last Picture Show
04:14and earned himself an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
04:18Peter didn't let us look at any dailies, but we had a feeling we were doing something kind
04:23of special.
04:25And to this day, that film, to me, just kind of sits by itself.
04:29It was a sign of things to come, and the first of seven Oscar noms thus far.
04:34Go back to the early 50's and tell people that Lloyd Bridges' son would be more famous
04:38than him, and no one would believe you.
04:41I haven't got time, Marv.
04:44Okay.
04:45Let's get down to business.
04:46You want me to stick, you put the word in for me like I said.
04:506.
04:51Jennifer Aniston
04:52I'm going to one day, I'm going to do that.
04:53I really know I'm going to get out of this house, that's another story, and I'm going
04:57to be on there.
04:58I'm going to be that.
04:59And then I got a Bob's Big Boy commercial, and I got into SAG.
05:03We mean, it doesn't get much bigger than Jennifer Aniston.
05:06Arguably one of the most famous stars of all time, Aniston has dominated both television
05:12and film, with box office grosses of well over a billion dollars.
05:16Oh, it's amazing.
05:17It's amazing.
05:18It's amazing.
05:19It's so much better than what I had at Ralph Lauren.
05:22The money is great.
05:25She was born to actress Nancy Dow and her more famous husband, John Aniston, who played
05:29Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives for nearly 40 years.
05:34He even received the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, shortly before
05:39his death at the age of 89.
05:41And while decades on a soap opera is quite the accomplishment, he was probably even prouder
05:46of what his daughter has managed to accomplish.
05:49I knew right from the beginning when she started auditioning for things.
05:54Because she got called.
05:55She always got a call back.
05:56Always.
05:57I said, well, it's just a matter of time.
06:01Number five, Miley Cyrus.
06:04We all want to believe in love.
06:08We all want to believe in something bigger than just us.
06:17Often regarded as a pop icon, Miley Cyrus came in like a wrecking ball and is now more
06:22famous than her father, Billy Ray.
06:25A legendary country artist, Billy Ray Cyrus is widely known for his debut album, Some
06:30Gave All, which spent 17 consecutive weeks at number one, sold over 9 million copies
06:36in its first year, and produced the chart-topper Achy Breaky Heart.
06:48The album was released in May 1992, just six months before Miley was born.
06:53She was given the name Destiny Hope as a sort of good luck charm, her parents basically
06:58manifesting their wish that she'd do well in life.
07:00We think it worked.
07:09Number four, Jamie Lee Curtis.
07:11Somehow, some way, Jamie Lee Curtis is more popular than both of her parents, and that
07:16is quite the accomplishment.
07:19To both reach the heights that they did in their careers, and they were the first people
07:28I thought of, the second my name was called.
07:34Her father, Tony Curtis, was huge in the 1950s, notably starring opposite Marilyn Monroe in
07:40Some Like It Hot and scoring an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Defiant Ones.
07:45Meanwhile, her mother, Janet Leigh, scored her own Oscar nom playing Marion Crane in
07:50The Legendary Psycho.
07:51We all go a little mad sometimes.
07:54Haven't you?
07:58Yes.
08:00Sometimes, just one time can be enough.
08:06Unfortunately, Tony wasn't around for Jamie Lee, and she was raised by Leigh and her stepdad,
08:11Robert Brandt.
08:12But that didn't deter her from acting, and after a brief stint in law school and some
08:17TV roles, Curtis starred in John Carpenter's Halloween.
08:21The rest is history.
08:23There is no one you've ever met who loves being an actor on a movie set more than me.
08:29Number three, Angelina Jolie.
08:31Congratulations.
08:32Now, is this your first Academy Award?
08:33Yeah.
08:34I'd like to say hello.
08:35That's a gorgeous dress.
08:36Beautiful.
08:37Are you nervous for your dad tonight?
08:39Sort of.
08:44This is another actress who had a rocky relationship with her famous father.
08:48Jolie was born to actor John Voight in 1975, a few years before he won the Academy Award
08:54for his performance in Coming Home.
08:56Voight had been famous long before his Oscar win, as he was considered an icon of the late
09:0160s counterculture, a reputation that was fueled by his role in Midnight Cowboy.
09:06Well, I hope you know what you're in for.
09:09I'm a truly dangerous person.
09:10I am.
09:11If someone does me bad like you, I swear, if I'd have caught up with you that night,
09:15there would have been one dead rat so long by now.
09:17You understand me?
09:18Jolie would later star with her father in the movie Looking to Get Out, and would go
09:22on to win an Oscar herself for Girl Interrupted.
09:26It was just one of Jolie's many accomplishments, accomplishments which have helped her surpass
09:30her dad's fame.
09:32You make something you truly enjoy, and you hope that it brings the same level of interest
09:38and joy in someone else.
09:40So to try to be really bold.
09:42Number 2.
09:43Whitney Houston
09:44Just as she will always love you, the world will always love the late Whitney Houston.
09:58She was one of the most awarded entertainers of all time.
10:01One of the greatest singers ever, and had seven consecutive number one singles, a record,
10:07all while selling over 200 million records.
10:10So yeah, she was pretty popular.
10:21Whitney has long overshadowed her mother, Sissy Houston, who herself won two Grammys
10:26and sang backup for the likes of Elvis and Aretha Franklin in addition to her solo work.
10:32Speaking of singing backup, that's how Whitney got her start, notably performing alongside
10:36her mom at various cabaret clubs and with her on the song Think It Over, which reached
10:41number five on the U.S. Dance Club chart.
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11:12Number 1.
11:13Robert Downey Jr.
11:15Well, it's easy to guess who Robert Downey Jr. is related to.
11:19Yep, Robert Downey Sr.
11:22Or as he was known then, just Robert Downey.
11:32Sr. was a filmmaker and actor, landing a number of small roles and working on low-budget movies
11:37that were popular in the anti-establishment era of the 60s and 70s.
11:42In these movies, he would often cast his wife, Elsie Anne, and kids, including young Junior,
11:47who started acting at the age of five.
11:56Suffice to say, Junior has long eclipsed both his mother and father in popularity, winning
12:02an Oscar and leading one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time.
12:07From low-budget counterculture movies to the MCU, it doesn't get much different than that.
12:23Can you think of any other examples?
12:25Let us know in the comments below.
12:33Do you agree with our picks?
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