In 2025, few terms come as culturally loaded as 'nepo baby.' While the concept of nepotism in itself isn't new or remarkable, our interest in the offspring of the world's most influential has never been higher. But if you've somehow stumbled upon a TikTok of Romy Mars recounting how her mother (Sofia Coppola) grounded her for chartering a private jet, or Francesca Scorcese reciting the meaning of Gen Z buzzwords to her father (Martin Scorcese) and wondered how, exactly, we got here, you're not alone. Below, we're unpacking what it means to be 'nepo baby' in 2025, including the origins of the phrase, and the roots of our current cultural fascination. Let's begin.
Where did 'nepo baby' come from?
As prolific as the phrase has become, 'nepo baby' only really entered the public lexicon in 2022, when Meriem Derradji, a 25-year-old tech-support worker inadvertently sparked a conversation. Streaming Euphoria, which was in its first season at the time, Derradji did a quick google of actress Maude Apatowe (who plays Lexie in the series), and was surprised to learn that she was the child of two major Hollywood heavyweights: actress Leslie Mann and director Judd Apatow. Immediately, she tweeted: “Wait I just found out that the actress that plays Lexi is a nepotism baby omg her mom is Leslie Mann and her dad is a movie director lol.” The tweet itself received around 4,000 likes, but it was the spark that lit a much bigger fire.
In an age where information is currency, and a tweet like Darrdji's unpack a celebrity’s family tree faster than a publicist can counteract a narrative, nepo babies were never going to stay anonymous for long. And so, while family ties — particularly in the entertainment business — have existed for as long as the industry itself, they were now being exposed and dissected at ferocious pace.
Once something quietly acknowledged within industry circles, nepotism was suddenly a pop culture talking point. TikTok accounts emerged solely to trace celebrity bloodlines, “nepo baby” think pieces exploded across major media outlets, and a dedicated audience began collecting Hollywood dynasties with the same fervour as Labubus. The Cut cemented the phrase’s status with its now-iconic “Year of the Nepo Baby” cover story in December 2022, complete with a satirical family tree that unashamedly placed celebrity offspring front and centre.
The changing status of the nepo baby
Our relationship with nepo babies is nothing if not complicated. They're mocked and memed, but followed and idolised, all in the same breath. It's a contradictory and fickle status that, like it or not, celebrity offspring can't escape.
Once upon a time, the children of A-listers might have tried to deny the connections bestowed on them at birth. In 2022, a 16-year-old Lily Rose Depp (daughter of Vanessa Paradis and Johny Depp) told ELLE that her foray into the industry (beginning with a CHANEL campaign, and a film debut opposite her father) was about talent, not family ties. “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 said. Unsurprisingly the backlash was swift — but three years on, and Depp has proved her staying power, landing lead roles in the likes of Nosferatu, and the forthcoming Outer Dark opposite Jacob Elordi, to name a few.
But other celebrity offspring have taken a different route. Hailey Bieber, daughter of Kennya and Stephen Baldwin, made headlines in 2023 when she stepped out to run errands in a baby tee printed with 'nepo baby.' Her strategy, while different to Depp's, has been equally successful: her brand, Rhode Beauty, is reportedly valued at $1.44 billion. Romy Mars, at 18, seems acutely aware — and welcoming — of the cultural capital that comes from being the daughter of filmmaker Sofia Coppola and musician Thomas Mars (and granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola). Her TikTok balances transparency with the undeniable allure that comes with being born into a family of this kind — she and her friends lipsync in the kitchen, but behind them, it's impossible not to gawk at the sweeping view of New York City that her penthouse apartment backs onto. And it's a mentality she's taken beyond the app: her most recent single, A-lister, is not only a hit, but contends with the complicated feelings that accompany being born into celebrity.
In other words, being a nepo baby in 2025 means inheriting visibility and scrutiny in equal measure. And whether those bestowed with the title choose to lean in, push back, or redefine the narrative altogether, one thing is clear: the era of the nepo baby is far from over.
