In 2020, a phrase was coined that changed the face of the entertainment industry – ‘nepo baby’. Though parents giving their children a leg-up in life is as old as the hills, Gen Z discovered it was happening and decided they did not like the way celebrities were using their wealth and connections to rocket-boost their children’s chances.
But five years on, it’s clear some nepo babies deserve their success. And that there is a right and wrong way to act when you have famous parents. Here, they are ranked accordingly – from the A-listers to the Z-listers…
A-listers:
Phoebe Dynevor
You know you’re the ultimate nepo baby when you’ve outdone your mother at her own job.
Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor is the daughter of Coronation Street actress, Sally Dynevor. While Sally has been on the same TV soap opera for nearly 40 years, on which she plays Sally Metcalfe, her 30-year-old daughter has crossed the pond and is making millions over in Hollywood.
I am told Phoebe was happy to follow in her mother’s soap footsteps before hitting gold by auditioning for Bridgerton.
Now my industry mole tells me: ‘Phoebe is carefully curating her career and picking her roles so she remains in Hollywood. No Corrie cobbles for her.’
Lily Collins
Star of the Netflix sensation Emily In Paris and daughter of the songwriter Phil Collins, one does not get more A-list than Lily Collins.
The 36-year-old actress is now worth £24millon. But she insists that she forged her own path in Hollywood, claiming in 2022 that: ‘I wanted to make my own way, far from the paternal genius, I preferred to be an actress.’
Despite her superstardom, Lily lives a humble life in Copenhagen with her director husband, Charlie McDowell, and their newborn baby girl, Tove. As one industry insider informed me: ‘It’s all a bit “PG” – she’s hardly the wild child of a famous rock star!’
Mia Threapleton
When your mother is Oscar winner Kate Winslet, it’s hard to live up to expectations. But the daughter of the Titanic star is making a good go of it.
Mia Threapleton, 24, whose father is the director Jim Threapleton, is using her credentials carefully. ‘She genuinely does not want to live in her mother’s shadow,’ I am told.
Despite getting her first acting credit alongside mother Kate in 2014 film A Little Chaos, and then starring with her again in the hit Channel 4 drama, I Am Ruth, she’s since landed a role in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which impressed critics.
Rocco Ritchie
Another who has tried to make his own name away from his parents’ gigantic identities is Rocco Ritchie, eldest son of Madonna and Guy Ritchie.
The 25-year-old spent four years selling his paintings for up to five figures under the pseudonym Rhed, only to be unmasked by US website Page Six.
I can now reveal that so against his nepo baby status is Rocco that he’s moving to Mexico to earn his own stripes – and escape the intensity of London, where he is constantly recognised.
Princess Andre
Though she’s hardly humble about her nepo baby status, Princess Andre gets on to the A-list because she is capitalising on it with such abandon. Not only has the daughter of Katie Price and Peter Andre landed her own reality show at the age of 18, she is predicted to be a millionaire by 20 and has already signed big-money deals with clothing and beauty brands.
B-listers:
Iris Law And Lila Moss
Iris Law
Lila Moss
As far as the daughters of former Primrose Hill set hell-raisers Sadie Frost and Kate Moss respectively are concerned, B is for boring.
While both 24-year-old Iris Law (her father is Hollywood star Jude Law) and 22-year-old Lila Moss are almost as successful as those on the A-list, it’s their personalities that have lost them points. Iris is undeniably beautiful and is the face of Versace, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs and Burberry. But an acquaintance of hers whispers: ‘When you’re speaking to her it’s a bit like talking to a plank of wood.’
It’s a similar story with her god-sister Lila Moss. When it comes to modelling, Lila has successfully flexed the muscles of her mother’s enviable contacts book and landed some serious contracts.
But while Kate possesses both the ability to out-party even the wildest of rockers and to capture the hearts of some of Britain’s great and good with her charm, the same cannot be said for Lila.
Those close to her have said that though she is ‘sweet’ there ‘is not a lot more to be said for her in the “interesting” department’.
Cruz Beckham
The son of David and Victoria Beckham has put in a good nepo baby shift this summer by sporting his dad’s iconic white Speedos in full view of the paparazzi on his parents’ superyacht.
That’s what Cruz Beckham does best – and a source close to the family tells me that, unlike his older brothers, he likes to put on a show.
But beyond that, the 20-year-old has worked hard on his burgeoning music career.
His parents have reportedly pulled some strings to put him in touch with top songwriters – and as he famously reminded us in a hastily deleted Instagram post last year: ‘Jesus was also a nepo baby.’
He’s also got a cool music producer girlfriend, Jackie Apostel, who is ten years older than him. True rock star behaviour.
C-listers:
Romeo Beckham
Romeo Beckham falls a rung below his younger brother thanks to his failed football career.
Desperate to follow in the footsteps of his Manchester United star father, Romeo, 23, gave his career on the pitch a good go – but only lasted a season in Brentford’s B team.
Now he’s under his mother’s wing and is starting a career as a model, which is more his pace, I’m told. Sources also reveal Romeo is softer and more studious than the rest of his siblings and is happy in the shadows.
Anais Gallagher
No one does nepotism quite like the only daughter of Noel Gallagher and Meg Mathews.
True, 25-year-old photographer and influencer Anais Gallagher has had to fight off accusations of ‘You only got this because of your dad’ every time she lands a gig, or when filming videos for her father’s band, The High Flying Birds.
But my sources tell me, in spite of this, she is ‘absolutely delightful’ and has ‘a good humour about it all’.
They added: ‘She has done nothing to earn the attention rather than just “be” Noel’s daughter. She takes it in her stride gracefully and is really good at handling it. Although, she can be a bit cringe about her dad’s fame at times.’
Lennon Gallagher
Meanwhile, Anais’s cousin Lennon Gallagher, the 25-year-old son of Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and his first wife Patsy Kensit, also makes the C-list.
Living in London with his model girlfriend of three years, Izzy Richmond, Lennon is known to be perfectly nice but, those close to him say, does not really do anything. ‘He is a seriously nice person, everyone loves him and his girlfriend. They are so unfazed about enjoying the perks of his dad’s fame and just have fun all the time,’ my source says.
He does not have a day job because he lives comfortably off the wages he earns fronting lucrative campaigns for fashion giants such as Burberry, Tod’s and Barbour.
Scarlett Thomas
She’s new to the nepo baby world but the 16-year-old daughter of former Coronation Street co-stars Ryan Thomas and Tina O’Brien is already making her name as one of the worst.
Scarlett Thomas made headlines for revealing she didn’t take any GCSE exams after dropping out of her £20,000-a-year school in Greater Manchester to pursue acting.
She did land a role in the reunion of the BBC drama Waterloo Road in 2023. But I’m told it’s a point of contention between her famous parents as her mother is ‘beyond raging’ that she has foregone her education, and blames her father, Ryan, who has been sharing videos of their daughter on TikTok for years.
D-listers:
Gene Gallagher
A nepo baby’s worst crime? Telling you their parents are famous. Gene Gallagher, the 24-year-old son of Liam Gallagher and Nicole Appleton, is reportedly a serial offender.
My sources tell me Gene so wants to be like his father that he affects a fake Mancunian accent when meeting people, despite having attended private school in north London.
An insider told me: ‘He loves dropping into conversation that he played at the O2 – albeit supporting Liam on tour last year. He does it so he can tell them who his dad is.’
Rafferty Law
One of the most notorious names on the nepo baby circuit is undoubtedly Rafferty Law, eldest son of the actor Jude Law and Sadie Frost, who has wound up – you guessed it – acting.
Raff, I’m told, is not particularly well-liked among those in the thespian world who claim he is given roles unfairly over others.
An industry insider told me: ‘You’ll be in the final stages of an audition for a role that could change your life forever and then Raff will come in at the last minute and land the job.’
When it comes to the 28-year-old’s side-hustle, modelling, he does not drop the nepo baby behaviour, either. Earlier this year, in a campaign for Dior Homme, he was heard saying: ‘I used to come here with my dad when I was younger and he has a strong affiliation with Dior as well.’
Rudy Law
It doesn’t get much better when it comes to Raff’s lesser-known younger brother.
Where his siblings have at least tried to make their own way in life, albeit using their parents as a leg-up, 23-year-old Rudy Law has done the opposite – he is simply dining out on his parents’ £100million net worth.
I’m told: ‘He doesn’t have a job, he just does nothing all day in the house his parents bought him. He lives there with a bunch of friends and just goes to parties endlessly. Sometimes he works in a cafe, I think, but that’s about it.’
Z-listers:
Brooklyn Beckham
If there’s one person who defines how not to behave as a nepo baby, it has to be Brooklyn Beckham.
The 26-year-old has spent recent years shamelessly using his parents’ – David and Victoria Beckham – contacts to get him into industries for which he clearly lacked the skills.
First came a photography book titled What I See in 2017 that was ridiculed. He then rebranded as a chef – before being mocked when sharing his ‘recipe’ for a bacon sandwich on an American breakfast show. Now, Brooklyn is the proud owner of a ‘premium’ hot sauce brand, Cloud 23.
A source close to the family says: ‘His reputation as a serious professional will likely never recover.’
George Lineker
Finally, we have George Lineker, son of football pundit Gary. Those that know him are damning. ‘He’s just dumb,’ says one.
The 33-year-old landed his dad in a row with the £25,000-a-year private school, Charterhouse, back in 2010 after he failed to make the grades to get into university.
Since then, he’s been best known for falling out of nightclubs with models and Big Brother contestants. When he’s not trailing his famous father around the globe, he runs a less glamorous firm, Your Business Number, which adds a second number to your mobile phone.
