TV's Nepo Babies: Meet the Kids of Celebrities Breaking Out on the Small Screen
Good genes aren't just a plus when it comes to skin care. They can be a big help when trying to break into Hollywood, too.
For as long as there's been a Hollywood, we've seen the children of stars forge their own showbiz careers, from Liza Minnelli to Charlie Sheen. And right now on TV, nepo babies are having a moment, with the kids of famous folks popping up everywhere you look on broadcast, cable and streaming. Some, you might be able to guess — The White Lotus star Patrick Schwarzenegger is an easy call, for example — but others, you might not even know that their parents have illustrious performing careers of their own. Well, not until now.
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We here at TVLine are rounding up all the offspring of A-list stars we've spotted on the small screen in the past few years, clueing you in on who their famous parents are. (For the record, we left off obvious names who have long-established careers of their own, like Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, daughter of Jayne Mansfield, and Matlock's Jason Ritter, son of John Ritter.)
Read on to get to know which emerging TV actors already have stars in their family tree, and hit the comments to let us know of any we might have missed.
As the daughter of Oscar winners Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Beatty is certainly familiar with high society, which came in handy while playing Truman Capote's young protégé Kerry O'Shea on FX's FEUD: Capote vs. the Swans last year.
After early roles on Sugar and Pistol, Chandler is ready to break out as the star of FX's upcoming sci-fi spinoff Alien: Earth, debuting in August. And of course, TV fans know her father Kyle Chandler from his Emmy-winning role as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights, along with roles on Bloodline and Early Edition.
Collins has been charming audiences for four seasons now as the star of the Netflix rom-com Emily in Paris, while her father Phil Collins has been charming audiences for decades with chart-topping hits both with the band Genesis and as a solo artist.
Med student Victoria Javadi isn't the only one with a family connection on Max's freshman medical drama. Taylor Dearden, who plays Mel, is the daughter of Breaking Bad Emmy winner Bryan Cranston. And that's not all: Fiona Dourif, who plays McKay, is the daughter of Deadwood alum Brad Dourif, and Isa Briones, who plays Santos, also has a famous dad in Broadway veteran Jon Jon Briones.
The daughter of The X-Files' David Duchovny and Madam Secretary's Téa Leoni, West Duchovny broke out with a pair of TV roles in 2023, on the Netflix opioid drama Painkiller and the Hulu murder mystery Saint X.
She writes jokes for comedy legend Deborah Vance on Max's Emmy-winning comedy Hacks, and she has a comedy legend in her own family tree. Einbinder's mother is Laraine Newman, an original Saturday Night Live cast member.
Hall has been booking plenty of TV roles lately, from Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story to Bel-Air to The Sex Lives of College Girls. But he still has a way to go to catch up to his mom: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, of Seinfeld and Veep fame. (Hall's father is SNL alum Brad Hall.)
Hawke is set to return as Robin in the final season of Netflix's Stranger Things later this year, and we already know she's carrying on a hefty Hollywood legacy. Her mom is Uma Thurman, known for Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill films, and her dad is Ethan Hawke, from Training Day and Reality Bites.
Hewson plays rebellious sister Becka in Apple TV+'s dark comedy, and if you don't recognize her last name, it's because her dad only goes by one name: Hewson's father is U2 frontman Bono.
One-third of SNL's Please Don't Destroy trio, Higgins already has a family member on the NBC payroll. His dad is Steve Higgins, an SNL writer who serves as Jimmy Fallon's sidekick on The Tonight Show. In addition, Please Don't Destroy's Martin Herlihy is the son of Tim Herlihy, a former SNL writer and Adam Sandler's frequent collaborator.
Jacobson plays Marian Brook on HBO's sumptuous costume drama The Gilded Age, and her mom knows a thing or two about costume dramas — and all dramas, really. Jacobson's mother is the one and only Meryl Streep, and Jacobson's sisters are also in the biz: Grace Gummer had roles on Mr. Robot and The Newsroom, and Mamie Gummer was on Emily Owens, M.D. and The Good Wife.
Following roles on High School and the acclaimed film Babygirl, McGregor is set to co-star in the Prime Video teen mystery We Were Liars, debuting later this month. One of her first TV credits, though, came on the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi… led by her father, Ewan McGregor.
Nivola broke out earlier this year as awkward teen Lochlan on HBO's The White Lotus, and he knows something about living in a family with high expectations. His mom is Emily Mortimer, known for her roles on The Newsroom and 30 Rock, and his dad is Alessandro Nivola, with film credits including American Hustle, Face/Off and The Brutalist.
She first grabbed our attention as Joel's ill-fated daughter Sarah on the HBO zombie thriller The Last of Us, and her mother is an HBO veteran as well. Parker's mom is Thandiwe Newton, who won an Emmy in 2018 for her role as Maeve on HBO's Westworld. Plus, Parker's dad is writer/director Ol Parker, with credits like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Phillippe, who debuted on Netflix's Never Have I Ever, moved onto a role on Prime Video's car drama Motorheads — starring alongside his famous dad, Ryan Phillippe. Oh, and his mom is Reese Witherspoon, no big deal.
That smile (and those muscles) might look familiar… and the name definitely sounds familiar, too. Yes, Schwarzenegger — who played arrogant vacationer Saxon on HBO's The White Lotus — is the son of '80s action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his mom is former NBC newswoman Maria Shriver, too.
When Quaid, best known for playing vigilante Hughie Campbell on Prime Video's The Boys, was just a boy himself, he had some very famous parents. He's the only child of film stars Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid.
Along with starring as Stephen DeMarco on Hulu's romantic drama Tell Me Lies, White has also appeared on shows like SEAL Team and The Middle. And his mom is still appearing on the small screen, too: White's mother is Katey Sagal, whose long TV résumé stretches from Married… With Children and Sons of Anarchy to the just-wrapped The Conners.
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