Gwyneth Paltrow resents being called a ‘nepo baby’: ‘It’s an ugly moniker’

For everyone who’s been waiting at the edge of their seat for Gwyneth Paltrow to weigh in on the “nepo baby” craze (because I know I have), the time has finally come. Paltrow, who is the daughter of actor Blythe Danner and director/producer Bruce Paltrow told Bustle that she thinks the term “nepo baby” is an “ugly moniker.”

“Now there’s this whole nepo baby culture, and judgment that exists around kids of famous people,” she said when the interviewer brought up her 19-year-old daughter, Apple. “She’s really just a student, and she’s been very…She just wants to be a kid and be at school and learn. But there’s nothing wrong with doing or wanting to do what your parents do.”

Paltrow continued, “Nobody rips on a kid who’s like, ‘I want to be a doctor like my dad and granddad.’ The truth is if you grow up in a house with a lot of artists and people making art and music, that’s what you know, the same way that if you grow up in a house of law, the discussions around the table are about the nuances of whatever particular law the parents practice.”

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She added about the term “nepo baby,” “I think it’s kind of an ugly moniker. I just hope that my children always feel free to pursue exactly what they want to do, irrespective of what anybody’s going to think or say.”

The term “nepo baby” went viral in 2022 after a New York Magazine story called out the Hollywood culture where many A-listers are the children of former industry titans — but you won’t hear them saying that. They insist that their careers are due to their hard work, not their connections, which, come on. Kate Hudson, the daughter of actors Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, and many other famous nepo babies have spoken out against the term.