Emma Roberts has recently voiced her opinion on the challenges and misconceptions associated with being a “nepo baby,” a term used to describe individuals who have entered the industry with the help of family connections. Known for her roles in projects like American Horror Story and the films Madame Web and Holidate, Emma comes from a lineage of celebrated actors, including her aunt Julia Roberts and her father, Eric Roberts.
Emma began her acting career as a child in the Nickelodeon show Unfabulous, and has since established a name for herself in the entertainment industry. While promoting her latest film, Space Cadet, on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast, she discussed the perception and reality of being a nepo baby.
“That’s the thing that I always talk about — people kind of only see your wins because they only see when you’re on the poster of a movie. They don’t see all the rejection along the way,” Emma explained.
She emphasized the importance of transparency about the challenges in her career: “That’s why I’m always very open about things I’ve auditioned for and haven’t gotten the part for.”
Emma further noted that having family ties in the industry can sometimes require her to work harder to prove herself. “I think there’s two sides of the coin. People like to say, you know, you have a leg up because you have family in the industry,” she said. “But then the other side to that is you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people don’t have good experiences with other people in your family, then you’ll never get a chance.”
Emma, who was photographed with her aunt Julia Roberts back in 2010, also touched upon the public’s fascination with rags-to-riches stories.
“I think there’s something to be said where everybody loves the kind of overnight success story,” she remarked. “And so if you’re kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there’s kind of an eye roll of like ‘Well, your dad was this’.”
Emma is not alone in addressing the complex dynamics of nepotism in Hollywood. Willow Smith, daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, also shared her thoughts earlier this year in an interview with Allure, rejecting the label of nepo baby and discussing the motivational impact of public skepticism.
“I definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason I’m successful is because of my parents,” Willow stated. “That has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I don’t need to prove s**t to anybody.”