Kids of famous people saying they are famous in their own right!

[Belledan1]

It really drives me mad. You are obviously mainly famous or successful because of connections. I know some are them are talented but surely connections of parents help. David Hasslehoff's daughter has said it. Kelly Osborne, Lilly Allen and loads more.

Did anybody else note that the girl who has been cast as Lyra in the BBC’s adaptation of the His Dark Materials trilogy is the daughter of an Eton-educated actor, who oversees acting and directing bursaries? The daughter has already been in a few films. God forbid anybody else should get a look in, eh? Why are these people not embarrassed?

Why are these people not embarrassed?

I don't really blame them for making the most of the advantages given to them and their children. We'd all do the same in their position.

However what annoys me is when they act as though such privilege doesn't exist, or worse, pretend that they actually have a hard time for being posh! If they were only a little humble and said 'Yes, coming from a wealthy, well-connected family and attending a prestigious school have been huge advantages to me and of course I made the best of them. Wouldn't you do the same?" But no, they all get so terribly defensive and act as though they have the same opportunities as someone who grew up on a council estate in Hull.

But maybe she was the best person for the role? 🤷‍♀️

It’s going to happen a bit and they may not all make it but I’d hate to see a situation where it saturated to a point that we just see these people on screen etc

But maybe she was the best person for the role?

Maybe she was.

But isn't it funny how so often the ' best person for the role' went to private school (as only 7% of the population did) and/or is the child of an established actor.

As others have said nepotism is everywhere everywhere when I was a nurse I knew someone who had been a student on the ward I worked on in qualifying getting his first job as a band six charge nurse everyone else qualifies at a band five staff nurse ,he than proceeded to go up the management scale very quickly ,now he may or may not have been extraordinarily good at his job however it can't have harmed his career progression that his Dad was on the board of directors at the same trust, i do think if your in a position too you would help.your kids to succeed though

Brooklyn beckham is surprisingly humble in real life, easily embarrassed, he’s ok.
He’s been to a lot of local schools in nw London and many kids say he’s really ok
I heard (totally 3rd-hand gossip) that the Beckham kids were pretty out of their depth at one very academic school they were at, surrounded by mostly kids of professionals aiming to get into top unis etc. Not sure what the parents were trying to achieve there if that wasn't the path they were trying to encourage the kids along, but then they both have been in the celebrity bubble since quite a young age and don't have much of an idea of how you might go about forging a 'normal' life.

I do not understand any of the celebs encouraging their kids into the model industry, which pretty much every exposé paints as rife with sexual exploitation and abuse. It's hard to believe that even the 'supers' were insulated from that for their whole careers.

I do not understand any of the celebs encouraging their kids into the model industry, which pretty much every exposé paints as rife with sexual exploitation and abuse. It's hard to believe that even the 'supers' were insulated from that for their whole careers.

Kim Basinger absolutely hated modelling and said it made her miserable, even though she was one of the most sought after models of her day. And despite all of that her daughter, Ireland Baldwin, was one of the original 'daughter of' models. I guess she was of an age where she was going to do what she wanted, regardless of what her parents said. But I do hope Kim warned her of the pitfalls of her chosen career.

I guess the parents/offspring hope their name status will protect from the exploitative side of the industry. But it's not been the case for too many so perhaps the keeping of status is actually the driving force and they just choose to delude themselves it will be ok for their kid. Particularly for the lower rungs of the sleb hierarchy.

I’m surprised at the number of posters saying that of course they would ‘give their children a leg up if they could’.

I wouldn’t, for all sorts of reasons:

1. Is it really ok to grab advantages for yourself and your kids, at the expense of kids with fewer opportunities? Really? Are you the same people complaining about inequality? If so, do you see the irony? What happens when somebody else with more power trumps you, and their kids get the opportunity you were trying to grab for yours? Would you be ok with that? I doubt it. I think it’s so sad to have that ‘everybody else is doing it so why shouldn’t I?’ attitude. Luckily lots of people don’t think like that: they are the people making good things happen and creating opportunities for poorer kids.

1. Do you think that people don’t notice nepotism? Of course they do, and they will laugh at both you and your kids. Your kids’ colleagues won’t trust them and won’t have any faith in whatever talent they might possess.

It's so funny, I spent decades trying to work out who Rachel Stirling looked just like. Wasn't til the final season of Detectorists that i figured it out - and was with Diana Rigg playing her mum on the show!

She's definitely in the 'talented in your own right and gorgeous enough to have made it anyway' camp.

Iamthewombat

Having well connected parents allows might get you on the first rung but at some point you have to be good enough.

Sir Cecil Havers might have introduced his children to the law but they had to make their own careers. His son became Lord Chancellor and his daughter the first woman appointed as a Court of Appeal judge. I doubt their colleagues were laughing at them.

I don't think people are talking about professions such as law here, more celebrity 'professions' such as acting and modelling. And over the past several pages we've discussed many 'celebrity' models who certainly would not have been hired were it not for their famous parents.

And with careers like acting, it's all about getting your foot in the door. There are SO many talented actors out there who'll never make a living from it because the opportunies are so few. So having a well-known parent who can launch you in the business makes all the difference.

I don't know of too many actors who got their break due to nannies or carpenters.

I know of very many who got their break due to their parents.

Yeah I do look down on the talentless ordinary kids of celebs who think they are so painfully cool - like Jaden and Willow Smith, Brooklyn Beckham, Rafferty Law, Anais Gallagher and the other Gallagher kids. Especially when they are about as good looking as a cereal box and end up becoming models!

My DD's BF was the son of a very famous person in his field (think culture) and he was at pains to avoid anyone making the connection as he was studying in the same field. Her BF was a really nice person and had no airs and graces at all. Him and some of my DD's other friends knew some of the Gallagher kids and they all said the G's think they are very special and ultra cool - (for instance I've heard some stories about very entitled behaviour by Anais G).

I also listened to a podcast with her as a guest and was astonished to discover the hosts of the show fawning about how cool and funny she was - it was just plain weird. Compared with some of my kids funniest and most charismatic friends she really was nothing special.

I was wondering what the young mouthy Mancunian Gallagher brothers would have made of such entitled north London rich kids - but there they are spawning them. But then again they did end up with that whole Primrose Hill set of hangers on like Sadie whats her face and Meg Macocaine.

I realise I sound very vicious about these kids which isn't very kind. I'm sure for all the privilege it must always be there under the surface that nagging feeling that everyone thinks they dont have the same credibility or talent as their parents. That must be tough and make you feel a bit of a phoney. That people are laughing at you. And even if you do achieve things and have lots of friends and lovers there will always be the doubt that its just because of your name.

If all those talented young actors who can’t get a look in would ONLY get jobs as nannies and carpenters for influential people in the profession, their futures would be assured! Wouldn’t they?

Yes, sir Peter Hall would probably have pushed his nanny forward into auditions, and suggested that his casting director and agent mates meet her and cast her. As well as his daughter, noted actress Rebecca Hall.

Keira Knightley’s mum is a director and screenwriter, isn’t she?

Rafe Spall, anyone? Rory Kinnear?

I’m not saying that these people are bad actors, but what advantages they have had compared to somebody from a comprehensive school in Wolverhampton who doesn’t have any contacts.

I feel sorry for talented young actors. I’d be interested to know how many people who go to drama school give up and retrain, and after how long. I quite often read about actors and actresses having been on the brink of quitting to train as a teacher or a midwife or whatever before being cast in a big TV drama at the last minute and sticking with acting. How many just go ahead with retraining?

Knowing how difficult it is, when all the odds are stacked against young actors with no relatives or friends of parents in the profession, makes the achievements of Maxine Peake, Lesley Sharp, Julie Walters, Olivia Colman etc look even more impressive.

Anais Gallagher is apparently a ‘contributing editor’ of Tatler now!

Really glad I didn’t go into journalism. Imagine trying to compete with all those no-marks. Didn’t Tatler sack most of its real writers a couple of years ago? That must have been a bitter pill for them. Next week: Brooklyn Beckham as contributing editor of Wallpaper* (a real magazine about ‘contemporary lifestyle’.) I made that up. I hope it doesn’t come true!

God, I love the internet. Meg Mathews is now calling herself ‘activist and entrepreneur’. Ha ha ha!

Prince Louis penning his own column for Horse and Hound...

*Keira Knightley’s mum is a director and screenwriter, isn’t she?

Rafe Spall, anyone? Rory Kinnear?

I’m not saying that these people are bad actors*

In the case of Keira Knightley, I am! She ruins everything she's in.

But I agree with your broader point. Sure most of the 'celeb parents' actors are talented, but so are so many others who will never get anything more than a bit part on a day-time soap, due to not having gone to the 'right' school or not having parents in the business.

Olivia Colman may not have famous parents, but she was privately educated and went to Cambridge. So a fairly typical background for an actor these days.

Prince Louis penning his own column for Horse and Hound...

I think he'd be really good at that unless he's more of a cat & llama person, compared to the rest of his horse/dog mad family 😂😂😂