Top 10 Nepo Babies Who Would've Been Famous Anyway

MsMojo

Some are just born with it! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the celebs’ kids who are talented enough to have their own careers – without their famous parents’ help.

Transcript

00:00Leia, do you remember your mother?

00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the celebs' kids who

00:08are talented enough to have their own careers, without their famous parents' help.

00:13Obviously, I'm 61 years old now and I've done a few things, so I'm feeling pretty

00:18solid on my feet.

00:2010.

00:22Dan Levy

00:23If you've seen Schitt's Creek, you can't deny Levy's comedic brilliance.

00:27The series was far from his first role, but it put him on the map.

00:44Some have argued that it would never have been made without his father Eugene's connections.

00:48However, considering how talented Dan is, we know he would have eventually found another

00:53path to stardom.

01:06Although his dad is also best known for comedy, the two have totally different styles.

01:11While Eugene often plays the straight man, Dan is more over-the-top and dramatic.

01:16The fact that he's taken home Emmys for writing, directing, producing, and acting

01:21are proof he's much more than just a famous last name.

01:359.

01:36Mariska Hargitay

01:37Plenty of Law & Order SVU fans don't even know that she's an Epo baby.

01:48Her dad, Mickey Hargitay, was a world-famous bodybuilder, and her mom was blonde bombshell

01:53Jane Mansfield.

01:54Tragically, Mansfield was killed in a car crash in 1967.

01:58Three-year-old Mariska was also in the vehicle, but sustained only minor injuries.

02:13Although her father was also an actor, he was mostly retired by the time Mariska landed

02:18her first role in 1985.

02:19That meant she had to make her way in Hollywood on her own merits.

02:23As far as modern audiences are concerned, Hargitay's fame has outpaced her parents',

02:28though her dad did make a cameo on SVU as his final acting role.

02:398.

02:43Jennifer Aniston

02:59Like Hargitay, she's become even more famous than her actor parents.

03:03Aniston's mother, Nancy Dow, appeared in just a handful of television episodes in the

03:0860s and a couple of movies.

03:10Her father, John Aniston, was a successful TV actor, best known for a long-running part

03:15on Days of Our Lives.

03:25Of course, if you've seen Jennifer Aniston in literally anything, you know that she has

03:30more than enough talent to make it as an actor without the benefit of nepotism.

03:34She first made a name for herself playing Rachel Green on Friends, but since then, she's

03:39proven herself as a dramatic actor, too.

03:41For Aniston, having parents that could show her the ropes was just a bonus.

03:537.

03:56Nicolas Cage

03:57We can't imagine a world where Nicolas Cage isn't famous, or maybe we just don't want

04:03to.

04:11Cage is actually the nephew of Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola.

04:16As an adult, he changed his last name from Coppola to Cage so that people wouldn't think

04:21he was just another nepo baby.

04:32He also didn't get much help from his famous uncle in making it big.

04:36When he asked Coppola for a screen test at the age of 15, he got the silent treatment.

04:41Cage is so talented and such a force of nature, he was destined to be successful no matter

04:46what his last name is.

04:566.

04:59Maya Rudolph

05:00Did you know that her mom was the singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton?

05:12Her dad, composer and music producer Richard Rudolph, might be less famous, but he's had

05:17an extremely successful career.

05:19He's worked on a number of big movies, like Flatliners and Weekend at Bernie's, and even

05:24co-founded a record label with actor Michael Douglas.

05:27But Maya didn't need her dad's Hollywood connections to make a name for herself.

05:37After she joined a Los Angeles improv group in the late 90s, she met future Saturday Night

05:49Live co-stars and got recruited to appear on the show.

05:52Although it wasn't her first TV role, it proved to be a pivotal point in her career.

05:57Now Rudolph is as much of a household name as her mother was.

06:115.

06:12Kiefer Sutherland

06:14His first film role was a big part in 1983's Max Dugan Returns, which starred his famous

06:19dad Donald Sutherland.

06:21But Kiefer's prolific film and television career proved that he has plenty of talent

06:26to make it on his own.

06:37He became a Hollywood heartthrob in the 80s and 90s, but Sutherland really rose to superstardom

06:43with his massive hit series 24.

06:56The show won numerous awards, and Sutherland took home an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and now

07:01two SAG awards for his performance as Jack Bauer.

07:04In 2008, he even got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

07:08His dad might have helped him get his foot in the door, but the rest was all Kiefer.

07:204.

07:28Laura Dern

07:37You probably know her best as Ellie Sattler, but Dern had nearly 20 TV and film roles under

07:43her belt by the time Jurassic Park premiered in 1993.

07:47Her parents, actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, divorced when she was just two.

07:51Laura's earliest on-screen appearances were in her mother's movies.

07:55She later graduated high school at age 16 and was emancipated from her parents' custody,

08:00allowing her to pursue acting full-time.

08:13Since then, she's starred in dozens of movies and shows and brought home just about

08:18every major acting award there is.

08:20If that's not proof that Dern is driven to succeed on her own, we don't know what

08:24is.

08:253.

08:26Jamie Lee Curtis

08:48It can be hard to separate Curtis' success from that of her parents.

08:52She's well-known as the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, and there's no doubt

08:56her famous name has helped her in her career.

08:59In fact, she got her first film role as Laurie Strode in Halloween specifically because her

09:04mother was well-known for Psycho.

09:11However, that doesn't mean that Curtis doesn't deserve her success.

09:24If you've seen any of her films, you know that she's an incredibly gifted actor and

09:29she has a whole slew of awards to prove it.

09:32If Curtis' parents had been lawyers or teachers instead of film stars, we're sure she'd

09:36still have made it in Hollywood one way or another.

09:422.

09:44Carrie Fisher

09:45Obviously, you know her as Leia, but her career went way beyond Star Wars.

10:03Fisher actually appeared in more than 50 movies, not to mention dozens of TV shows.

10:08Her mother Debbie Reynolds was a massive star in the 50s and 60s, and her dad Eddie Fisher

10:14was a best-selling musician who even had his own variety show.

10:18Star Wars was only Carrie's second film role, and it's safe to say she slayed it.

10:31Whether she had famous parents or not, the producers would have been crazy to cast anyone

10:35else.

10:36In fact, George Lucas chose Fisher in part because she was relatively unknown at the

10:41time.

10:42It was absolutely the right decision.

10:49Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

10:52Rashida Jones With both acting and writing talent, she was

10:56guaranteed to become a star.

11:10Nora Jones

11:22Jane Fonda Her father Peter encouraged her, but she built

11:26a career on her own merit.

11:39Lily Collins Many fans don't even realize she's the daughter

11:42of musician Phil Collins.

11:53Jeff and Bo Bridges The talent runs strong in the whole Bridges

11:56family.

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12:23Liza Minnelli

12:33She inherited her beauty, voice, and acting ability from her mother Judy Garland.

12:38Having an award-winning director for a father also didn't hurt.

12:41But no one ever got to EGOT status without being incredibly talented in their own right.

13:00The crazy thing is, compared to some of the names on our list, she hasn't even been

13:04in that many movies or shows.

13:06She's just so good, everything she touches turns to gold.

13:09Oscar gold, Emmy gold, you get the picture.

13:12In fact, Minnelli won her first Tony at just 19 years old.

13:16She was clearly meant for stardom.

13:26Were you surprised to learn some of these celebs are nepo babies?

13:30Which ones do you think truly deserve their fame?

13:32Let us know in the comments!

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