Hollywood is ruled by nepo babies. That goes without saying. But nepo babies are ever-evolving. It feels as if each week there’s a new nepo baby coming of age, gingerly taking their first nepo baby steps. Attending their first fashion show. Posing for their first designer campaign. Going viral on TikTok. Launching a tequila brand. Testing out their hugely brave pivot from music to acting. We’re all so proud.
But which nepo babies have been on top for 2024? The revolving door of fame can’t keep them all relevant, all of the time. Someone’s gotta win. The alumni include Dakota Johnson in 2015, when she was cast as a near-unknown and given a three-film contract for the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise. Or 2023, which surely belonged to Sofia Richie and her three wedding dresses, which could have caused a crash to Pinterest servers, such was the speed of their addition to women’s wedding moodboards.
Because let’s be honest, we don’t dislike nepo babies. Even the ones who are totally obtuse about their privilege are fun to follow. And the cost of their immediate fame and fortune is that they have to endure silly lists like this and occasional probing questions about the value of their parentage. A pretty good deal, I’d wager.
So, without further ado, here are the most relevant nepo babies of 2024.
1. Margaret Qualley
Andie MacDowell’s daughter Margaret has had one hell of a 2024, appearing in her second film with cult director Yorgos Lanthimos, Kinds of Kindness, as well as playing the perky, young version of Demi Moore in the wildly successful body horror film The Substance. Meanwhile, she’s also enjoying her first year of marriage to Taylor Swift’s producer Jack Antonoff, who recently told this paper about Qualley’s misadventures adopting a baby horse. Well done to The Qual!
2. Gracie Abrams
Could there be a bigger year in anyone’s life than the year they start dating Paul Mescal? Probably not. Sorry, Phoebe Bridgers. So congrats to Gracie Abrams, daughter of Star Wars director JJ Abrams, who has not only secured the hottest boyfriend on the market but also landed herself a number one album with “The Secret of Us”. You know she’s winning because half of the internet hates her right now.
3. Zoe Kravitz
Zoe Kravitz, who is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, has been a beloved nepo baby for a long, long time, but this year she won over everyone’s favour once again by proving her creative talent with a stunning directorial debut. Blink Twice is as cool as it is cruel, and Kravitz’s relationship with Channing Tatum is despicably adorable. If they get married next year she will be Chief Nepo Baby for 2025.
4. Bill Skarsgård
Bill Skarsgård has been the third most relevant Skarsgård child for a while and the fourth most relevant Skarsgård family member overall, behind father Stellan and brothers Alexander and Gustaf. But now he’s proving himself to be the go-to actor for creepy horrors, with The Crow and Nosferatu under his belt for 2024. He’s freaky and we love him. Plus he’s got a height advantage on Barry Keoghan (sorry).
5. Hailey Bieber
Hailey Bieber could be on this list for creating that viral lip gloss phone case alone, to be honest. But the model, who is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, has also had a huge year in her personal life, making her hyper-relevant in all spheres. She and Justin Bieber welcomed their first baby this August, and seem to be pretty happy and contended despite an endlessly swirling, rather sad media storm around Justin.
6. Jack Quaid
Another killer season of The Boys means another reason to love Jack Quaid, son of Jack Quaid and Meg Ryan, and one of the nicest nepo babies in Hollywood. His fame was given a nice extra boost when it was revealed that he was dating his much-fancied co-star, Claudia Domit, who plays Victoria Neuman. And he’s also recently endorsed Kamala Harris for President, despite his father Dennis getting concerningly pro-Trump as of late.
7. Kaia Gerber
Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford, was once considered to be another run of the mill model-turned-actress nepo baby, struggling to emerge from the shadow of her lookalike mother. But her performances in last year’s Bottoms and this year’s Saturday Night, the comedy film that chronicles the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live, has proved she’s much more than a pretty face. Plus, she’s dating Austin Butler, who will probably win another Oscar this year, and we love her friendship with The Bear star (and Bottoms co-star) Ayo Edebiri. It warms the cockles of our hearts.
8. Clairo
A nepo baby who you probably didn’t know was a nepo baby! Bedroom pop star and singer-songwriter Claire Cottrill is the daughter of mega marketing mogul Geoff Cottrill, and has admitted some ease in her ascent as a result. But Clairo is deeply beloved — this year even more so, thanks to the release of her well received third studio album, Charm.
9. Romy Mars
The 17-year-old daughter of director Sofia Coppola and Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars made waves in 2023 when she released a hilarious TikTok about being grounded that has since become woven into the rich tapestry of internet history. She was banned from TikTok but now she’s back! And she made her red carpet debut at Cannes Film Festival this summer alongside her grandfather, Francis Ford Coppola. She’s gonna be a star, we can feel it.
10. Chet Hanks
How could we forget the creator of “White Boy Summer”? The son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Chet Hanks will always be one of the funniest nepo babies to observe, especially when being interviewed by Ziwe or doing an accent that provokes equal mix of intrigue and concern. This year he coined the phrase “White Boy Summer” only for it to be quickly adopted by racists, who he batted off quickly, saying that they were unwelcome in his White Boy Summer celebrations. He’s an odd one but we can’t look away.
