Emma Roberts recently shared her thoughts on the criticism surrounding “nepo babies” during her appearance on the “Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi” podcast by iHeartMedia. The actress, promoting her new movie “Space Cadet,” opened up about the public’s misconceptions regarding the paths of actors with family ties in the entertainment industry.
Roberts, whose aunt is Julia Roberts and father is Eric Roberts, emphasized that success in Hollywood is far from guaranteed, even for those with famous relatives. “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,” she explained. She believes it’s crucial to talk about the auditions that didn’t go well to highlight that the journey is not as smooth as it appears.
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Starting her acting career in 2001, Emma first gained recognition on the Nickelodeon sitcom “Unfabulous” and in films like “Aquamarine” (2006) and “Nancy Drew” (2007). Her recent work includes several seasons of “American Horror Story.” Despite her family’s prominence in the industry, she feels the pressure to prove herself even more. “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 Roberts noted the public’s fascination with overnight success stories, which often leads to an unfair perception of actors with industry connections. “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,'” she observed.
She also mentioned how gender seems to play a role in this criticism, pointing out that male actors with famous parents don’t receive the same scrutiny. “I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors — not that they should be called out. I don’t think anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dream,” she said.
Roberts humorously cited George Clooney, whose aunt Rosemary Clooney was a well-known actress and singer, as an example of a potential “nepo baby.” She concluded, “I’m just kidding, but I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing.”