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15 Young Celebs Who Are Second-Generation Hollywood Royalty, And 15 Who Made It Big Without Family Connections In The Industry

A lot of up-and-coming actors and singers are the children of celebs our parents grew up with. However, not all of the Hollywood newcomers were born into fame — some of them came from a small town in the middle of nowhere and worked their way to the top.

The term "nepo baby" seems to be everywhere these days. TBH, that seems fitting since it also seems like celebs with famous parents are all over Hollywood lately.

man saying, a bold claim

However, while a lot of up-and-coming actors and singers are following in their parents' footsteps, there are also plenty who are making a name for themselves all on their own.

Here are 15 Gen Z celebs who are nepo babies:

1. Gracie Abrams, who's going on the road with Taylor Swift for The Eras Tour, is the daughter of filmmaker J. J. Abrams, who's known for Lost and The Force Awakens.

Gracie and J.J. Abrams

2. Nico Parker, who's going to play Sarah in HBO's upcoming series, The Last of Us, is the daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and director/screenwriter Ol Parker.

Nico with her parents on the red carpet

3. The Sex Lives of College Girls actor Charlie Hall is the son of actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus and writer/producer Brad Hall.

the family with charlie's younger brother henry at an event

4. Deacon Phillippe, the son of actors Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, made his onscreen debut in Season 3 of Never Have I Ever.

5. Model and entrepreneur, Lori Harvey, is the daughter of comedian and TV host, Steve Harvey.

6. Maude Apatow got her start in movies her dad, Judd Apatow, wrote and directed. Her first film was Knocked Up, which she acted in alongside her mom, Leslie Mann, and her sister, Iris Apatow.

7. Kaia Gerber is a model, just like her parents Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber.

the family at an event

8. Elizabeth Allen-Dick made her onscreen debut alongside her dad, Tim Allen, in The Santa Clauses.

elizabeth with her dad in the film

9. Stranger Things actor Maya Hawke is the daughter of actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.

10. Ty Tennant, who played Aegon II Targaryen in House of the Dragon, is the son of actors Georgia Tennant and David Tennant.

the family at an event

11. Actor and model, Damian Hurley, made his onscreen debut in The Royals alongside his mother, Elizabeth Hurley.

closeup of damian and elizabeth

12. Brooklyn Beckham is the son of footballer David Beckham and Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer, Victoria Beckham.

brooklyn with his parents on the red carpet

13. Singer/actor Noah Cyrus made her onscreen debut on an episode of Doc, the show her dad, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, starred on.

closeup of Noah and Billy in a crowd

14. Harley Quinn Smith is the daughter and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Kevin Smith. She made her onscreen debut in his movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

harley and her dad on the red carpet

15. And model/designer, Sofia Richie, is the daughter of singer Lionel Richie.

sofia with her dad at an event

And now, here are 15 Gen Z celebs who made it on their own:

16. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan decided to become an actor after writing, directing, and producing her own play during her last year of secondary school. When she found the Never Have I Ever open casting call, she submitted a self-tape, landed her first audition, then beat out 15,000 other applicants for the lead.

closeup of Maitreyi

17. When Millie Bobby Brown was eight, she told her parents she wanted to act "whatever it takes," and the family relocated to LA so she could begin auditioning.

closeup of Millie

18. Stranger Things actor Caleb McLaughlin grew up studying dance and attended a performing arts school. As a child actor, his first role was Alex in the opera, Lost in the Stars, then he made his Broadway debut as Young Simba in The Lion King.

closeup of Caleb

19. When Jenna Ortega was nine, her mom posted a video of her performing a monologue on Facebook. A casting agent came across the video and immediately reached out. Soon after, Jenna began booking roles.

closeup of jenna doing a late-night interview

20. A theater kid and comic book lover, Iman Vellani submitted an audition tape for Ms. Marvel because Kamala Khan was her "total comfort character." On her last day of senior year, she got the news that she booked the role.

Iman Vellani  on the red carpet

21. After graduating from a performing arts high school where she focused on visual arts, Hunter Schafer worked as an artist and model in New York for two years. She was saving up for fashion school, but when the opportunity to star in Euphoria came along, she "decided to go for it."

closeup of hunter

22. Mckenna Grace began modeling at three, and a year into her career, she asked her mom to enroll her in drama classes. The local theater helped her send audition tapes from Texas to California, and her family moved to the West Coast after she booked a role on the Disney XD show, Crash & Bernstein.

closeup of Mckenna

23. When Xóchitl Gómez was five, her mom put her in musical theater, and by the time she turned 12, she'd been in 22 productions. When she was 10, she started doing film and TV work as well, and her mom quit her job to help her.

closeup of Xóchitl

24. Bella Thorne was only six weeks old when she began acting. As a preteen, she didn't want to audition for Shake It Up, but she did it anyway because her family was "about to live physically on the street if [she] didn't have that role."

closeup of bella

25. Jacob Elordi hadn't been acting for very long when he booked The Kissing Booth, which made him famous overnight. However, he struggled to book more work afterward and slept in his car until he landed Euphoria. While filming the pilot, a producer noticed his living situation and helped him get a hotel room.

jacob on the red carpet

26. The year she graduated high school, The Sex Lives of College Girls star, Reneé Rapp, won Best Actress at the 10th Annual National High School Musical Theater Awards. A year later, she made her Broadway debut as Regina George in Mean Girls: The Musical.

closeup of renee

27. When Sydney Sweeney was 12, a small movie production came to her hometown, so she created a five-year business plan to convince her parents to let her audition. She booked the role and then began doing commercial work afterward.

sydney posing outside

28. Lana Condor fell in love with acting when she started taking drama at her LA high school. Her first attempt at getting an agent failed, but, after taking more acting lessons after school, she found one when she was 18. Soon after, she booked her first role in X-Men: Apocalypse.

closeup of Lana

29. When Sabrina Carpenter was nine, she began posting covers on YouTube and placed third in Miley Cyrus's online singing competition, MileyWorld Superstar. She signed her first record deal at 12, moved to LA at 13, then booked a role on Girl Meets World at 14.

sabrina singing with backup dancers on stage

30. And finally, as a teenager, Lil Nas X built an impressive online following with viral tweets and memes. Out of boredom, he decided to start making music. A few months later, he dropped out of college to pursue it as a career, and within a year, his song, "Old Town Road," went viral and then became a massive hit.

lil nas x on stage