2022 was the year “nepo baby,” a term thrown around online for at least two years, became a well-known slur. Hollywood has long employed the sons, daughters, siblings, and cousins of some of its biggest stars. But it only takes a few TikTokers scanning Wikipedia to turn an age-old phenomenon and widely available information into breaking news—not only that, but something we should all be enraged about.
I don’t know how angry the general public actually is about Hollywood’s nepo-baby craze. But the nickname has taken hold of celebrity discourse on the internet and in the media this year. Its definition has even expanded to include just about anyone related to a rich person, whether or not they’re employed in the same field.
Most recently, New York magazine did a splashy cover story on the industry trend, which included a nearly exhaustive taxonomy of nepo children across music, television, film and comedy. The hilarious issue seems to have pissed off several certified nepo babies, including actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who penned an absurd essay defending her privileged status on Instagram.
For those of us who weren’t born yesterday, yes, nepotism—particularly in industries where the chances of career mobility and financial security are significantly low—is a frustrating reality. However, there’s only so much us regular folks can do to dismantle these privileged networks throughout entertainment and other lucrative fields. (I’m personally willing to boycott any and all Sam Levinson projects moving forward.)
Unless some sort of revolt ensues, nepo babies aren’t going anywhere. So why not rank, compare and categorize them for fun while we focus on rent prices and student loan forgiveness?
2022 gave us plenty of opportunities to do so, as the progeny of Hollywood and fashion royalty were popping up everywhere and dominating everything. Maya Hawke was the queen of Netflix, returning as Robin in Season 4 of Stranger Things and starring in the well-received comedy film Do Revenge. Curtis had two box-office hits—and worked hard for them!—with Everything Everywhere All At Once, which she’ll probably receive her first Oscar nomination for, and Halloween Ends. And who can forget her multiple guest appearances on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Rihanna gave birth to her first child. Lily Rose Depp shut down the haters.
Will any of these spoiled brats (kidding! ….for some) make our best and worst list for 2022? Let’s see who stood out enough to make the cut.
Best: Bella Hadid
There’s nothing cooler than when a younger sister usurps her older sister simply by being, well, cool. Bella Hadid is the epitome of this phenomenon. This year, the 26-year-old continued wearing comically weird outfits, ruling Paris fashion week and speaking out on behalf of Palestinians. She also had a guest role on Season 3 of Hulu’s Ramy, which no one seemed to care about, but at least we got this cool profile! Hadid’s most important act of service, though, was when disclosed that she got a nose job at 14 in a Vogue cover story in March. Is there any person more devastating and glamorous?
Worst: Lily Rose Depp
The jury is still out on whether Lily Rose Depp, daughter of sentient ashtray Johnny Depp and actress Vanessa Paradis, is a star in the making, although she’s already been in a fair amount of (relatively unseen) projects. We’ll have to wait until next year to see whatever weird shit The Weeknd and Sam Levinson have her doing in HBO’s The Idol.
However, the 23-year-old managed to piss off social media last month, when she responded to nepo-baby critics in a profile. “The internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things,” she told Elle. “Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that.”
Yup, that’s how nepotism works! In the same interview, she also compared having your movie-star parent set you up with a manager to the child of a doctor completing medical school. Silly little nepo baby.
Best: Lori Harvey
Steve Harvey’s stepdaughter got a lot of hate from weird reply guys when People announced that she split from actor Michael B. Jordan earlier this year. But according to her Instagram, it seems like the 25-year-old is living her best 25-year-old life, having perfect skin and attending every fashion event on Earth. Harvey may have controversial health and fitness advice, but her overall vibe is inspirational. She’s also the rare nepo baby who, for the most part, chooses to not speak, which is an underrated quality.
Worst: O’Shea Jackson Jr.
It’s clear that, in the coming months, famous people will interpret “nepo baby” the way they interpret the online term “cancel”—as in, any way they want. Like Depp, Ice Cube’s 31-year-old son got on Twitter recently to clarify that he has, in fact, worked hard in his acting career. “I had to get my ass up and make it work,” he tweeted. “From the roles I chose. The work ethic I put into them. My professionalism on sets and promo tours. Even leaving [his father’s] agency and going to find a team of my own. Once the door was opened it was up to me to walk through it and thrive.”
The entire gist of nepotism is having a door opened for you—even if it’s just a crack that allows you to play your dad in a biopic—but OK!
Best: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s unborn second child
It's simply unfair that not one but two human beings get to have the screenwriters of Barbie as parents and the rest of us don’t. On top of being rich and well-connected, I’m sure Gerwig and Baumbach’s impending baby will be blessed with great taste in film and literature, and maybe Adam Driver as a godparent. I’m sorry you were announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, but I’m excited for your birth!
Worst: Matt Healy
As a pretentious Arctic Monkeys fan, I naturally recoil whenever I see or hear the words “The 1975.” So imagine my disgust when my Twitter timeline was laden with videos of the band’s lead singer Matt Healy sticking his tongue down random concertgoers’s throats—although, I guess I appreciate that he checks IDs? Still, this man just reminds me of that obnoxious character Zachary Quinto played on that episode of Girls, the guy who walked around chewing on a toothbrush. And the fact that his mom is a panelist on Loose Women (no shade to that program) makes his dirty rock-god schtick even cornier. I’ve personally seen enough!
Best: Adonis Graham
This year, we learned that Drake’s 5-year-old son is a Francophone, in addition to being a baby Lebron James. In a viral Instragam video in January, Adonis relayed a dark but hilarious message in French to his father about getting old. “When you’re older, you’re all broken,” Adonis later translated. “And you’re going to turn back into space.” So true! While I have no idea whether he’s speaking proper French or not, his accent work is great. And this curly-headed child has 10 times the charm of his daddy.
Worst: Lottie Moss
This random blonde woman, who turns out to be the half-sister of Kate Moss, could have easily lived in peaceful irrelevance for the rest of her life. But she needlessly became a Twitter villain after New York magazine’s recent “The Year of the Nepo Baby” issue and the discourse about it online seemingly set her off. In a series of now-deleted tweets, the 24-year-old model gave users this reality check: “Obviously it’s not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that. But guess what? Life isn’t fair.” Thanks, Ted Cruz!
Best: Kaia Gerber
This year, the daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber went from one extremely hot man (Jacob Elordi) to another (Austin Butler), both of whom happen to play Elvis in movies. Lisa Rinna could only dream of such image-boosting press for Amelia Gray. Gerber also looked great at an otherwise flop of a Met Gala. Congrats to her!
Worst: John David Washington
I have no desire to watch the massive flop that is David O. Russell’s Amsterdam. But directors, please stop casting this block of wood in all your Oscar-bait-y films. Thank you!
Best: Sofia Coppola
It’s always fun when a private celebrity joins a social media platform a decade after everyone else and casually kills it. For the past few years, it’s been Jake Gyllenhaal on Instagram. But now, Sofia Coppola has also joined the photo-sharing app, showing all these nostalgia accounts how to properly curate a mood board. Presumably, the Oscar winner was asked to join by A24, in order to promote her upcoming film Priscilla; it’s all she’s been posting about while it’s in production. Nevertheless, her presence on the app has been fun to witness.
Worst: Zoe Kravitz
The reactions to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at this year’s Oscars revealed a lot of celebrities and D-list comedians to be cops. But no one showed their ass in a cornier way than Zoe Kravitz, who decided to shade Smith and the Oscars for allowing him to “assault people onstage” in a snarky Instagram caption (which has now been deleted). Did the actress say anything inaccurate? No. Did we need another sanctimonious celebrity piling on a Black man while half the internet was spewing racist rhetoric at him? Absolutely not.
She was also terrible in The Batman.
Best: Aurora and Sophia Culpo
Not all nepotism babies are born equal. Some have Francis Ford Coppola as a dad and can direct movies or start a wine company using the family vineyard. Others have a sibling who dated a Jonas Brother once and have to build careers off of decade-old headlines. But hard work builds character, and the Culpo sisters had enough likable qualities that I sat down every week to watch their largely maligned TLC reality show. While Olivia was positioned as the Kim Kardashian of the bunch, Aurora and Sophia came through with the funny digs and sound advice you need from your sisters. It’s unclear whether or not the show will return for a second season, but I’m an Instagram follower for life!
