Emma Roberts Debunks “Nepo Baby” Myths: “It’s Not All Glitz And Glamor”
Emma Roberts recently shared her thoughts on the public’s view of “nepo babies” during her appearance on the iHeartMedia podcast, Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, promoting her new movie, Space Cadet.
Emma, who hails from a famous family with her aunt being Julia Roberts and her father Eric Roberts, discussed the misconceptions people have about actors with family connections in the entertainment industry.
“That’s the thing that I always talk about — 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 told Bruce Bozzi.
Starting her career in 2001, Emma made a name for herself on the Nickelodeon sitcom Unfabulous and in films like Aquamarine and Nancy Drew. More recently, she has appeared in several seasons of American Horror Story. Despite her success, Emma emphasized that having family in the industry doesn’t necessarily make the journey easier. “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.”
Emma pointed out that people often overlook the challenges and rejections that come with pursuing an acting career. “That’s why I’m always very open about things I’ve auditioned for and haven’t gotten the part for. I think it’s important to talk about – otherwise people just think everything’s been so great and linear and easy, and no, it’s not at all. But of course it looks like that to the outside perspective or to the naked eye,” she added.
The Maybe I Do actress went on to acknowledge the allure of the overnight success story and the unfair eye-rolls directed at those with family connections. “I think there’s something to be said where everybody loves the kind of overnight success story. And so 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 said.
She also highlighted the double standards in how the term “nepo baby” is applied, noting that young girls often face more scrutiny. “I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing,” she stated, adding, “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.”
Emma made this point after bringing up George Clooney as an example, jokingly pointing out his relation to his aunt, actress and singer Rosemary Clooney.
