No industry is a stranger to nepotism. Powerful business families have passed down their billion-dollar empires for generations, and the children of tech innovators have launched their own start-ups. Likewise, actress Kate Winslet’s children are now following in her footsteps, with the two Gen Zers pursuing Hollywood careers—but she’s adamant the Winslet name isn’t opening any doors.
“I don’t like the nepo baby term because these kids are not getting a leg up,” Winslet told the BBC in a recent interview while promoting her upcoming movie, Goodbye June.
Perhaps ironically, the film’s screenplay which will hit Netflix on December 24, was written by her eldest son, 21-year-old Joe Anders.
And it wasn’t lost on them how their collaboration could be perceived, with Winslet’s son bracing for the nepotism allegations.
“[Joe] would say to me, ‘I don’t want people to think that this film is just being made because you’re my mom,’” Winslet continued. “The film would have been made with or without me. The script is so, so good.”
The 50-year-old Academy Award-winning actress, estimated to be worth $65 million, slammed the nepo baby label altogether. She pointed out that children are naturally drawn towards what their parents do for work—whether that be taking over a family business, or continuing a multi-generational lineage of doctors.
“But that doesn’t necessarily translate to being able to actually get jobs and actually…gain respect from your peers and people around you,” Winslet added.
“Both of them have separately carved their own paths and been able to do that, and part of it actually is teaching them to ignore the white noise of silly terms like nepo baby, which you can’t really do anything about.”
Kate Winslet fans accuse actor of being in denial as her kids land coveted Hollywood jobs
Two of Winslet’s three kids have already made their Hollywood debuts.
More recently, Anders starred alongside his mother in the 2023 film Lee; but his first major-motion picture role was in the Oscar-nominated movie 1917, directed by his father, Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes. The Gen Zer has taken on both of his parents’ passions, with credits in both acting and screenwriting at just 21 years old. Writing scripts for Oscar-wielding actresses, and starring in films directed by the mind behind Skyfall and American Beauty, is no easy feat at such a young age.
Meanwhile, Winslet’s daughter, 25-year-old Mia Threapleton, has made a splash in the indie film scene. Earlier this year she had a starring role in Wes Anderson’s The Pheonician Scheme. And just like Anders, she had the opportunity to act alongside her mother; she fittingly played Winslet’s daughter in the 2022 BAFTA-winning TV show I Am Ruth. Threapleton has also starred in Apple TV drama series The Buccaneers.
Winslet’s youngest kid, 12-year-old Bear Blaze Winslet, has yet to star in any project.
In the comments section of the BBC interview posted on social media, many people were quick to point out Winslet’s pull, citing “privilege” and industry connections as being instrumental to her kids’ success.
“She seems to ignore reality: her children would almost certainly not have been able to become working actors if Kate weren’t their mother,” one commenter wrote. “There are hundreds of thousands of very talented young people out there, but they don’t have wealthy or famous parents who can provide connections. That doesn’t mean nepotism babies don’t have the right to pursue something creative.”
From Eric to Trump to Phoebe Gates, ‘nepo babies’ are everywhere
Family dynasties have cycled through generations of nepotism, from the Carnegies and Vanderbilts, to the Murdochs and Waltons. Even one of President Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, conceded that “Nepotism is kind of a factor of life”—but stipulated that it doesn’t sustain his career running his father’s real estate business.
Phoebe Gates, the 23-year-old daughter of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, also recently entered the tech scene. She co-created AI-powered shopping tool Phia while studying at Stanford, drumming up the idea with roommate and cofounder Sophia Kianni. It launched in April 2025, amassing more than 500,000 users and 5,000 direct brand partners by September. The venture raised $8 million in seed funding, drawing celebrity investments from Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, and Spanx’s Sara Blakely. Despite all her success, she understands the advantages that come with being a Gates—even if it’s an uncomfortable truth.
“I had so much insecurity and such a desire to prove myself,” Gates said during an episode of her podcast, The Burnouts. “I came in, I was like ‘I have so much privilege, I’m a nepo baby.’ I had so much insecurity around that. I feel like it’s so hard when you’re a freshman in college because you have no experience, you have nothing.”
And when it comes to passing down the family business, every successful parent has a different idea of when their kids are ready to take on their life’s work. Earlier this year, real estate tycoon Jorge M. Pérez succeeded his $40 billion business to his sons. However, Pérez didn’t simply hand over the keys to his empire; to sidestep nepotism claims and ensure that his company was in good hands, the entrepreneur made them prove their chops through 18 years of education and work. His kids had to get an MBA, work for a competitor for five years, and spend over a decade rising the ranks.
“When I felt particularly—beginning with Jon Paul—that they could come to work in the company, what I didn’t want is for people in the company to feel that they were entitled, that the reason that I gave them a position is because they were just my sons,” Jorge told Fortune earlier this year.
