There’s nothing new about ‘nepo babies’

One of the neologisms of 2022 was the phrase ‘nepo baby’. Short for ‘nepotism baby’, it was coined by younger people, the so-called Gen Z, to describe the syndrome of the increased attention and opportunity afforded to the children of celebrities – in practice giving them a leg-up into a career in modelling, acting or singing. 

A curious aspect of the trend is that these newly cynical youths are only belatedly realising that many of the young stars in their firmament have famous parents: Lily Collins of Emily in Paris, for example, is the daughter of the rather-better-known-to-their-parents Phil.  

But it’s only the term itself that is new. The syndrome has been around, and growing, for decades: celebrities are the modern aristocracy and this strange alternative honours system is becoming increasingly hereditary.

The second half of the 20th century saw the old great aristocratic families going into steep decline. Hereditary peerages stopped being doled out.