nepo baby

A nepo baby is someone whose success seems to come from having a famous or well-connected parent, rather than from talent or hard work alone. It’s short for “nepotism baby.”

What nepo baby means

Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com both define it along those lines: a person whose career is believed to owe more to a famous parent’s connections than to merit. It’s used most about actors, models and musicians, but you’ll hear it about anyone who got a head start through family, from a CEO’s kid to the boss’s nephew in the office.

Dictionary.com notes the tone is usually mildly negative. It doesn’t always mean someone is bad at what they do. It means people suspect they didn’t have to work as hard to get the chance.

Examples

• “Her mom’s an Oscar winner and her dad directs. Total nepo baby.”
• “He’s talented, but let’s not pretend being a nepo baby didn’t help.”
• “The intern is the CEO’s son? Nepo baby energy.”

Where it came from

Sources give different starting points. Merriam-Webster’s first known use is 1992. Dictionary.com says it has been used on social media since at least 2018. According to Wikipedia, “nepotism baby” was circulating in the early 2010s, the short form showed up in a 2020 blog post, and the phrase took off in 2022 amid talk about Euphoria actor Maude Apatow, the daughter of director Judd Apatow and actor Leslie Mann.

By December 2022, New York magazine ran a cover story declaring 2022 the year of the nepo baby. Dictionary.com added the term in September 2023, and it appeared on Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year list that year.

How celebrities reacted

Some pushed back. Wikipedia notes that Lily-Rose Depp called the label sexist. Others leaned in: Hailey Bieber wore a T-shirt reading “nepo baby.”

Related terms

• Old money aesthetic: the look of inherited wealth.
• Main character: acting like the star of your own story.
• Clout: fame or influence.
• It girl: the young woman everyone is watching.

See more terms like this in our TikTok slang guide.