Yahoo Lifestyle 13 Celebrity Parents Who've Gotten Honest About The Reasons They Don't Want Their Kids To Be Famous
For the past few years, there has been much debate about "nepo babies" and the benefits of having a famous parent. Oftentimes, if a child of a celebrity chooses to step into the spotlight, a last name may serve as a "golden ticket" to choices that wouldn't otherwise be offered. However, there are some celebrity parents who are adamant about their children not joining the entertainment industry.
Whether it's concern about their child's well-being or hesitancy stemming from their own negative experiences, famous parents sometimes have a strict "no" policy on fame for their kiddos. Some never want their children to be in the public eye, while others would prefer them to wait until adulthood. Here are 13 celebrities who do not want their children to follow in their famous footsteps:
1.Jason Momoa:
In 2021, the Aquaman star opened up to Entertainment Tonight about the possibility of his two children becoming actors, "Aw man, one of them wants to do it and I'm not a fan. I don't want them to."
Momoa further explained his hesitancy, stating, "I don't know. I'll try my damnedest to keep 'em out of it. I love storytelling, I love theatrical things, I like directing and filmmaking, but I just want them to, you know, really to go for other things."
However, he added, "If they [really] want to, maybe. But I don't want them to get into acting. It's very hard on people and I don't want them to have that pressure. I'm tough, I can handle it, but I wouldn't want to put someone I love [through] that."
Shortly after the birth of her daughter, Sadie, in 2011, Applegate revealed her feelings on her daughter potentially working in show business during an E! News interview, stating, "She's allowed to study, and if she wants to take acting classes or dance classes she's allowed to."
The Dead to Me star also revealed her stipulations for her daughter's talents, "But I have a very strong 'No' when it comes to monetary exchange for your talents until she's 18."
3.Ben Affleck:
During a Q&A at the 2017 AutFest Film Festival, the Armageddon actor opened up about the reasons why he doesn't want his children to act, stating, “I think it’s a hard thing. I love being an actor. I got into it as a child, and I wouldn’t change that. But I also wouldn’t want to take my kids and push them out there before they were 18.”
He continued, “If they are 18 and they want to make those choices and do that kind of thing, that’s fine. But being a child actor, I just know too much of the downside of what that can be like.”
“I had some great rewards, and I probably wouldn’t have made it as an adult had I not built up that body of work as a kid, so it’s a strange thing. My kids would be good in the school play. If they can handle that, they’re in good shape.”
4.Nick Cannon:
The Masked Singer host and father of 12 has revealed his thoughts about his children's futures many times. In 2017, during an interview with E! News, he spoke about potential fame for the twins he shares with Mariah Carey, "My kids, especially Moroccan and Monroe, they're hams. They love attention. They love performing. My son is fascinated with cameras and directing and making little movies. They definitely have the bug."
Cannon hopes they ultimately choose another career path, admitting, "I'd rather them be nuclear physicists or brain surgeons. But I can't control that. So if they want to be entertainers, I'll support it."
During a 2023 interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 43-year-old gave his opinion on the "nepo baby" debate: "If they [his children] choose fame, they will have advantages as 'nepo babies.' Out of all my kids, I'm like, if they want to be in entertainment, that's fine, but that's almost easy. I want you to do something that's challenging, go outside of the box, so you can see effort and perseverance and those things, because they're a nepo baby. There's advantages to a kid. You're just like, 'Oh, this is natural.'"
He continued, "That's why I love...to see my kids try sports, because it has nothing to do with anything. It literally is however much work you put in, how hard you go, that's how you'll succeed in that space," he said. "They can learn all of those cool principles through having fun with their friends. I'm hoping for a few athletes. I hope I can be that dad on the sidelines somewhere rooting for them. But, again, if they want to be accountants or equestrians I don't care."
5.Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher:
During a 2013 Conan interview, when asked whether or not the That '70s Show actors would allow their daughter to act, Kunis revealed, "To say I wouldn't allow her [to act] would be horrible, but I’d really, really like for her not to be in this industry in any form."
Jokingly, she added, "I think that if it was up to [husband Ashton], [Wyatt] would be the very first female professional NFL coach. Specifically for the Chicago Bears. That is what he is molding her to be.”
6.Angelina Jolie:
In 2014, the Maleficent star opened up to the Sydney Morning Herald about her hopes for her children's futures, "We're [referring to herself and then-husband, Brad Pitt] hoping, I think, that the kids don't become actors. We want them to be happy, and do whatever they're interested in, but I think we're hoping to show them so many other ideas and other options that they won't want to act."
Jolie concluded, "If they do, I hope they act and also do something else. I'd like them to do other things with their lives. We're a bit nervous about that."
7.Ed Sheeran:
During a 2021 appearance on the podcast "Table Manners with Jessie Ware," the Shape of You singer revealed the reasons why he doesn't want his children to be famous, "I think it's from being in the music industry - I'm like, 'I would not wish this on my child.'"
He continued, "I would hate for her [his oldest daughter, Lyra] to be known as my daughter rather than just Lyra, I want her to have [her] own identity," Sheeran does hope, however, that his daughter will take more after her mother, hockey player Cherry Seaborn, "I think Lyra will be more sport."
8.Minnie Driver:
In a 2017 interview with US Weekly, the Good Will Hunting star and mother of one revealed that she felt uncomfortable with children, including her own son, being in the spotlight, "I'm not really for the whole kids in show business thing."
"It's really difficult even when you meet lovely parents of children who are in show business. There is still the fact that they're not having a childhood. They are out of their element, and in the element of an adult world which is not always appropriate. It seems to me there is always a certain level of desperation that makes a person put a child in that position."
9.Matt Damon:
During a 2012 roundtable interview with the Hollywood Reporter, when the actors were asked whether or not they would encourage their children to go into show business, Damon, a father of four daughters, revealed, "I would try to steer my daughters away from acting. Women are in a different business than we are. It is just brutal for women. For us, the roles get really good at 40 and beyond. And that’s really when you start doing your best work."
10.Channing Tatum:
During a 2021 interview on "Live with Kelly and Ryan," the Magic Mike actor was asked if his and Jenna Dewan's daughter would be interested in an acting career in the future. Tatum responded, "I think she knows what it is. I think she's expressed certain things...When we directed our first movie this year called Dog, she wanted to be in it, and we just couldn't figure out a place to, to really put her because it's just a road trip movie with me and a dog."
He also admitted, "I want her to learn how to act if she wants to do that but I don't know if I will be excited for her to just start acting as a job [when she’s] younger. I want her to experience life and do things but she will do something. She's such a little trickster."
11.Drew Barrymore:
Barrymore first spoke to Grazia about her rules regarding fame for her two daughters in 2015, stating: "I would not let them [act]. I want them to be kids. They might hate me for it, but there is no way until they are 18. If they are 18 and still serious about it, of course I’d support that. I’ll take it one step at a time."
The 50 First Dates star told People three years later, “If they want to be actors [later] in life, I would be so supportive of it." She continued, “Can you imagine me being [a] mom [who is] pushing her kids out there? That’s not going to happen.”
12.Jessica Alba:
In 2011, the Honest Company founder and mother of three spoke to the Daily Mail about her children's futures, "I was a child actor and it worked for me, given the circumstances I was in, but I'm lucky enough to give [my children] a completely different life and an education that I never had the opportunity to have."
However, she's not opposed to them joining the entertainment industry later in life, "When they're done with college, if they want to get into the arts, that's fine. I think you will be a better artist the more life experience you have, but I wouldn't encourage them to work in this type of environment as children."
13.Daniel Radcliffe:
Although Radcliffe skyrocketed to international fame at the age of 11, the Harry Potter star revealed that he wants his child to avoid the spotlight. In a 2022 Newsweek interview with fellow child star Evan Rachel Wood, the 35-year-old explained, "I wouldn't want fame for my kid."
However, he still wants his child to experience the wonder of a film set, stating, "I want my kids, if and when they exist [he welcomed a son with longtime partner Erin Darke in 2023]...I would love them to be around film sets. A dream would be for them to come onto a film set and be like, 'God, you know, I'd love to be in the art department. I'd love to be something in the crew.' Some part of this, but not from that."
Radcliffe does draw a line between being on sets and being a "full-blown" celebrity, "I think if you can get in a situation where you're on film sets without it being a big deal in your life, that's good," he continued. "Film sets are wonderful places and can be wonderful for kids, but it's the fame side of it that should be avoided at all costs."
