Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Lewis Howes
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Ellie Kemp
Zooey Deschanel denies that she's a nepo baby, despite growing up with both her parents in the entertainment industry.
The actress has played major roles in some iconic comedies over the years, from Christmas hit Elf to 2008 release Yes Man, and of course, FOX sitcom New Girl.
The 44-year-old's whole family is actually involved in the film and TV world in one way or another.
Her older sister, Emily Deschanel, has starred in FOX drama Bones and Netflix thriller The Devil in Ohio. And their parents are six-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and Twin Peaks actress Mary Jo Deschanel.
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A nepo baby is defined as a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections - usually the children of famous parents.
Appearing on Lewis Howes' podcast The School of Greatness back in April, while she batted away nepo baby accusations, she admitted she 'can't possibly emphasise enough how much creative help' she's had from her relatives.
The star, who's also a musician, explained how once she could 'drive herself to auditions' at the age of 16, she would then be allowed to get an agent.
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With 'creative help from [her] family unit' she started chasing her dream of becoming an actor even more determinedly.
But she told Howes: "I'm like no, my dad's a Director of Photography (DP) like no one's getting jobs because their dad's a DP... definitely not."
However, she admitted her dad is a 'great creative mind' and 'very talented person' who knows 'everything about film' and would give her direction when practising her lines.
She added her mom is 'a great actor' and is 'so nurturing' and would 'coach' her when she didn't have an acting coach. "They both would help me so much," she adds.
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Despite Zooey's rejection of being called a nepo baby, it would seem many social media users have been left unconvinced by her reasoning.
One X user said: "Denial is not just a river in Egypt."
"There’s nothing wrong with being a nepo baby, especially when you’re talented but don’t act like your parents didn’t put you in a better position to succeed than others due to their connections in the industry," another added.
However, a third commented: "People really only care about nepotism when the child has clearly no skills to back up why they got that job. She is a good actor and so is her sister. People are just jealous."
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And a final reckoned: "Nepo baby aside, she did well carrying her weight with her acting skills."