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Girls star Zosia Mamet claims being a nepo baby 'only gets you so far' in Hollywood
Home>Celebrity
Published 16:41 24 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Girls star Zosia Mamet claims being a nepo baby 'only gets you so far' in Hollywood

Zosia Mamet claimed having famous parents made it 'more of a challenge' when trying to make it in Hollywood

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard Kaonga

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Featured Image Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV

Gerrard Kaonga
Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.

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Actor Zosia Mamet has argued that Hollywood doesn’t just role out the red carpet for nepo babies.

In recent years, a lot more people have been talking about nepo babies in the entertainment industry.

And if you have been living under a rock, I'll break it down.

The 'nepo' in the phrase is short for nepotism and is when anyone with influence in the industry uses their connections to get someone else a gig.

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Now you’ll see nepotism everywhere in the world... your company might even have the director’s son in a position he can’t really do, just because of his name.

Zosia Mamet, most notable for starring in HBO’s Girls is well aware that the term has been thrown her way a few times and it seems she isn’t a fan.

Speaking to the Guardian, the 36-year-old argued that having famous parents or connections 'can only get you so far'.

Zosia Mamet admitted her parents likely opened some doors for her. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Zosia Mamet admitted her parents likely opened some doors for her. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

However, the actor is aware that her father, playwright and filmmaker David Mamet and her mother actor Lindsay Crouse, definitely opened some doors for her.

She said: "I was actually met with more of a challenge. Because people knew I was coming in with a famous name, it meant that I was walking into the room with baggage."

Mamet explained that in the past she had an audition where one of the producers previously had a bad experience working with her dad and a casting director once told her she had 'her mother’s lips'. So, I suppose, it not all roses.

The actor continued: “It’s not like you’re born to a famous family and the red carpet rolls out for you and your career is made.

"Because also at the end of the day, if you’re not walking in and up to the challenge, if you don’t have the talent or the ability to back it up, a name can only get you so far.

The actor said she once had an audition with a producer who had a bad experience with her dad, 
David Mamet. (Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
The actor said she once had an audition with a producer who had a bad experience with her dad, David Mamet. (Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)

“Did it potentially open some doors for me? Sure. I can’t argue that. I think the biggest thing that I felt it did was that growing up surrounded by the industry meant I was going in with open eyes.”

And Mamet isn't the only actor to speak about being a nepo baby.

Stranger Things star Maya Hawke said she's embraced her nepo baby status while Emma Roberts has previously hit out at people who critized the term.

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