Kate Winslet hits out at “silly” ‘nepo baby’ term after collaborating with son on new film
Kate Winslet has shared her thoughts on the colloquialism ‘nepo baby’, which usually refers to successful persons whose achievement rests upon their famous or influential parents’ connections.
The Titanic actor spoke to the BBC about her offspring; she shared that she found it offensive when people suggested that her children are nepo babies.
Two of her three children have followed her into the industry, but are not using her surname in order to make their own way.
Her 25-year-old daughter, Mia Threapleton, starred opposite Benicio del Toro in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme. She also starred alongside her mother in the Bafta-winning TV drama I Am Ruth.
Winslet insisted, “These kids are not getting a leg up,” before continuing, “Joe would say to me, ‘I don’t want people to think this film is just being made because you’re my mum’.”
Winslet’s son, the 21-year-old Joe Anders, appeared alongside his mum in Lee, as well as the war movie 1917, directed by his father, Sam Mendes.
Winslet has directed and stars in the new Christmas film, Goodbye June, written by her son, Anders. It was inspired by the death of his grandmother, Sally, from ovarian cancer in 2017.
Speaking on the project, Winslet shared, “Joe would say to me, ‘I don’t want people to think this film is just being made because you’re my mum’.”
She argued, “The film would have been made with or without me. The script is so good. It was the script that attracted all these wonderful actors.”
Turning her attention to her daughter, she added, “With Mia, I just try to say to my children, ‘follow your heart’.”
Musing on the nepo baby label, she went on, “There are lots and lots of people in the world whose children go into a similar family business, whether it’s being a judge or a lawyer or a doctor. And it doesn’t surprise me at all that my children wanted to do something creative with their lives, having always expressed a great passion for writing and acting and music as well.”
Winslet continued, “But that doesn’t necessarily translate to being able to actually get jobs and actually gain respect from your peers and people around you. And both of them have separately carved their own paths.”
She finished eloquently, “Part of it is actually teaching them to ignore the white noise of silly terms like nepo baby, which you can’t really do anything about.”
Goodbye June will come to Netflix on Christmas Eve, following a limited cinematic release.
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