These Nepo Babies Live Surprisingly Normal Lives Away From The Spotlight

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Children are up to 2.7 times more likely to follow the same career path as their parents, depending on factors such as gender and occupation, per a General Social Survey study conducted between 1994 and 2016 (via The New York Times). However, many children don't join the proverbial family business, and that includes nepo babies. Indeed, for every Lily-Rose Depp, there are more than a few lesser spotted Jack Depps. We're not surprised that many nepo babies would choose normalcy over Netflix deals; they're often as divisive as pineapple on pizza. It can be tough out there for limelight-seeking nepos, whether it's J.J. Abrams' Grammy-nominated daughter, Gracie Abrams, being relentlessly meme'd online or the scrutiny put on every John David Washington performance — so much so, there have been many nepo babies who quietly changed their names. 

"There's been rising anger in recent years with what appears to be more and more children of famous people making it in the entertainment industries," Mel B's daughter, Phoenix Chi Brown, told Radio Times in 2025 (via The Sunday Times). "Even when nepo babies are great at their job," she continued, "they face a backlash fuelled by misunderstanding, jealousy, or resentment." So, let's take a look at the nepo babies who chose the path more followed, one of normality and nine to fives instead of Vogue covers, hate comments, and internet hysteria.

Bruce Springsteen is one of New Jersey's finest. Funnily enough, his son can also lay claim to a similar moniker, though not in the sense that he's a much-loved multi-million-selling recording artist. Sam Springsteen, the third born to the "Born in the U.S.A." singer and his E Street bandmate Patti Scialfa, is a Jersey City-based firefighter. He first began volunteering for the service in 2014, then in 2020, after a lot of exams and training, he was sworn in with his famous folks in attendance. "We're very proud. It was a long road," said Bruce at the ceremony (via the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter's Fund). "He was very dedicated for quite a few years, and we're just excited for him today."

He's not just impressed his parents but also those often keen to criticize nepo babies. "Did you know that Bruce Springsteen's son, Sam, is a fireman?" asked British author Julie Burchill in a 2024 takedown of Brooklyn Peltz Beckham in The Spectator. "Good on Sam," she added. "[T]he child of a star, doing something useful for a living." In his personal life, Sam welcomed a baby of his own in 2022.

Charles Shaffer, the sire of Anna Wintour and her ex-husband David Shaffer, is a parent's Platonic ideal of a son. He studied at the prestigious (and then some) Oxford University, where he met the woman he would go on to marry and have children with, Elizabeth Cordry. He then came from across the pond and graduated Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. 

Although Charles is not a nepo baby in the sense that he's followed his mother into the world of fashion, he is in the sense that his father was a famous child psychiatrist. Like his father, Charles works as a psychiatrist and, despite keeping a relatively low profile, he has gained plaudits in corners of the internet for his clinical skills. So, he is a real nepo baby after all, just not one that basks in the spotlight. He still enjoys trips to the Met Gala, though, so he doesn't mind stepping into the limelight now and then. Luckily, despite his lack of professional fashion chops, he wasn't one of our worst-dressed stars at the 2024 Met Gala.

Many nepo babies have lived incredibly tragic lives, but perhaps none more so than Emma Thompson's adopted son, Tindyebwa Agaba Wise (or, Tindy, as he is known). By the time Tindy arrived in the U.K. from Rwanda at age 16, he had lost his father to AIDS and spent 13 months imprisoned by child soldiers. During his imprisonment, he lost track of his three sisters and never saw them again. Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise, informally adopted Tindy the same year he arrived in London after meeting at a charity event for refugees. 

Instead of living the cushy life of luxury and fashion parties attended by fellow London nepo kids like Iris Law, Tindy decided to use his tragic experiences to give back. After graduating from Exeter University with a politics degree and subsequently gaining a master's in human rights law, Tindy returned to refugee camps to help out and advised asylum seekers on legal matters before working for the U.K.'s Criminal Investigation Department. In 2018, he married an astrophysics student named Bao. There was no Vogue photoshoot, though. Instead, just a down-to-earth Insta carousel from his sister Gaia Wise. "I think everyone has [the] capacity to be nice," Tindy told The Times in 2015. "I believe that humans are intrinsically altruistic." If his work is anything to go by, he certainly practices what he preaches.

Gordon Ramsay gained fame for laying down the law in restaurants across his 20-plus-year career in television. His eldest daughter, Megan Ramsay, does the same. However, she lays down the actual law. That's because, after graduating from university with a psychology degree, Megan joined the police force. While Gordon's other daughter Tilly Ramsay has had a stunning transformation in the public eye, Megan has kept away from the media. The most exposure she's had is in birthday posts from her dad on Instagram, which have racked up over 90,000 likes in some cases. 

Otherwise, Megan's living her best, normal, life. Heck, she doesn't even get the benefits of having a dad who's worth $220 million, as per Yahoo! Entertainment. "[Our kids] don't sit with us in first class," her "Hell's Kitchen" tyrant dad told The Telegraph in 2017. "They haven't worked anywhere near hard enough to afford that," he added. "I worked my f****** arse off to sit that close to the pilot and you appreciate it more when you've grafted for it." 

These days, many successful actors are the sires of Hollywood mega-couples. Heck, just take Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman's daughter Maya Hawke. However, not every actor's son or daughter fancy fronting films. For example, the daughter of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Leslie Howard Bogart, found her inner peace away from the lights, the cameras, and the action.

Although she's been to many an Oscar ceremony, Leslie spent her days working as a nurse in the '70s and '80s. Later in the '80s, she found yoga and became a certified instructor, focusing on the healing wing of the practice. In fact, in 1990, she even married yoga guru Eric Schiffmann. However, she wasn't one of these neo-yogis who make YouTube tutorials and rack up millions of views. Instead, by all accounts, she chose the quieter, zen-er life. Her seldom time in the spotlight coming when she honors her parents at events or in documentaries.

By the way, here's how Bogart and Bacall's infamous affair couldn't distract from their massive age gap.

While you've likely heard of "The Idol" star Lily-Rose Depp, chances are you haven't heard of her bartender brother, Jack Depp. That's because Jack lives a polar opposite life to his sister. While Lily-Rose was acting in Hollywood blockbusters, Jack instead worked in a Paris-based Lebanese restaurant. His stint at the restaurant is well documented on his Instagram, where the French-American posted pictures of himself working behind the bar and sampling some of its delicacies.

Despite Lily-Rose having the job many bartenders wish they had, she revealed she struggles to impress Jack. "It's the classic thing of when you have a younger sibling, they think you're so cool when you're kids," the sometimes model told Interview Magazine. "Then when you get older, now I think he's so cool, and I'm like, 'Let's hang!' And he's like, 'I'm busy.'"

Even though Jack has, literally, put an ocean between himself and Hollywood, he's still a nepo baby on the Seine. His mother is the French pop star and former face of Chanel, Vanessa Paradis. As it turns out, the "Joe Le Taxi" singer is the one responsible for imbuing him with his anti-fame faculties. "I don't want our children to be forced to share in our fame against their will," said Paradis in 2007 (via Radar Online). "They didn't ask for that."

Although Annie Guest is part of an uber-famous Hollywood dynasty – her mother is veteran leading lady Jamie Lee Curtis, her dad is Christopher Guest of "This is Spinal Tap" fame, and she counts Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as her grandparents – this nepo baby is more interested in bringing through the next generation of talent than capitalizing on her family's fame. In this case, it's not quite the Francis Ford Coppola nepo baby network, as Annie works as a dance teacher. It's a practice she has been trained in since she was 3 years old, but rather than be in the spotlight herself, she's been teaching the next real-life Billy Elliots since she was 16. In fact, she's worked across ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, modern, tap, and hip-hop. 

While some people are triple-threats, Annie's got more threats than a Monster-fuelled teenager playing "Call of Duty." Like any supportive mom, Jamie Lee shouts from the digital rooftops about her daughter's achievements. "She made me a mother and a student with her first breath and continues to deepen both of those aspects of my life," wrote the Oscar winner in a birthday Instagram post to her daughter in 2023. "She is an extraordinary teacher, gorgeous dancer, loyal friend to many, has exquisite taste in all things." High praise, indeed. 

Willem Dafoe has been a fixture of the multiplexes, streaming services, and even TikTok memes throughout his decade-spanning career. So, you may have thought that his son, Jack Dafoe, would've gone the same way as the Apatow sisters or Jack Quaid and followed his father into the movie industry. Well, not quite. Jack actually chose the planet over movie premieres, professionally. After graduating from Yale in 2004, he put his skills to good use as a senior research and policy analyst, focusing on environmentally friendly jobs. 

While many dream of being an actor when they're young, Jack actually had his heart set on saving the planet from the very beginning. "Since I was very young, I was a huge, self-described environmentalist," he said in a 2008 interview (via YouTube). "I saw the challenge of climate change was something that was very major to me," he added. "I mean, this is not only about the future for our children and our grandchildren. This is about the future of everyone who's living on this planet at the moment." It's a noble focus, especially considering Jack has two children of his own to look after. Thankfully, his career in environmentalism has gone from strength to strength, and, in 2023, he became assistant attorney general at the Natural Resources Division.

Gordon Ramsay's eldest son, Jack Ramsay, joined the British army in 2020. It's a life as far away from Michelin star restaurants and red carpets, as you can imagine. As per how2become.com, the average day in the life of a British Royal Marine consists of morning gym workout, followed by a six-mile run, map-reading lessons, and languages classes. However, Jack does follow in his father's footsteps somewhat, with cooking and food hygiene being essential skills for Jack's profession.

It's safe to say Gordon is very proud of Jack. After all, they do say that a good restaurant has to be run like the army. "Can't tell you enough how proud I am of this young man," Gordon wrote on Instagram in 2020 with an image carousel featuring Jack donning his military uniform. "Jack Ramsay you've made me feel like the proudest father today congrats on joining @royalmarines what amazing achievement." But Jack didn't just shun showbiz because he didn't like it. In fact, being in the spotlight would literally put him and his police officer sister, Megan Ramsay, at risk. "[Jack's] a busy boy," Gordon told the Food Bible while promoting "Becoming Gordon Ramsay," his Netflix reality show. "And so for safety, they can't be anywhere near that."

Raphael De Niro is involved in his family's multi-generational business, it's just not the film industry. Thankfully, Robert De Niro's second born also didn't follow in the footsteps of his "The Irishman" father's fictional businesses, which tend to be less-than-legitimate. Instead, Raphael has made his name in the New York property world. That's right, the De Niros are serious about real estate with Raphael's great-uncle and grandmother getting the ball rolling on their property portfolio.

Raphael began working in the industry in 2000, and by 2004, he was leading his own mob under the name the "De Niro Team," much like his father in a mafia movie. And that team earns $250 million per year, per Raphael's website. To make things clear, it was all legitimate moolah. Even though Raphael didn't parlay his father's acting clout in film roles, he has still professionally rubbed shoulders with Hollywood's elite when flogging property to the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Renée Zellweger. Perhaps Raphael's lack of fame outside the real estate world comes down to the fact that he has a lot of siblings, step or otherwise. After all, Robert De Niro has seven kids in total. Yes, seven. Robert is just one of many celebs who have a lot more kids than you probably realized.

You might not expect to find the offspring of a "Rap God" working as a receptionist. However, that is what Eminem's adopted daughter and former niece, Alaina Scott, ended up doing. Remember, Jesus was a carpenter after all. In 2024, Alaina, who dropped out of a few of colleges before she graduated from the University of Oakland, was spotted on a long lens manning the desk of a Rochester Hills beauty salon. 

But it's not only her job that's normal. If her Instagram is anything to go by, Alaina lives a very down-to-earth life, in spite of her 140,000-plus followers. Whether it's sampling pasta dishes on Venetian holidays or pics of her baby shower, Alaina's life with her husband Matt Moeller, whom she married in 2023, looks no less enjoyable because of its normality. "Our love story isn't perfect, but it's ours," she wrote beside an Instagram carousel of a maternity photoshoot. "I'd choose it over and over again just to get to this moment." That's cute, and also demonstrative of the far more grounded life she leads compared to her rapper father. Heck, just take a look at what happened to Eminem's ex-wife Kim Scott, who is Alaina's aunt-turned-mother.

While the escapades of Chet Hanks — the Patois-speaking rapper and white boy summer pioneer turned country bard –may grab the headlines, his step-sister Elizabeth Ann Hanks (professionally known as E.A. Hanks) has been quietly building a successful literary career. Although the daughter of "Saving Private Ryan" star Tom Hanks and his first wife, Samantha Lewes, did have cameo roles as a child in "Forrest Gump" and "That Thing You Do," Elizabeth Ann is a lot less front-facing than some of her other siblings. In fact, it's a trait she gained in response to some traumatic experiences in her adolescence. 

"I had built up all these skills to survive this childhood, being funny, being quick, being observant, being sensitive," she said when speaking to her father at the The 92nd Street Y in 2025. "But also always being on the outside." That's just one of the tragic details about Tom Hanks' family. Elizabeth, who contributed to publications such as The New York Times and Washington Post, released "The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road" in 2025, a tome about her mother who died in 2002.​​ Given that she's a writer who has now been published by the prestigious Simon and Schuster, maybe she won't be staying out of the spotlight for too long.