Kaia Gerber Thinks Nepotism in Hollywood Could Be Worse

While it felt like 2022 was the year of the “nepo baby” and the discussion surrounding the offspring of the rich and famous reached its apex as the year was coming to a close, here we are in 2023 still very much talking about it. Hailey Bieber kept the conversation going with the help of a graphic tee, but the media is responsible for continuing the dialogue as well, asking both scions and even non-scions about their feelings on the matter. The latest famous child to enter the hot seat was none other than Kaia Gerber, lookalike daughter of Cindy Crawford, and she actually handled the line of questioning pretty well.

It can be interesting to enter the same industry as a parent, but when that industry is based off looks and you just so happen to be a carbon copy of your supermodel mother, the comparisons are all but impossible to escape. “The sea parts,” Gerber told Elle of the reaction when her mom walks into a room. “Especially when I started modeling, everyone would be like, ‘Oh my God, your mom is so iconic,’ and I’d be like, ‘She’s my mom.’” But while that can be frustrating, Gerber is realistic that, in general, being Crawford’s daughter has been beneficial.

“I won’t deny the privilege that I have,” she continued. “Even if it’s just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for.” She also admitted that Crawford introduced her to many people in the industry whom she later went on to work with. Of course, Crawford is still an active model, so she’s focused on her own career. “My mom always joked, ‘If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you.’”

In fact, during an interview with Porter Edit back in 2019, Crawford made a similar joke when negating claims she “bought” her daughter a career. “Kaia had some advantages,” she said. “She is my daughter and people know that. But when people say that I bought her a cover of a magazine, I think, if I was going to buy a cover for someone, it would be me! If I could get someone into a fashion show, I would be getting it for myself.”

These days, though, Gerber is also focusing on acting. She has two upcoming projects including the teen queer comedy Bottoms from Shiva Baby’s Rachel Sennott and Emma Seligman. While still, her connections likely helped her get her start in the industry (she made her major TV debut in American Horror Stories in 2021), she believes acting introduces a whole different set of circumstances. “No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid,” she said. “That just isn’t how art is made, and what I’m interested in is art. Also, no one wants to work with someone who’s annoying, and not easy to work with, and not kind.”

In general, Gerber knows nepotism exists, but she thinks it’s been blown out of proportion to an extent. “I think if it actually was what people make it out to be, we’d see even more of it,” she said.