# Zeta-Jones has had it with 'nepo baby'

> Catherine Zeta-Jones calls the nepo baby label horrific, and says her kids are just trying to work like anyone else.
- Title: Zeta-Jones has had it with 'nepo baby' · Page Six | Shortify
- Summary: Catherine Zeta-Jones calls the nepo baby label horrific, and says her kids are just trying to work like anyone else. Kids of famous parents get a shortcut to…
- Keywords: celebrity, nepo baby, parenting, hollywood, acting, news, entertainment, Zeta-Jones, 'nepo, baby', Page Six
- Source: Page Six — https://pagesix.com/2026/09/14/parents/catherine-zeta-jones-vehemently-defends-her-kids-acting-against-horrific-nepo-baby-label
- Published: 2026-09-14T15:40:49+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: celebrity, nepo baby, parenting, hollywood, acting, news, entertainment
## Mama bear mode
Catherine Zeta-Jones went after the nepo baby label in a Sunday Times interview, defending son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23, as they build acting careers.

> This horrific phrase 'nepo baby' is horrible because these kids didn't ask to be born into this.
## Nobody picks their parents
Her argument is about consent. The kids were born into fame, not handed a choice about it, and she says they're finding their own way in life.

> They're finding their own way in life
## The famous name cuts both ways
Zeta-Jones says a famous surname makes it harder, not easier, to be judged on your own work. Her word for what her kids are doing: plugging away.

> it's hard for them to forge a way forward on their own
## Law school was the backup
She insists the talent is real, and that she and Michael Douglas would have said so if it wasn't. Her line about the alternative career was pure parent humor.

> You know what? Maybe law school looks really good
## The bar at home is Oscars
Zeta-Jones won an Oscar and a BAFTA for Chicago, plus a 2010 Tony. Douglas was the first person to win Oscars for both producing and acting, for Cuckoo's Nest and Wall Street.
## Dad was one too
Douglas is the son of Kirk Douglas, so the family is three generations deep. Both kids finished Brown before acting: Carys played Nina in Chekhov in Brooklyn, Dylan is filming the thriller Killing Hitler.
## Key takeaway

Kids of famous parents get a shortcut to the room and a harder time being taken seriously once they're in it.