The word "nepotism" itself dates to 1669 in English, originally describing popes who elevated their nephews (or alleged illegitimate sons) to cardinal7. Samuel Pepys even wrote about reading a book called *The Nepotisme* in his diary that year7. The phrase "nepotism baby" as a political insult appeared as early as 1915 in *The Centralia Courier*, describing Missouri politicians who put family members on the state payroll9.

The modern slang "nepo baby" first appeared on Twitter around December 9, 2020, when a user tweeted "just realized jack quaid is a nepo baby omg," referring to the *The Boys* actor and son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan7. The term entered Urban Dictionary on July 28, 20217, and began appearing in mainstream British press by September 2021, when the *Evening Standard* used it in a piece about Tony Blair's son Euan7.

The viral moment came on February 20, 2022, when Montreal-based Twitter user Meriem Derradji (@MeriemIsTired) tweeted: "Wait I just found out that the actress that plays Lexie is a nepotism baby omg. Her mom is Leslie Mann and her dad is a movie director lol"4. She was talking about Maude Apatow, daughter of director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann. The tweet picked up over 270 retweets, 2,300 quote tweets, and 3,900 likes4.

*New York Magazine*'s December 2022 cover devoted to nepo babies was one of the most-discussed magazine issues of the year, featuring an illustrated taxonomy of Hollywood's family dynasties and sparking weeks of additional media coverage12. The piece framed the entertainment industry's reliance on famous last names as a form of intellectual property, arguing that a celebrity child brings built-in marketing hooks and millions of social media followers1.

Celebrity reactions became news stories in their own right. Gwyneth Paltrow and Hailey Bieber discussed the term on Bieber's YouTube channel1. The conversation pushed some nepo babies toward transparency: Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, openly acknowledged she didn't deserve all her opportunities, earning praise for her honesty9.

In Nigeria, the nepo baby versus LAPO baby debate moved beyond memes into serious discussion about class, economic disparity, and social mobility38. Users shared side-by-side photos contrasting privileged and working-class childhoods, and the trend became a mirror for the country's wealth divide8.

The word "nepotism" itself saw a revival of interest. Linguists traced it back to Latin *nepos* (nephew), noting the historical parallel between Renaissance popes installing family members and modern Hollywood dynasties doing the same7.

The cultural conditions for "nepo baby" discourse had been fermenting for years before the term caught fire. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major accelerant. With famous families quarantining together and posting to social media, even elite celebrities looked "a little bit D-list" in their sweatpants, making them ripe targets for public scrutiny1. The pandemic also sharpened economic anxieties. Young people locked out of careers watched the children of celebrities land magazine covers and film roles, and the contrast stung.

Derradji, the 25-year-old who posted the tweet that launched the snowclone, had an unusual internet origin story. Born in Montreal, she moved to Algeria at age 9 and spent three years without internet access. When she returned to Canada as a preteen, she dove into pop culture and joined Twitter in 2013, enlisting in the Barbz (Nicki Minaj's fan army), where she learned to craft tweets designed to push buttons1. She wasn't necessarily trying to start a movement. She'd been watching runway videos and noticed that Kendall Jenner "walks like a normal person" compared to trained models1. When she discovered Apatow's parentage while absorbing *Euphoria* content, she just fired off a tweet1.

The backlash cycle hit a new peak in November 2022 when model and actress Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, brushed off nepotism suggestions in an *Elle* profile: "It just doesn't make any sense"1. The response was fierce. TikTok creators posted floating-head reaction videos begging Depp to "shut up and stop being delusional"1. Fellow model Vittoria Ceretti wrote on Instagram Stories: "I can't stand listening to you compare yourself to me. I was not born on a comfy sexy pillow with a view"1. The Depp incident crystallized a key dynamic: nepo babies who acknowledged their privilege (like Maya Hawke, who later called herself undeserving of her success) earned goodwill, while those who denied it got roasted9.

The *New York Times* ran a piece in May 2022 that helped formalize the vocabulary, noting how "nepotism baby" and "nepo baby" had "pervaded social media in earnest expressions of surprise, envy, and even admiration"9. *Dictionary.com* added "nepo baby" as an entry, defining it as "a notable or powerful person, such as a celebrity or politician, with a parent who is also notable or powerful, especially one whose industry connections are perceived as essential to their success"10. The *Guardian* and *Evening Standard* both published explainers on the same day in December 20227.

The discourse wasn't limited to Hollywood. By late 2022, "nepo baby" was being applied to politicians' children, tech founders, and media figures7. In the Nigerian context, a parallel conversation emerged comparing "nepo babies" (children of the elite like Davido and DJ Cuppy) with "LAPO babies," a local coinage referring to children of families who relied on microfinance loans from the Lift Above Poverty Organization38. Nigerian X users traced the family backgrounds of public figures, revealing how deeply intertwined the country's entertainment, political, and business dynasties really were8.

The term also spread to the Philippines, where influencer Claudine Co was labeled a nepo baby in 2025 after posting luxury lifestyle content. Her father is a former partylist representative and construction company co-founder5. She became the subject of memes and was described as having been "canceled" online5.

By 2024, the initial heat of nepo baby discourse had cooled somewhat, but the term was firmly embedded in everyday vocabulary. *The Guardian* was still running opinion columns about it, including a June 2024 piece praising Maya Hawke for her honesty about privilege9. The etymological irony wasn't lost on word historians: the concept had gone from describing popes installing their nephews as cardinals in the 1600s to describing Hailey Bieber launching a skincare brand72.