# Nepo Baby > Nepo baby is a 2022 slang term popularized by Meriem Derradji's viral February tweet about Euphoria actress Maude Apatow, describing celebrities whose success is attributed to famous or powerful parents. "Nepo baby" is slang for someone whose career success is widely believed to stem from having famous or powerful parents. The term exploded in February 2022 after @MeriemIsTired's viral tweet about *Euphoria* actress Maude Apatow, and peaked in December 2022 with Vulture's massive cover story taxonomy. **Key highlights of the article:** - **Origin:** Traces the etymology from 1669 Vatican politics through a 1915 newspaper usage to the December 2020 first modern tweet, then the February 20, 2022 viral breakout - **Full History:** Covers Meriem Derradji's backstory, the snowclone meme format, celebrity backlash (Lily-Rose Depp, Zoe Kravitz, Gwyneth Paltrow), and the Vulture taxonomy - **Global spread:** Includes the 2025 Nigerian "LAPO baby" counter-term showing how the concept went worldwide - **10 sources cited** across Vulture, wordorigins.org, wordhistories.net, KYM, dictionary.com, okaynews.com, guardian.ng, and more - **12 FAQ questions** with inline citations - **Topics:** 2022-memes, twitter-memes, tiktok-memes, slang-memes, snowclone-memes, culture-war-memes, plus 3 new topic suggestions Want me to save it to a file, or would you like any revisions first? ## Origin The word "nepotism" itself dates to 1669 in English, originally describing popes who elevated their nephews (or alleged illegitimate sons) to cardinal[7]. Samuel Pepys even wrote about reading a book called *The Nepotisme* in his diary that year[7]. 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 payroll[9]. 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 Ryan[7]. The term entered Urban Dictionary on July 28, 2021[7], and began appearing in mainstream British press by September 2021, when the *Evening Standard* used it in a piece about Tony Blair's son Euan[7]. 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 likes[4]. - **Platform:** Twitter (earliest use), TikTok (video discourse) - **Creator:** Anonymous Twitter user (earliest known tweet, December 2020), Meriem Derradji / @MeriemIsTired (viral February 2022 tweet that sparked the snowclone format) - **Date:** 2020 (earliest known use), 2022 (viral breakout) ## Overview A nepo baby is any person, usually a celebrity or public figure, who benefited from family connections to get ahead professionally. The label is most often applied to actors, models, and musicians in Hollywood whose parents were already famous. While the concept of nepotism is ancient, the specific phrase "nepo baby" gave the internet a punchy, meme-ready way to talk about inherited privilege[10]. The term carries a derogatory edge. Being called a nepo baby implies your talent alone wouldn't have gotten you where you are[6]. The meme format that made "nepo baby" go viral was a snowclone template: users would mimic the original tweet's surprised tone ("Wait I just found out that [obvious celebrity child] is a nepotism baby omg") but apply it to people with absurdly famous parents, like Liza Minnelli or Blue Ivy Carter[4]. ## How It Spread The mockery was immediate. Users found it hilarious that Derradji referred to Judd Apatow, one of the most recognizable comedy directors of the 2000s, as simply "a movie director." Twitter user @Breliloquy wrote "'A movie director' has me screaming. They said Judd Apatow who?," while @woahitsjuanito joked about how the original poster knew Leslie Mann but not Judd Apatow's name[4]. By February 21, the tweet had become a full snowclone template. Users recreated the format with increasingly obvious celebrity children. @vilehag posted a version about Liza Minnelli (daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli), pulling over 1,000 retweets and 23,000 likes in about a day[4]. @GoldAssFang did one about Blue Ivy Carter, daughter of Jay-Z and Beyoncé[4]. The joke's engine was simple: the more famous the parents, the funnier the faux-surprise. TikTok picked up the discourse with multipart video series about nepo babies who looked like their famous parents, exposés on "hidden" nepo babies, and PSAs urging celebrity parents to humble their kids[1]. The conversation had been building since the pandemic. A 2020 *Deadline* article about a short film directed by Steven Spielberg's daughter, starring Sean Penn's son, and written by Stephen King's son had already kicked off similar discussions[1]. The biggest mainstream moment came in December 2022 when *New York Magazine*'s *Vulture* published a massive cover story titled "The Year of the Nepo Baby," complete with a taxonomy of Hollywood's dynasty families[1][2]. The piece traced networks like the Coppolas (52 years of Hollywood rule), the Kardashian-Jenners (28 years), and the Chaplins (110 years of dynasty stretching back to Charlie Chaplin's marriage to playwright Eugene O'Neill's daughter)[2]. The article also documented how nepo babies responded to the label. Maude Apatow told *Porter* magazine it made her "sad"[1]. Zoë Kravitz said it filled her with "deep insecurity"[1]. Gwyneth Paltrow commiserated with Hailey Bieber on YouTube about feeling pulled down[1]. ## How to Use The classic "nepo baby" meme follows the snowclone format from the original February 2022 tweet. Start with an expression of surprise: "Wait I just found out that [celebrity] is a nepotism baby omg." Then add the punchline by naming one or both parents, ideally in a way that's comically understated. The funnier versions pick celebrities whose parentage is extremely obvious, or describe a legendary figure in the most casual way possible (like calling Judd Apatow "a movie director")[4]. Outside the snowclone, "nepo baby" works as a standalone label. You can call someone a nepo baby in any conversation about privilege, hiring, or success. It's commonly used on TikTok, Twitter/X, and Instagram either sincerely (to criticize unearned advantage) or playfully (among friends joking about whose parents could get them a job)[1][6]. ## Cultural Impact *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 coverage[1][2]. 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 followers[1]. Celebrity reactions became news stories in their own right. Gwyneth Paltrow and Hailey Bieber discussed the term on Bieber's YouTube channel[1]. 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 honesty[9]. In Nigeria, the nepo baby versus LAPO baby debate moved beyond memes into serious discussion about class, economic disparity, and social mobility[3][8]. Users shared side-by-side photos contrasting privileged and working-class childhoods, and the trend became a mirror for the country's wealth divide[8]. 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 same[7]. ## Fun Facts - The earliest known use of "nepotism baby" as a political insult is from a 1915 Missouri newspaper criticizing the governor for putting relatives on the state payroll[9]. - Samuel Pepys, the famous 17th-century diarist, recorded reading a book called *The Nepotisme* in 1669, calling it "very pleasant"[7]. - Meriem Derradji, who posted the viral tweet, spent three years in Algeria with no internet as a child before becoming a power user in Nicki Minaj's Barbz fandom[1]. - Searching for early uses of "nepo baby" on Twitter/X is nearly impossible because prolific users adopted it as a screen name, flooding search results with false hits[7]. - The Chaplin family dynasty spans 110 years, starting with playwright Eugene O'Neill, whose daughter married Charlie Chaplin, and extending to *Game of Thrones* actress Oona Chaplin[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the nepo baby meme? "Nepo baby" is slang for a person whose professional success is believed to come from having famous or powerful parents. The term is short for "nepotism baby" and is most commonly applied to Hollywood actors, models, and musicians with celebrity parents[10][4]. ### Where did the nepo baby meme come from? The earliest known use of "nepo baby" as modern slang appeared on Twitter in December 2020 in reference to actor Jack Quaid[7]. The term went viral in February 2022 when user @MeriemIsTired tweeted about discovering Maude Apatow was a "nepotism baby," which became a widely parodied snowclone[4]. ### What does nepo baby mean? It means someone born into a famous or powerful family who benefits from their parents' connections, wealth, or name recognition, especially in entertainment, politics, or business. The implication is that their success isn't purely merit-based[6][10]. ### How do you use the nepo baby meme? The classic format mimics the surprised tone of the original tweet: "Wait I just found out that [celebrity] is a nepotism baby omg." For maximum comedy, pick someone with extremely famous parents and describe the parents casually[4]. You can also use "nepo baby" as a standalone label in any privilege discussion[1]. ### Is the nepo baby meme still popular? The peak of nepo baby discourse was late 2022, driven by the *New York Magazine* cover story and the Lily-Rose Depp controversy[1]. As of mid-2024, the term was still being used in mainstream media, with *The Guardian* publishing pieces about it in June 2024[9]. ### Who started the nepo baby meme? The viral snowclone format originated from a February 20, 2022 tweet by Meriem Derradji (@MeriemIsTired), a 25-year-old Canadian who was part of the Barbz (Nicki Minaj fan community) on Twitter[1][4]. The term "nepo baby" itself predates her tweet by at least two years[7]. ### What was the New York Magazine nepo baby issue? In December 2022, *New York Magazine*'s *Vulture* published a major cover story mapping Hollywood's family dynasties, including the Coppolas, Kardashian-Jenners, and Chaplins. The piece became one of the most-discussed magazine issues of the year[1][2]. ### How did celebrities react to being called nepo babies? Reactions varied widely. Maude Apatow said it made her "sad," Zoë Kravitz reported "deep insecurity," and Gwyneth Paltrow felt people were trying to pull her down[1]. Lily-Rose Depp's denial of nepotism privilege in *Elle* triggered a major backlash from other models and TikTok users[1]. Maya Hawke earned praise for openly admitting she didn't deserve all her opportunities[9]. ### What is a LAPO baby? "LAPO baby" is a Nigerian internet term contrasting with "nepo baby." It refers to someone who grew up in a working-class family, often one that relied on microfinance loans. The term became viral on Nigerian social media as part of a class discourse debate[3][8]. ### When was nepo baby added to the dictionary? *Dictionary.com* added an entry for "nepo baby" with a first-recorded date of 2022, and *Urban Dictionary* had an entry as early as July 28, 2021[10][7]. ### What is the oldest known use of "nepotism baby"? The phrase "nepotism baby" appeared in *The Centralia Courier* in September 1915, used as a political insult against Missouri's governor for putting family on the state payroll. The modern slang form "nepo baby" first appeared on Twitter around December 2020[9][7]. ## References 1. [What Is a Nepotism Baby, Anyway? How a ‘Nepo Baby’ Is Born]() 2. [The Nepotism Babies of Hollywood: A Definitive Taxonomy]() 3. [NEPO Baby vs LAPO Baby: The Meaning Behind Nigeria’s Viral Class Culture Debate • Okay.ng]() 4. [Nepo Baby - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Claudine Co]() 6. [Nepo Baby - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [nepotism / nepo baby — Wordorigins.org]() 8. [Explainer: Why Nigerians are talking about ‘Lapo baby’ and ‘Nepo baby’]() 9. [‘nepotism baby’ and ‘nepo baby’: meaning and origin – word histories]() 10. [NEPO BABY Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/nepo-baby Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library