Unlike some famous parents, Julia Fox has no qualms about her three-year-old son, Valentino, growing up to embrace the privilege he’s been born into.
In an interview with Variety, Julia touched on the “nepotism baby” debate and said she thinks public figures choosing to keep their children out of the spotlight is “almost like a disservice”.
“It’s like I have this very highly coveted thing,” the Uncut Gems actor and fashion icon told the publication. “I want to share that with my son. We need him to be a nepo baby, and he needs to like own it too.”
She went on to note: “He can’t be like, ‘I’m not really a nepo baby,’ he needs to be like, ‘Yes I’m a nepo baby, and what?’”
The term “nepotism babies,” or “nepo babies,” refers to children of actors, singers and other public figures whose professional success, typically in the realm of show business, is perceived to be a byproduct of having famous and/or wealthy parents.
In 2022, New York Magazine stoked the discourse around nepo babies when it published a cover story that included “An All but Definitive Guide to the Hollywood Nepo-Verse”.
Since then, the topic has drawn some memorable responses after it’s been broached in interviews with celebrity progeny such as actors Maude Apatow, the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, and Ben Platt, whose father is film, television and theater producer Marc Platt.
Fans can look forward to seeing Valentino in his mum’s music video for Down The Drain, which has not yet been released.
Despite her pro-nepotism stance, however, Julia told InStyle last month that she takes a pretty low-key approach to parenting her son, whom she shares with her ex, Peter Artemiev.
“I don’t have a nanny, so I do everything: the drop-off, the pickup, the lunches, the feeding, the shower, the bath, all of it, the doctor’s appointments, the play dates,” she said. “I’m doing most of it.”
“Obviously, I’m lucky that my family is here in New York, all the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles,” Julia added.
“So if I have to go do something, it’s very easy for me to call upon somebody. And they’re all very eager to take care of him because he’s just the sweetest, most fun little ray of light.”