Nepotism babies have existed since time immemorial. Nepotism parents? They’re a more recent phenomenon. No technological development has made sudden, extreme fame more attainable than YouTube and TikTok, which has launched the careers of tens of thousands of micro-celebs. Hoping to emulate their pre-social-media forebears, from Dina and Michael Lohan to momager-in-chief Kris Jenner, the next generation of influencer nepotism parents is just as comfortable in front of a camera as its progenitors. Let’s meet the A-list.
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Greg Paul
The First Family of Sleazy YouTube Dudes, Greg is father to Logan and Jake Paul, brothers who rose to fame on Vine and translated that success on YouTube by making “epic†prank videos and cringey diss tracks. Following in his sons’ footsteps, Greg makes YouTube videos titled things like “MY EARS ARE CROOKED !!! **not clickbait**†and “YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT LANA RHOADES OFFERED ME!†(Lana Rhoades is a famous porn star).
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Marc and Heidi D’Amelio
The parents of Gen-Z TikTokers Charli and Dixie have been heavily involved with their daughters’ careers from the start. By October of 2020, the family had lured UTA agent Greg Goodfried away from his job to become the president of “D’Amelio Family Enterprises,†which so far has included countless product lines and sponsorship deals, a venture-capital fund, roughly 1 million talk-show appearances, and a reality show on Hulu. Both parents have more than 10 million followers on TikTok, where Heidi posts dancing videos to whatever sound is trending and Marc takes videos of various important meetings they have to attend. It was Heidi, though, who landed the nepotism-parent dream gig: a spot on the most recent season of Dancing With the Stars — along with Charli, of course.
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Sheri Easterling and Monty Lopez
Before their split, Easterling and Lopez could often be found in the background of their daughter Addison Rae’s TikToks, dancing along with her. Sheri is a stone-cold MILF with a million Instagram followers and a TikTok bio that reads “single 🌹†Monty is significantly less hot than his ex-wife, whom he allegedly cheated on with a 25-year-old. Sheri co-hosts a podcast with Addison Rae called That Was Fun?. Monty challenged Gen Z rapper Yung Gravy to a boxing match in one of the most disturbing TikToks I’ve ever seen. The D’Amelios might have the edge on follower counts, but it’s the Easterling-Lopezes who are giving the tabloids the juice.
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Michael Chamberlain
Did you know YouTube vlogger Emma Chamberlain has a hot painter dad? Michael Chamberlain, as his 200,000-plus follower Instagram account suggests, likes to wear hoodies and make oil-paint landscapes of peaceful Northern California scenery. He also likes to vlog on YouTube, where he has 225,000 subscribers and where he sometimes includes cameos of his famous daughter.
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Loann Kaji + Shion Kaji
To be fair, the parents of Ryan Kaji had a pretty big hand in making him one of the highest-earning YouTubers in the world, mainly because at the time he started, he likely didn’t know how to work a camera. In 2015, at the age of 3, he asked his mom if he could be on YouTube and the rest is history. Loann and Shion have been with him all along, crafting giant papier-mâché “surprise eggs†for him to open and vlogging their trips to Legoland. They now have a YouTube podcast called Stick with Kaji as well as a joint account devoted to the family with 166,000 and 8.87 million subscribers, respectively.
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Sarah Zeiler
Eighteen-year-old Ellie Zeiler first blew up on TikTok in the first few months of the pandemic because of her resemblance to Charli D’Amelio. Her mom blew up later because of her resemblance to her daughter, whom she now manages. Sarah Zeiler is best known for having unbelievably perfect skin and vlogging with Ellie. The pair seem to have fun: They shop, they travel, they do Sephora haul videos. Sarah now has more than 300,000 TikTok followers.
More on the year of the nepo baby
- We’re Making Nepo-Baby Merch for Actual Babies
- These Magazines Ran on Nepo Babies
- How a Nepo Baby Is Born