It isn’t surprising when the child of a famous actor decides to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Growing up on movie sets and listening to their parents talk about their work is enough to make them want to become actors themselves. However, just because they have a famous name doesn’t mean that they inherited their famous families’ talent.
In Hollywood, there is a clear distinction between those who rely on their parents’ stardom to land roles and those who have the talent and drive to have successful acting careers. The ones with the drive often succeed despite their famous names, proving that they have what it takes to make it in show business.
Maya Hawke – Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Maya Hawke’s career is just getting started, but there is no doubt that great acting ability runs in her genes. With parents like Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, it seems like Maya was destined to be in the movies. Both her parents are Oscar-nominated actors with long, successful careers in the industry.
In 2020, Maya made it big with a small role in Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to Tinseltown, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. In the film, she plays a young member of the Manson Family who backs out on a murder spree.
Riley Keough – Mad Max: Fury Road
By the time Riley Keough scored her supporting role in the Mad Max reboot in 2015, she already had several feature films and short films on her resume. In the action flick, she plays Capable, one of the brides of Immortan Joe.
Keough is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and the granddaughter of the iconic singer Elvis Presley. Elvis also had a successful acting career with films such as Jailhouse Rock and King Creole.
Billie Lourd – Booksmart
While there are countless hilarious moments in Olivia Wilde’s teen comedy Booksmart, Billie Lourd’s outrageous character Gigi stands out among the rest. She is completely over-the-top, and with her eccentricities, she seems the least likely to get into an Ivy-league school. Lourd gives it her all in this role and proves to audiences that she has comedic talent.
Lourd is the daughter of famed Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher and the grandaughter of Oscar-nominated actress Debbie Reynolds. Lourd appeared alongside her mother in the latest Star Wars trilogy.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. – Straight Outta Compton
When it came to making a biopic about the iconic hip hop group N.W.A., there was no better person to play Ice Cube than his son O’Shea Jackson Jr. Not only does Jackson Jr. strongly resemble Cube, he also proved that he has the acting chops for a serious leading role.
Straight Outta Compton went on to receive numerous accolades, including the nomination for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and the nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture.
Bryce Dallas Howard – 50/50
50/50 is a comedy based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s experience with cancer. It tells the story of Adam, an otherwise healthy man who leans on his best friend, who is played by Seth Rogen when doctors find a cancerous tumor on his spine. Unlike many melodramatic cancer films, 50/50 takes a heartwarming and hilarious approach.
Bryce Dallas, the daughter of director and former sitcom star Ron Howard, stars as Rachael, Adam’s girlfriend who breaks up with him because she can’t give him the emotional support he needs. Although audiences might ultimately dislike Rachael, Bryce Dallas plays her as a flawed human being rather than a complete monster.
Dakota Johnson – A Bigger Splash
By looking at the members of Dakota Johnson’s family it becomes obvious that she is part of Hollywood royalty. Her parents are Oscar-nominated actress Melanie Griffith and famed actor Don Johnson, her maternal grandmother is Alfred Hitchock leading lady Tippi Hedren, and her ex-stepfather is Antonio Banderas.
Dakota has starred in several films since her break-out role in the Oscar-nominated film The Social Network, but her most interesting movie to date is A Bigger Splash, the English remake of the French film La Piscine. In this psychological thriller, she plays Penelope, a sultry young woman who seduces an older man.
John David Washington – BlacKkKlansman
John David Washinton, the son of Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, made his on-screen debut in his father’s movie Malcolm X in 1992. He was 8 years old. In 2018, John David had his big break with his role in the Oscar-winning movie BlacKkKlansman. In the movie, John David plays Ron Stallworth, the first black officer at the Colorado Springs Police Department who infiltrates the local Ku Klux Klan chapter.
His stellar performance in the film led to further career opportunities. This includes the lead role in the Christopher Nolan time-travel blockbuster Tenet and the lead role in the modern black-and-white romantic film Malcolm and Marie.
Domhnall Gleeson – Ex Machina
Domhnall Gleeson is the son of Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, who is known for his role as MadEye Moody in the Harry Potter series. Domhnall has appeared in a large number of successful movies, including the last two Harry Potter films.
His best movie, however, is the 2014 sci-fi flick Ex Machina in which he plays Caleb, a man who is enlisted for a social experiment involving an artificial intelligence robot named Ava. The film was praised for its visual effects and for the way it furthered the conversation of humanity’s relationship to technology.
Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Laura Dern, the daughter of actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, is one of the best actresses of her generation. Her almost 50-year career, which is still thriving, has put her in almost every type of movie, including indie films, blockbuster hits, and award-winning dramas.
In 2020 she finally received an Oscar for her role as a cut-throat divorce lawyer in the drama Marriage Story. Although her role wasn’t as prominent as the two leads, she manages to steal every scene that she is in.
Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween
Being that Jamie Lee Curtis’s parents are Janet Leigh, whose shower scene in Psycho is completely iconic, and Tony Curtis, well-known for his hilarious role in Some Like It Hot, it’s not surprising that she has had success in multiple genres.
Her most well-known role is that of Laurie in the 1978 horror film Halloween. Jamie Lee’s performance as the strong-willed final girl solidified her position as a scream queen and led to seven sequels. The next, and perhaps final, film in the franchise, Halloween Ends, is set to be released in 2022.
