Catherine Zeta-Jones defends her kids against 'nepo baby' label
Catherine Zeta-Jones, married to Michael Douglas, has two children, Dylan and Carys, who have both followed their parents into the entertainment industry
Nepo baby is a phrase Catherine Zeta-Jones can't stand.
The 56-year-old actress didn't hold back in a new interview with The Sunday Timesand called the term "horrific," pointing out that children of famous parents never asked to be born into that world.
Zeta-Jones has two kids with husband Michael Douglas — son Dylan, who's pursuing acting, and daughter Carys, who's drawn to directing. Both, she said, are still "plugging away" at carving out their own paths, something she believes is harder, not easier, given who their parents are.
"It's hard for them to forge a way forward on their own," she said, adding that the label ignores the fact that her kids are simply chasing what they love and doing it well. If they weren't good at it, she joked, she and Douglas would be steering them toward law school instead.
Zeta-Jones knows a thing or two about forging her own path. She landed her first big break in 1987 with a West End role in 42nd Street, and by 1991 had become a household name in the UK thanks to the ITV series The Darling Buds of May. From there, her career took off internationally, with standout roles in The Mask of Zorro, Traffic, and Chicago.
Her personal life took a notable turn in 1998, when she met Douglas, 81, at France's Deauville Film Festival. Despite a 25-year age gap, the pair got engaged within a year and married at New York's Plaza Hotel in 2000 — the same year their son Dylan was born. Daughter Carys followed in 2003.
