Kate Winslet has attracted criticism over her recent remarks about nepo babies.
The Oscar-winning actor said she disliked the term – used to describe the children of celebrities who follow in their famous parents’ footsteps – and branded it “silly”.
Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday (10 December), Winslet, 50, claimed that her children “are not getting a leg up” in their careers.
Winslet was speaking ahead of the release of her directorial debut Goodbye June, for which her 21-year-old son Joe wrote the screenplay.
Joe has previously starred opposite his mother in the 2023 film Lee, adapted from the biography of photographer Lee Miller. He also appeared in the World War I film 1917, which was directed by his father and Winslet’s ex-husband Sam Mendes.
Winslet’s eldest child, 25-year-old Mia Threapleton has also acted with her mother in the Bafta-winning domestic drama I Am Ruth, for which she earned positive reviews. Threapleton also went on to star in Wes Anderson’s 2025 film The Phoenician Scheme.
“I don’t like the nepo baby term because these kids are not getting a leg up,” Winslet insisted.
“You know, [Joe] would say to me, ‘I don’t want people to think that this film is just being made because you’re my mum.’ The film would have been made with or without me, the script is so, so good.
“And with Mia, I just try and say to my children, just follow your heart.”
Winslet went on to compare her children finding success in the film industry to other occupations. “There are lots and lots of people in the world whose children go into a similar family business, whether it’s being a judge or a lawyer or a doctor,” she said.
The Titanic star claimed that having connections does not translate to real jobs and respect in the industry, stating that her kids have “carved their own paths”.
“Part of it is actually teaching them to ignore the white noise of silly terms like nepo baby, which you can’t really do anything about,” she said.
Fans of the actor have criticised her comments as “missing the point”, stating that the actor is in “complete denial” over how her standing in the industry has helped her children.
“This is delusional and insulting to every young performer who lacks famous parents or the necessary contacts to get opportunities,” one person commented on a video of the interview posted by the BBC to Instagram.
“What a disappointing take,” said another. “Nepotism gives you a leg up, it helps open the door. Lots of people don’t have that. It’s just about acknowledging that. And the term helps identify a huge problem in the entertainment industry where for people without connections of money it is so so so difficult to break in.”
A third person wrote: “Oh no, this would be the very first time I’ve ever been disappointed in Kate.”
“This is so short sighted! How many 21 year olds make feature films?” asked another fan.
Directed by Winslet from a screenplay written by her son Joe, Goodbye June is a forthcoming Christmas family drama starring Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Helen Mirren. Winslet also stars.
In a two star review of the film, The Independent’s film critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote that the “rendering of this family feels paper-thin”.
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