I’m not surprised to learn that the daughter of über-famous actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke has figured out the No. 1 rule when talking about nepotism: Don’t be weird about it! In a recent interview with the London Times, Stranger Things star Maya Hawke addressed her privilege head-on by acknowledging that she’s “lucky” to have the opportunity to pursue a career as a singer and actress, thanks very much to said über-famous.
“There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway,” the 25-year-old said, noting that choosing not to pursue her dreams “wouldn’t help anyone.”
“It’s okay to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. It’s a lucky place to be,” she added. “My relationships with my parents are really honest and positive, and that supersedes anything anyone can say about it.”
Step one: Acknowledge nepotistic connections. Step two: Stay humble and carry on. See? Look how easy that was. The problem with many of Hawke’s fellow nepo babies is that they tend to hide their affiliations with their ultra-wealthy or talented parents and later trick the public into thinking that they arrived on the silver screen on skill and tenacity alone — no mention of that integral silver spoon that fed them. Besides, if the acting gene runs in the family bloodline, you’re surely predisposed to begging Mommy Dearest to let you star in your middle-school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s just family tradition until you’re weird about it (looking at you, Ben Platt).
