4 minute read
Famous at Birth
By Shannon McManus, Culture Staff Writer • Graphic by Keely Bradish,
It seems that whenever a celebrity is pregnant, it’s all anybody wants to talk about. In 2020, Gigi Hadid, Ashley Graham, Katy Perry and many more have publically welcomed a baby into the world. However, these children’s lives will be vastly different from that of the other 140 million children born this year.1 Celebrity children are put in a position that can grant them fame right away, causing both negative and positive lifealtering experiences.
Celebrity children typically have ample privilege based on their parent’s last name alone. This privilege comes in the form of both money and fame, giving that child access to unique experiences and opportunities. Even at a young age, many celebrity children are already household names. Consider Stormi Webster, the daughter of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott. At just two-years-old, Webster has multiple Instagram fan accounts and has been gifted extravagant items from her family such as a hot pink Kelly bag that retails for $15,0002, a two-stone diamond ring, a visit from the Trolls movie characters and a
1 “The World Counts.” Accessed November 17, 2020. 2 Gill, Cassie. “Stormi Webster’s $12K Hermes Backpack, $2400 Fendi Stroller & More: See Her Most Luxurious Belongings.” Hollywood Life. Hollywood Life, September 30, 2020. lavish playhouse.3 Jenner herself was born into fame through the Kardashian lineage. Like Stormi, she had the advantages of being a celebrity child, with exposure and connections helping her build a name and brand for herself. Jenner has a current net worth of about $900 million, built largely from her brand Kylie Cosmetics.4 Without her family and last name, it would have been an incredible challenge to build Kylie Cosmetics to where it is today.
Just as children born into royal families, many celebrity children are put under the spotlight and treated as mini-celebrities themselves. Parents often share photos of their children online or are photographed with them for tabloids. At times, celebrity children may even make their way to a red carpet event. A high magnitude of being in the public eye opens the door to scrutiny and opinions around young children, something that they never signed up for and at their age cannot consent to. Unfortunately, people often feel entitled to treat and share their
3 Silvia, Erin. “Stormi Webster Poses By Life- Sized Luxury Playhouse in New Pic & She Looks Tiny.” Hollywood Life. Hollywood Life, July 15, 2020. 4 Warren, Katie. “Kylie Jenner Just Turned 23 Years Old - and She’s Already Worth $900 Million. Take a Look at How the Mogul Built Her Empire.” Business Insider. Business Insider, August 10, 2020. opinions about celebrity kids just like their parents. Blue Ivy, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter, was once judged by how her hair was styled in a paparazzi shot. On social media, people commented on how frizzy it looked — even though she was only two years old at the time. With her parent’s fame, it is likely that comments like this will only continue as Blue Ivy becomes more aware of the world she was born into.5
Children born into the public eye have often struggled with many mental health issues and substance abuse problems, causing tabloids to follow their personal life obstacles on the basis of their last names alone.6 These struggles are often rooted in the overwhelming materialism and peculiarness found in their abnormal childhoods and are merely just coping mechanisms.7
Some celebrities, such as Kristen Bell, choose not to put their children in the spotlight and encourage other celebrities to shield their kids for their own personal well being. Bell often does not share about her kids in order to keep them out of the
5 “20 Troubled Celebrity Children Who Went Completely Off The Rails.” 6 “20 Troubled Celebrity Children Who Went Completely Off The Rails.” 7 Ibid.
FAMOUS AT BIRTH
• Graphic by Keely Bradish, Arts Curator
public eye.8 Bell, along with her husband Dax Shepard, inform their children on their fame and work to find a balance of teaching them to be proud of who they are but also not letting others’ reactions to fame get to them.
Celebrities such as Emily Blunt and Jennifer Lopez also focus on keeping their kids out of photographs, as they are not old enough to consent and they do not want their children exposed to a world that wasn’t their choice. While this may seem unfair to some people who view celebrities and their kids as public figures, people need to recognize children are still children — and they did not choose the life that fame entails.
Just like normal people, celebrities have kids, but these kids are born into a unique experience that has the opportunity to raise them up or tear them down. This is a life that these children did not sign up for but are expected to fulfill nonetheless. Rather than engaging in the buzz and conversation around celebrity children, it may be worth respecting their privacy until they can make the decision for themselves how they’d like to be seen in the public eye. ■
8Thompson, Arienne. “For Celebrities’ Children, the Spotlight Can Burn.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, July 7, 2014.
