Royalty, dethroned: If actors were just like us

Miley, Gwyneth, Drew -- what would these Hollywood insiders have been without their silver spoons?

Published March 10, 2011 9:11PM (EST)

When a celebrity like Willow Smith or Gwyneth Paltrow comes along, we love to roll our eyes and say, "They never would have been that successful if their parents weren't famous." Sure, there are exceptions to the rule (Robert Downey Jr. was born to be an actor), but for the most part, Hollywood nepotism works overtime to bring us a new breed of middling to terrible movie stars every year.

 But don't blame the kids! Like members of the royal family, they had no choice but to follow their family's dynasty, even if they would have been happier working at a school, driving a truck or even cashing unemployment checks while trying to pay off student loans. We look at 10 celebrities with famous parents and predict what they'd be doing if they hadn't been born into extraordinary circumstances.


By Drew Grant

Drew Grant is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @videodrew.

MORE FROM Drew Grant


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Celebrity Charlie Sheen Miley Cyrus Movies