Willow Smith has recently weighed in on the “nepo baby” discussion in Hollywood, stating that her success is not tied to her well-known parents.
The only daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith started her acting career at just seven years old in her father’s blockbuster I Am Legend.
By ten, she made a splash with her catchy hit “Whip My Hair”, followed by popular tracks like “Meet Me At Our Spot” and “Wait a Minute!”.
With two famous parents, it’s no surprise that some label her a “nepo baby,” but Willow is determined to challenge that idea.
In a cover shoot for Allure magazine, ahead of the release of her album Empathogen earlier this year, the 24-year-old singer and actress explained why she doesn’t see herself as a typical “nepo baby.”
She said, “I definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason I’m successful is because of my parents.”
“That has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I don’t need to prove s**t to anybody.”
She went on, “I truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents weren’t who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.”
The Wait A Minute singer also explained that, as a Black woman, the label “nepo baby” doesn’t fully resonate with her, regardless of her parents’ status.
She stated, “Being Black in America, even with privilege, which I’m never going to deny that I have, you’re still Black.”
“And I love being Black. People would look at me and [say], ‘Okay, well, her parents are this and this and that, but she still is like me. She still has brown skin’.”
“And we all know that that doesn’t exempt you from anything, and that’s a place of connection.”
In another part of the interview, Willow opened up about her identity as an artist and shared the inspiration behind her latest album.
She explained, “I’m settling into more of who I am. And that doesn’t mean that screaming and shredding on the guitar is not who I am because it is, but I’m going a little bit deeper.”
“It’s about being a well-rounded musician more than anything for me and not being pigeonholed into any specific genre.”
Willow isn’t the only child of Will and Jada to carve out their own path as an artist. Her older brother, Jaden, gained fame for his role as Dre Parker in the 2010 Karate Kid remake alongside Jackie Chan.
However, that wasn’t his first time on the big screen.
At just eight years old, Jaden made his film debut playing his father’s on-screen son in The Pursuit of Happyness, released in 2006.
