Summary
- Many celebrity children struggle to overcome the shadow of their famous parents, often leading to mental health issues and substance abuse.
- Despite their efforts, most celebrity children do not achieve the same level of fame and success as their parents.
- Some celebrity children, like Ava Sambora and Sophie Simmons, continue to pursue their dreams in acting and music, but have yet to reach their parents' level of fame and recognition.
Getting a big break in Hollywood is about as hard a challenge as there is. Well, that struggle is a whole lot easier when you have famous parents or siblings to help give you a jumpstart, making it so unfair when celebrity children or relatives become catapulted into fame and stardom, for essentially being related to someone famous. But let's not be so quick to turn into the green-eyed monster.
Though this is at times the case, there are many times when a celebrity parent’s or family member’s success is too powerful or intense to overcome, so much so those celebrity children are left aimlessly chasing a dream that will pale in comparison or simply fall, defeated by the expectations and scrutiny of society as their life completely derails.
To find out 22 Hollywood kids who were crushed by their family’s fame, keep on reading.
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Update October 2023: It can be difficult to come out from behind the shadows of a famous parent or parents to start a career. While some rely on nepotism to open doors, others choose to forge a path of their own. Regardless of which direction is taken, there is no guarantee to have the same level of success as Mom and/or Dad.
Those who struggle to gain notoriety like their parents did, can go on to suffer from mental health issues. Or perhaps mental health issues pre-existed and the rejection or just moments in the spotlight cause them to grow out of control. When this happens, things like substance abuse can run rampant, putting an end to the career that some children of celebrity parents so desperately want to have.
While some do go on to have amazing careers that eventually outshine their parents, this is the exception, not the rule. But hopefully, even if the same level of success is not realized, dreams continue to be chased by those who want to entertain for a living.
22 Ava Sambora
Daughter of Richie Sambora of the band Bon Jovi, and actress Heather Locklear, Ava Sambora has not quite been able to reach the level of fame that her parents have in the world of entertainment.
Sambora is still an aspiring actress though, with just five projects to her credit.
21 Justin Combs
Justin Combs, son of rapper Sean Combs better known as Diddy, bypassed a career in entertainment, instead of attending the University of California, Los Angeles on a football scholarship.
In 2015, the team’s former coach Rick Neuheisel admitted that Combs had likely received the scholarship because of his father’s fame.
To make matters worse, the most recent thing that has happened to Justin is that he was arrested for suspicion of DUI in June 2023. As such, Justin may be becoming more infamous rather than famous.
20 Sophie Simmons
Daughter of music star Gene Simmons and actress and model Shannon Tweed, Sophie Simmons has struggled to find her own fame.
Though Sophie has wanted to pursue music since a young age, she has yet to find success comparable to her father. Sophie has released music that she has written, with the most recent songs being Lovesick, Catch Me If You Can, and Shut Up.
19 Ireland Baldwin
Ireland Baldwin is not only the daughter of actors Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger but is part of the infamous Baldwin family.
Unlike her mega-famous model cousin Hailey Baldwin, Ireland Baldwin has failed to make a name for herself in the way that the rest of her family has.
18 Rumer Willis
Rumer Willis is definitely somewhat known in Hollywood, but nowhere near as well as her parents, actors Demi Moore and Bruce Willis.
Rumer has racked up a decent list of acting credentials over time, but somewhat still lives in the shadows of her parents when it comes to star power.
17 Scout Willis
Demi Moore and Bruce Willis had another daughter after Rumer, and that was Scout Willis. While she went into the entertainment industry, she chose the path of music. But despite trying to distance herself from her parent's fame and carve her own path, she is still best known as Demi and Bruce's daughter.
Over the years, Scout has suffered from mental health issues. She dealt with them via substance abuse, of which she has now been sober for years.
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16 Isabella Giannulli
Isabella Giannulli is the daughter of designer Mossimo Giannulli and actress Lori Loughlin. Despite her sister finding success on YouTube with her channel titled Olivia Jade, Giannulli had dreams of following in her mother’s footsteps and pursuing acting.
She has taken part in three projects, two of which featured Loughlin.
15 Amelia Hamlin
Amelia Hamlin is the daughter of actor Harry Hamlin and reality superstar Lisa Rina. In 2018, Hamlin revealed that she had been battling an eating disorder and had been struggling with her mental health.
In 2019, she admitted to Glamour that the constant commentary about her weight only made her situation worse.
Despite this, Amelia has gone on to have a modeling career, walking in fashion weeks both in the US and abroad.
14 Delilah Hamlin
Delilah Hamlin is also the daughter of Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rina, and much like her sister Amelia, she has also struggled with mental health issues.
In 2019, she revealed that she had visited a rehabilitation facility twice to address mental health issues, which stemmed for a number of reasons.
To date, the struggling actress has one credit to her name.
13 Bindi Irwin
Daughter to, arguably, the most famous naturalists Steve and Terri Irwin, Bindi Irwin she became the face of the Irwin family after her father died.
Though she rose to prominence after winning Dancing With The Stars in 2015, she has quietly continued her father’s legacy. Bindi has also gotten married and the two welcomed a daughter two years ago.
