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Maya Hawke explains how she deals with 'the nepotism thing'

Home> Celebrity

Updated 09:42 22 Jun 2023 GMT+1Published 11:26 15 Sep 2022 GMT+1

Maya Hawke explains how she deals with 'the nepotism thing'

Stranger Things' star Maya Hawke has opened up about how it feels being in the industry while having famous parents.

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

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Featured Image Credit: Sarah Stewart / WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Stranger Things, Maya Hawke

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a freelance journalist with words in Daily Express, Cosmopolitan UK, LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She is a former Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible.

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Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has opened up about how it feels being in the industry while having famous parents.

As well as having starred in the 2017 BBC adaption of Little Women, Hawke has become widely known for her role as Robin Buckley in hit Netflix supernatural series, Stranger Things.

However, Hawke's connection to the television and film industry and world of celebs didn't begin with her career, but the careers of her parents: Kill Bill actor Uma Thurman and The Magnificent Seven actor Ethan Hawke.

The 24-year-old has since spoken out about what it's like to be a so-called 'nepotism baby' and how it's impacted her own career and outlook.

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Stranger Things' Maya Hawke has opened up about being called a 'nepotism baby'.
WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

Hawke told Rolling Stone she has 'an anxious desire to prove [herself] that will never go away'.

"I always want to be working harder and doing more than my perceived opponent that doesn’t exist," she continued.

When questioned as to whether or not some of this pressure relates to her parents' success in the industry, the 24-year-old reflected: "Maybe that’s part of it. I have no idea who I would be if I was somebody else."

She added: "I feel like the only way to handle the nepotism thing – which definitely gives you massive advantages in this life – is, you will get chances for free, but the chances will not be infinite; so you have to keep working and do a good job. If you do a bad job, the chances will stop. That’s my ethos."

Reflecting on 'the nepotism thing,' Hawke said: "You will get chances for free, but the chances will not be infinite."
Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo

Nepotism babies have been known to be targeted online, with other celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow having been called out for saying nepotism babies have to work 'twice as hard' and be 'twice as good' even though they have the 'unfair' advantage of getting their foot in the door easier.

Euphoria star Maude Apatow has also spoken out about feeling 'a little sad' to have been branded with such a term.

However, Hawke explained she doesn't 'really interact with either the haters or the complimenters very much'.

The 24-year-old added: "I love this piece of advice I’ve gotten, which is that if you read the good reviews, they’re partly true, and if you read the bad things that people say, they’re also partly true.

"You’re not God’s gift to humanity, nor are you a little dirty garbage rat. You’re neither and you’re both."

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