Bryce Dallas Howard is a self-described “third-generation actor and director,” which technically makes her a second-generation nepo baby. Her dad, Ron Howard, is a wildly talented actor and filmmaker and that her uncle, Clint Howard, is also a successful actor. Well, her grandparents were also well-known actors with long careers and her mother, Cheryl Howard, is an actress and novelist. Oh, and her godfather is Henry Winkler. Basically, Bryce comes from a long line of industry success stories. And of course, Bryce herself has had a lot of success, as both an actress and director.
Thankfully, despite her pedigree, Bryce has stayed grounded. She knows what’s what. During a recent guest spot on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Bryce not only acknowledged her own privilege, but she pointed out that her father was fortunate enough to get a leg up in Hollywood because of his own parents. She didn’t try to justify anything or dismiss it. Instead, she fully owned how “very, very lucky” she’s been.
“I think it’s important to just say this: I’m a third-generation actor and director. My dad was incredibly privileged, my dad and uncle, to be raised in a household with parents who worked in the industry.
I, in turn, have been enormously privileged to be raised in a home where my dad is doing the work that he’s doing,” Bryce went on. “My mom is also a novelist and is absolutely incredible. And so, it’s a joy to get to do the stuff that we do, but also it’s a very rare thing.
I talk about all these things in ways that are very… It’s very fun, but I just want to acknowledge for a moment that this is a very unique way to be raised and I’ve been very, very lucky. I’ve tried my hardest to put everything that I’ve learned into my work.”
It is so refreshing to hear how self-aware she is. I’d expect nothing less from Ron Howard’s daughter! It reminds me of how Jack Quaid acknowledged his privilege after his mom, Meg Ryan, got all overprotective of the “nepo baby” moniker. I find the whole nepotism debate to be so annoying. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for some celebrities to just admit that as second- or third-generation actors/musicians/designers, they have a leg up that many of their peers do not. (Looking at you, Dakota Johnson and Patrick Schwarzenegger.)
I truly don’t get why some people’s psyche or egos cannot connect that being a nepo baby doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard or aren’t talented. It just means you had the privilege of opportunities that others did not. I think a good comparison is finding an advantage that lets you sit out of the first part of Survivor challenge that lets you automatically skip ahead to the final portion of the competition. No one is saying that you’re being handed individual immunity. They’re just saying that you skipped some of the earlier stages and didn’t have to start fighting until round two or three. So in short, in a world full of Ben Platts, be a Bryce Dallas Howard. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Thank you!
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
photos credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, jpistudios.com/JPI Studios/Avalon and via Instagram
.jpg.webp?itok=1zl_MpKg)
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·