Top 10 Old Hollywood Actors You Didn't Know Were Nepo Babies

Ginger Rogers was one of the greats during and after Hollywood’s vaudevillian era. Frequent collaborator Fred Astaire helped make her an icon, but her mother helped get her tap shoes through the door. After divorcing Ginger’s father, Lela E. Rogers led a successful journalism career before writing and directing in Hollywood. Even after remarrying and becoming a devoted stage mom, Lela wore many hats in the film industry. Lucille Ball even credited her acting school as essential to her own career. Certainly, Lela’s clout as a producer was key to her daughter’s success. Lela Rogers may have only acted in “The Major and the Minor”, alongside her daughter, but it’s clear where Ginger got her versatile talent.

You surely know that the Barrymore name has been a Hollywood institution since Lionel, Ethel and John. In fact, the dynasty predates the screen. The siblings were the children of Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew, both renowned stage actors. The same goes for Maurice’s father William, and Georgiana's parents John and Louisa Lane Drew. Her lineage on the stage actually goes back to maternal grandparents Frederick Lane and Eliza Trentner. Maurice might have obscured his in-laws’ even longer legacy, had John not made Drew the middle name of one of his sons. John Drew then passed it to his daughter as her first name, finally giving both the Barrymores and the Drews equal recognition in modern Hollywood.

Claiming the Triple Crown of Acting, Jason Robards transitioned into a new age of film and television with great renown. His credit has actually been around since the beginning of Old Hollywood. Jason Robards Sr. was an esteemed Broadway actor who maintained his leading man status going into silent film. Tragically, he faded into bit parts with the rise of the talkies. This disillusioned the idea of Hollywood for his son, whose namesake carried more weight for him in the theater. He dropped the “Jr.” from his stage name after his father’s death. The junior Robard may be a prime example of an actor rising above nepotism, but he was openly remorseful about his father’s downfall.

Before America fell for the name Keaton, they learned it one town at a time. Joe and Myra Keaton were a vaudeville couple billed as “The Two Keatons” in a traveling medicine show. Then Two became Three with the addition of Joe Jr., affectionately nicknamed “Buster”. His father taught him everything about the eccentric dance and slapstick that some audiences mistook for real on-stage child abuse. The already notorious family act would end with Joe’s drinking problem driving Myra away with their son. Buster Keaton thus achieved independent stardom in silent movies, and is now regarded as one of the most influential comedic filmmakers of all time. He probably couldn’t have done it without his parents’ mentorship and infamy.

Versatile matinee idol Tyrone Power’s name actually went back three generations. His acting chops went back four. Power first entered the industry on the strong reputation of his father, whose middle and stage name was Tyrone. He has thus become retroactively recognized as Tyrone Power Sr., though the lineage was founded on the British stage by his grandfather William Grattan Tyrone. His own son Harold may never have found such success in acting, but his wife Ethel Lavenu definitely did. The man most commonly recognized as Tyrone Power really does have the acting bug throughout his esteemed family tree. And the tradition kept going with his three children, including the rather inaccurately billed Tyrone Power Jr.

Though John Huston is best-recognized as a groundbreaking writer-director, he was also a prolific character actor. It's only natural, given his parentage. Walter Huston was a celebrated leading actor who moved from Broadway to Hollywood just in time for the talkies. He was nominated for two Academy Awards before winning one for “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, written and directed by his son. Walter passed away not long after that, having never lost momentum as a stage and film actor. Some may argue he has since become a relatively esoteric Old Hollywood figure against John and his daughter Anjelica’s influence on New Hollywood. But with his other grandchildren and great-grandson Jack, Walter’s on-screen talents carry on.

Elizabeth Taylor was a singular force of style and talent on the screen. Such was the case for her mother on the stage, but Sara Sothern retired from acting after marrying Francis Lenn Taylor. Despite initial objections to Elizabeth entering the grind of the film industry, Sothern wound up the strictest of stage moms. Unfortunately, her experience in the field had less impact on her daughter’s breakout than Francis’s connections as a Beverly Hills art gallerist. It was a sadly quintessential story of sacrifice and superficiality behind a woman’s rise in Old Hollywood. Elizabeth Taylor would help change the way starlets of her caliber were respected in drama, with her mother’s often harsh support and influential talent.

The name Charles Chaplin now makes one picture a cinematic pioneer, or at least his lovable Tramp character. By the late 19th century, the name was big enough in London’s music hall scene to make marquees in America. Singer Charles Chaplin Sr. had previously met and performed with his wife Hannah by her stage name Lily Harley. But don't be so quick to write off their son’s underdog myth. After Hannah's career and marriage both imploded, the successful Charles allowed his estranged family to fall into poverty. Young Charlie Chaplin’s name ultimately held little for his comedic brilliance and experienced sense of humanist drama. He made sure his many relatives and descendants could follow his prosperity in the entertainment industry.

Grace Kelly went from Hollywood royalty to Monaco royalty. But the Princess consort didn’t have entirely humble beginnings. Her father John B. Kelly Sr. claimed fame as the first Olympic rower ever to win three gold medals, before becoming a powerful Philadelphia industrialist. He also dabbled in politics, serving as National Physical Fitness Director under FDR. Meanwhile, two of his brothers acted in vaudeville. George was also a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, while Walter’s successful transition into film was cut short by a fatal car accident in 1939. Despite this and many more tragedies, the stage was set for Grace to follow her uncles into acting. Granted, the incomparable movie star and monarch really made a name for herself.

Mickey Rooney’s broke out as one of the definitive names in child acting. It’s easy to assume that the boy was a natural. In fact, he was the son of Joe Yule, a sensational vaudevillian and big-screen character actor. He’s probably best-known for headlining the “Jiggs and Maggie” film series. Still, Joe Jr. had to build his own career after his parents separated. Nellie Carter, herself a performer, landed her son the lead in the “Mickey McGuire” series. Amid a copyright suit with the source material’s authors, Joe Jr.’s name was changed to his character’s, then to Mickey Rooney. Whether Joe Yule can have a direct claim to his son’s success, it suggests that many “nepo babies” just have talent in their genes.

What are some other Old Hollywood family connections that may be obscure in today’s pop culture? Take us back in the comments.