Michael Douglas slams ‘nepo baby’ label after wife Catherine Zeta-Jones called the phrase ‘horrific’… as their kids go into showbiz

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By ASHLEIGH GRAY 18:33 10 Oct 2026, updated 21:18 10 Oct 2026

Michael Douglas is not a fan of the label ‘nepo baby,’ despite following in his late father Kirk Douglas’ show business footsteps.

‘I think it’s an unfortunate title,’ the Basic Instinct actor, 82, said while promoting his memoir One Helluva Ride this week.

‘I guess you could say that about any business,’ he explained to Page Six. ‘The same thing with Hollywood royalty. My father’s father was a junkman.’

Michael, who has three kids, noted that the careers of the men in his family is one of the themes in his book.

‘That was part of my motivation – to tell about the ups and the downs anyone has in their life, and how hard you work for it versus something that’s just handed to you,’ the Hollywood vet explained.

It comes after his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, 57, recently told AARP magazine that she finds the term nepo baby ‘horrific.’

Michael and the Wednesday actress share son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23. He is also father to son Cameron, 47, whom he shares with ex-wife Diandra Luker.

I’m Andrew Court, LA Showbiz Editor and celebrity connoisseur.

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‘We told them all the [Hollywood] horror stories to see if their passion for the art and the craft was genuine,’ Zeta-Jones told AARP about her kids.

‘But they’ve done every production, they went to every theater camp. Sometimes it was like: “Can you just come home from theater camp? Can we have two weeks to see you at the summer break?”‘ the Chicago star shared.

However, her children were determined to forge a path in entertainment and ‘worked every college film and musical and straight play,’ she said.

‘It’s a very small percentage of our business that can really make a living out of doing what we love. But they certainly do love it,’ the proud mom highlighted.

Meanwhile, while speaking with Page Six, her husband Michael said he’s ‘blessed with the combination of genes’ from his dad, who died at age 103 in 2020, and his mom, actress Diana Douglas, who died at 92 in 2015.

The movie producer said that his advice to his kids about show business is: ‘If you don’t like rejection, don’t do it.’

‘I know how worried my father was,’ he recalled of dad Kirk, adding about his own brood, ‘They’re very talented, all three of them. I think it will all work out.’

Discussing nepotism with People magazine this week, Douglas posited, ‘Is there any business in the world that the mother or father [don’t] try to get their son or daughter into?’

‘We all try to help our kids to some degree,’ he reasoned.

He shared that early in his career he was often told, ‘You remind me so much of your father,’ which he took as a compliment.

However, the then-rising star said he would think, ‘I don’t want to hear that. I’m going to be my own person.’

Corroborating his wife’s prior comments, Michael said his kids with Zeta-Jones have been performing ‘since they were in kindergarten.’

He insisted, ‘Every play, every show, summer theater camps, graduating… I mean, they’ve done so much work. It’s unbelievable.’

Zeta-Jones reflected on her career and the paths her kids are charting in the aforementioned AARP interview.

‘Look at the world and the life that acting has given me. I mean, it’s amazing. I would give anybody the opportunity that I’ve had, and they’re loving it, they’re working hard, they’re auditioning and they’re making their way by themselves, their own path. And I’m very proud of them both,’ she emphasized.

Dylan and Carys graduated from Brown University, where the former studied political science and the latter earned a degree in film and international relations.

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