Catherine Zeta-Jones defends children’s showbiz ambitions amid ‘nepo baby’ debate

Catherine Zeta-Jones has defended her children's decision to pursue careers in entertainment, saying she and husband Michael Douglas made sure their passion for acting was genuine before supporting them.

Catherine Zeta-Jones has defended her children’s decision to pursue careers in entertainment, saying she and husband Michael Douglas made sure their passion for acting was genuine before supporting them.

The Welsh actress, 57, discussed her children Dylan and Carys in an interview with AARP, saying the couple had exposed them to the difficulties of working in the entertainment industry to test whether they were serious about pursuing it.

“We told them all the [Hollywood] horror stories to see if their passion for the art and the craft was genuine,” Zeta-Jones said. “But they’ve done every production, they went to every theater camp.”

She said Dylan and Carys had continued to pursue acting and other work in the industry despite the challenges, adding that only a small proportion of people in the business are able to make a living from it.

“But they certainly do love it,” she said. “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.”

Zeta-Jones’s comments come after she criticised the term “nepo baby” in a separate interview with The Sunday Times, calling it “horrific” and saying her children did not choose to be born into a famous family.

Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23, are the couple’s two children. Both have pursued careers in entertainment, with Dylan focusing on acting and Carys working in film and directing.

Zeta-Jones and Douglas have said they would have encouraged their children to consider other careers if they did not show genuine commitment to the entertainment industry.