Rashida Jones on Nepo Baby Debate: Calls Fame “Pretty Poisonous”

Rashida Jones gained valuable insights from her renowned parents. This week, the actress shared reflections on growing up with parents deeply rooted in Hollywood. “More people go into the family business than they don’t,” she remarked.

“I had parents who were in the public eye, but they were extremely protective of us,” Jones explained. As the daughter of music producer Quincy Jones and actress-model Peggy Lipton, she noted that fame “wasn’t that much part of my reality” and described being famous as “pretty poisonous for the most part.”

“People like the story of a legacy family. It’s fun to write about and think about, you know, the ‘mini-me’ and the person who looks like their mom or their dad,” the Parks and Rec star continued, reflecting on Hollywood’s fascination with so-called “nepo babies”—children of famous parents. “And then there’s the resentment there too. But historically, people go into the family business more than they don’t.”

Jones graduated from Harvard with a degree in the comparative study of religion in 1997. However, it wasn’t until her 30s that she secured her breakout role on The Office.

“My dad said to me, when I graduated from college: ‘You’re gonna go wait in line with 70,000 other people for a job? That doesn’t seem really that practical,’” she recalled. “And he was right, you know.”

Jones sees her delayed career as both a blessing and a curse. “I wasn’t in a place where people recognized me until I was in my 30s, which is a good thing, but it was also a bit of a surprise,” she elaborated. “By that point, you’re like, ‘This is how I’m living my life.’ And then, all of a sudden, you’re walking in New York, used to just walking on the streets, and then somebody’s watching you.”

Source: InStyle