Lily Collins has said she faced rejection in the early days of her career (Picture: Gotham/GC Images)
Lily Collins has said she was rejected ‘over and over again’ at the start of her career amid the ongoing row about nepotism babies within the industry.
The term ‘nepotism baby’ refers to children who are born into famous or influential families and find fame in a similar field of work, such as 33-year-old Lily – who is the daughter of singer Phil Collins, 71, and actress Jill Tavelman, 66.
So-called ‘nepo babies’ are currently coming under criticism on social media after being accused of taking opportunities from those not from influential backgrounds.
The discourse began after a New York magazine article made the rounds connecting the dots between today’s famous faces and their parents that once graced Hollywood’s red carpets.
Emily In Paris star Lily recently covered V Magazine and opened up on how her famous parents seemingly didn’t help her find fame.
She said: ‘I got told “no” over and over and over again. The feedback was that I was too green. I was like, I don’t know what that means.
Lily is the daughter of singer Phil Collins (Picture: Todd Williamson/Getty Images For Relativity Media)
Lily Collins stars on the cover of V Magazine’s new spring preview issue, V140 (Picture: Nathaniel Goldberg/V Magazine)
‘Like, green as in “go”? But really I needed a little more maturing, practice, and experience. I guess, for me, it was always really important to not take [rejection] as, “No, this isn’t going to be for you.” It was just, “No, not right now.”
She continued: ‘I think whatever creative outlet, whether it’s music, acting, or writing, if you want to be a lawyer, a dancer, if you feel strongly that it is just so much a part of who you are, deep down to the core, you know that, ultimately, you’re going to get there somehow.’
Lily began acting at the age of two in the BBC series Growing Pains, but had her breakthrough when she starred opposite Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side in 2009.
Kate Hudson – the daughter of Hollywood legend Goldie Hawn, 77, and singer Bill Hudson, 73 – is another star who recently hit out at the debate.
She told The Independent, ‘I don’t care where you come from, or what your relationship to the business is – if you work hard and you kill it, it doesn’t matter.
Kate Hudson also recently spoke out on the debate (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
‘The nepotism thing, I mean… I don’t really care. I look at my kids and we’re a storytelling family.
‘It’s definitely in our blood. People can call it whatever they want, but it’s not going to change it.’
Carrying on, Kate compared her industry to that of others where she claimed nepotism was more prevalent.
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The star revealed: ‘I see it in business way more than I see it in Hollywood.
‘Sometimes I’ve been in business meetings where I’m like, wait, “Whose child is this? Like, this person knows nothing!”‘
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‘I got told “no” over and over and over again.’