Celebrity Family Clans

[Auroranorth]

Feb 24, 2022 11:14:49 GMT -4 Ginger said:

I'm reminded of something I heard Julian Fellowes say about the old British aristocracy - they raised their children to live a very particular kind of lifestyle, but didn't give them the means to fund that lifestyle. Back in the day, that resulted in a lot of loveless marriages. In the current celebrity world, it results in a lot of talent-free kids doing anything they can to make money in the entertainment industry.

After growing up in "Beckingham Palace" it's not very appealing to go out and get a $50k per year regular job and go live in a tiny house in a downmarket suburb.

Yes, back in the day, if you were from a noble family but not due to inherit much (which a lot of them didn't, especially daughters) then you needed to go find a rich spouse, since the sons going into trade was beyond the pale (and those who did were generally legitimately terrible at it anyway.) This is why a whole boatload of European aristocrats married American girls with big dowries.

[Mouse]

Feb 24, 2022 11:14:49 GMT -4 Ginger said:

I'm reminded of something I heard Julian Fellowes say about the old British aristocracy - they raised their children to live a very particular kind of lifestyle, but didn't give them the means to fund that lifestyle. Back in the day, that resulted in a lot of loveless marriages. In the current celebrity world, it results in a lot of talent-free kids doing anything they can to make money in the entertainment industry.

After growing up in "Beckingham Palace" it's not very appealing to go out and get a $50k per year regular job and go live in a tiny house in a downmarket suburb.

They might have a better chance of making a decent living if they, I dunno, went to college or university.

Nov 29, 2022 21:32:04 GMT -4 seat6 said:

I like Jeff Bridges. I think Beau might be OK. I like Martha Plimpton, Keifer Sutherland, Maya Rudolph, Tracee Ellis Ross, Mariska Hargitay, Laura Dern, Rashida Jones, Nic Cage (in his earlier days), Norah Jones, Alexander Skarsgard, Ben Stiller, Rob Reiner, Jane Fonda, and Dan Levy.

I cheated and looked at a list of famous celebrity offspring and there were some on there that made me roll my eyes, but most of them were tolerable.

It’s interesting how people select their stage names. Sone of these people are using their birth names, but Martha Plimpton (her mother’s name, also an actress) didn’t seem to play up her Carradine connections and Nic Cage does not go by his birth name of Coppola.

Maya Rudolph is a special case. Her mom was a famous singer, but she died when Maya was little. Maya's parents weren't actors, so she didn't have nepotism to get a foot in the door. Her parents' status is more of an interesting footnote in her career.

Similarly, Norah Jones was apparently distant from her father and didn't rely on his name when getting started.

[Ginger]

Minnie Riperton was before my time, so Maya Rudolph's mother having been a famous singer was only something I learned of as trivia about Maya herself. But Maya is a good example of a lot of people in the entertainment industry who aren't exactly "nepo babies" but still had a path to success that regular people don't. Her mother wasn't super famous, Maya may not have actually grown up in a house hold with extreme wealth, and she wasn't introduced to the world as "daughter of". Yet her background is littered with a lot of tell-tale signs, like having gone to private school in Santa Monica with dear friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

There's always a private school involved, and a childhood with family friends that were rich, powerful and famous. It's more privilege than nepotism. Olivia Wilde is another one; her parents were journalists and I don't even know their names. But Mick Jagger used to bring over the British ambassador to have dinner at their house in Georgetown, and Olivia became a successful actress not long after graduating from boarding school. It's not a coincidence or random luck.

[divasahm]

I just tried to find a recording of Minnie Riperton (Maya's mom) singing the long version of "Loving You", but I could only find the shortened radio cut. The longer version features a refrain towards the end with Minnie singing "Maya, Maya, Maya, Maya"--so sweet.

Edited to add: Thanks, scarlet!

[scarlet]

Dec 1, 2022 20:52:00 GMT -4 divasahm said:

I just tried to find a recording of Minnie Riperton (Maya's mom) singing the long version of "Loving You", but I could only find the shortened radio cut. The longer version features a refrain towards the end with Minnie singing "Maya, Maya, Maya, Maya"--so sweet.

link

[scarlet]

Carrie Fisher got a star on the Walk of Fame yesterday (on the best and only possible day!) and it's become a whole on exposing the family dynamics at play. Carrie's daughter, Billie, did not invite her brother and half-sisters to the ceremony for reasons which she outlined in the following statement:

“Days after my mom died, her brother and her sister chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother’s death, by doing multiple interviews and selling individual books for a lot of money[...] I found out they had done this through the press. […] Though I recognize they have every right to do whatever they choose, their actions were very hurtful to me at the most difficult time in my life. I chose to and still choose to deal with her loss in a much different way.”

Of course the siblings are clutching their pearls and acting offended, which is such a typical response with toxic family members who cannot respect boundaries.

[horseface]

May 5, 2023 11:53:41 GMT -4 scarlet said:

Carrie Fisher got a star on the Walk of Fame yesterday (on the best and only possible day!) and it's become a whole on exposing the family dynamics at play. Carrie's daughter, Billie, did not invite her brother and half-sisters to the ceremony for reasons which she outlined in the following statement:

“Days after my mom died, her brother and her sister chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother’s death, by doing multiple interviews and selling individual books for a lot of money[...] I found out they had done this through the press. […] Though I recognize they have every right to do whatever they choose, their actions were very hurtful to me at the most difficult time in my life. I chose to and still choose to deal with her loss in a much different way.”

Of course the siblings are clutching their pearls and acting offended, which is such a typical response with toxic family members who cannot respect boundaries.

I saw that as well. I listened to a couple of Carrie Fisher's audio books. (I love listening to autobiographies when they are narrated by the author.)I also read a biography written by Shelia Weller. Initially I admired her humour, and by the time I listened to her final book I wanted to hug her and let her cry. Have you ever seen someone take a hard fall, laugh it off and then realize they are injured far worse than they initially thought they were? Reading her books felt like witnessing something like that. She obviously adored her daughter. If accounts are accurate, Carrie Fisher experienced a lot of ill treatment, and I think she would be incredibly pleased at how her daughter is addressing this.

[royalwave]

I'm on the fence about this one. I imagine Carrie did have complicated relationships with her family members, but there are also lots of photos of her together with her siblings. I didn't see evidence that they were all on the outs. The brother claims that Billie's father was well aware of his book months before it came out but he didn't think he needed to get permission from Billie herself. Would it have been nice for him to hold off on publishing until emotions weren't so raw or take her feelings into account? For sure. But I don't know that he's an awful person solely for writing a book about his life with his mom and sister or that the sisters are awful for giving interviews.

I would be more firmly on Billie's side if this was historically a very private family, but they weren't. Billie may be a more private person, but Carrie herself was extremely open about her life and her demons. Joely Fisher has always been outspoken. Debbie Reynolds wrote at least one, if not two or three memoirs. I haven't read the Fisher siblings' interviews or books in question, but were there any devastating revelations? How much could be said that we didn't already know?

On the other hand, I don't think they should have aired their grievances publicly about not being invited to the ceremony. Whatever Billie's reasons, this is not how you resolve things within a family. They are continuing to burn bridges and must be okay not having a relationship with her going forward. I think what Billie said in response is hurtful as well, but they put her in that position to feel like she had to say something. They have been estranged since right after Carrie's death and have had lots of time to try to make amends. Have they?

[horseface]

May 5, 2023 15:03:11 GMT -4 royalwave said:

I'm on the fence about this one. I imagine Carrie did have complicated relationships with her family members, but there are also lots of photos of her together with her siblings. I didn't see evidence that they were all on the outs. The brother claims that Billie's father was well aware of his book months before it came out but he didn't think he needed to get permission from Billie herself. Would it have been nice for him to hold off on publishing until emotions weren't so raw or take her feelings into account? For sure. But I don't know that he's an awful person solely for writing a book about his life with his mom and sister or that the sisters are awful for giving interviews.

I would be more firmly on Billie's side if this was historically a very private family, but they weren't. Billie may be a more private person, but Carrie herself was extremely open about her life and her demons. Joely Fisher has always been outspoken. Debbie Reynolds wrote at least one, if not two or three memoirs. I haven't read the Fisher siblings' interviews or books in question, but were there any devastating revelations? How much could be said that we didn't already know?

On the other hand, I don't think they should have aired their grievances publicly about not being invited to the ceremony. Whatever Billie's reasons, this is not how you resolve things within a family. They are continuing to burn bridges and must be okay not having a relationship with her going forward. I think what Billie said in response is hurtful as well, but they put her in that position to feel like she had to say something. They have been estranged since right after Carrie's death and have had lots of time to try to make amends. Have they?

You are 100 percent correct. Carrie is EXTREMELY forthcoming in her books.

[Ginger]

First off, let's remember here that Carrie Fisher was a nepo baby whose one big role was almost overshadowed for a decade by her social life, including marrying and divorcing a celebrity, doing a lot of cocaine and partying. Carrie's comeback was because she started writing memoirs, which included a lot of dishing about her famous parents.

What always gets me is that everyone seems to think that if are a celebrity, that you have every right to write about everyone in your life. But if you aren't famous, or aren't famous enough - such as Carrie's siblings - then you haven't earned that right and you are "capitalizing".

It is a little fishy that Joely published her book a year after Carrie's death. The timing does seem a bit opportunistic, like she probably signed the book deal in the wake of the publicity from Carrie's death (and the interviews she and Tricia did). BUT...Joely grew up in the same family. She has her story too. I don't see why it's immoral for Joely to write a memoir, but not Carrie. And I remember Joely as the best friend on Ellen, so she's famous too. Or is the rule that you have to be A-list? Like in the Sheen/Estevez family, Charlie and Emilio are allowed to write memoirs, but not Ramon and Renee. In the Lowe family, Rob can write a memoir, but not Chad.

Given that there have always been so many members of the Reynolds/Fisher family writing memoirs and doing interviews about each other, I think it's an overreaction on Billie's part to publicly cut people off over it.

As royalwave says above, I don't remember any embarrassing revelations coming out in Todd or Joely's books. How could there be? Carrie and Debbie already told it all.