20 celebrities who don’t want their kids to follow their footsteps

Drew Barrymore knows all about being a child actor, and because of her experience, she’s making sure her daughters, Olive and Frankie, stay far away from it. “I’m not going to let them be kid actors. That’s so not their journey…Can you imagine me being [a] mom [who is] pushing her kids out there? That’s not going to happen,” she told People.

Ed Sheeran is a big-time musician with a catalog to match, so there’s a pretty good chance his children could have some musical talent. But even if they do, he’d like to keep them away from the music industry. “I think it’s from being in the music industry — I’m like, ‘I would not wish this on my child.’ I would hate for her to be known as my daughter rather than just Lyra; I want her to have [her] own identity,” Ed said on the Table Manners with Jessie Ware podcast.

Christina Applegate isn’t entirely opposed to the idea of her daughter becoming an actress; however, she won’t let it happen before she’s 18. “She’s allowed to study, and if she wants to take acting or dance classes, she’s allowed to. But I have a very strong ‘No’ when it comes to monetary exchange for your talents until she’s 18,” she told E! News. 

We all know and love Angelina Jolie for her roles in Girl Interrupted and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Although she enjoys being in front of the camera, she hopes her six kids will not. “We’re hoping, I think, that the kids don’t become actors. We want them to be happy and do whatever they’re interested in, but I think we’re hoping to show them so many ideas and other options that they won’t want to act. If they do, I hope they act and also…do something else. I’d like them to do other things with their lives. We’re a bit nervous about that,” she told The Sydney Morning Harold. 

Jason Momoa has become one of the most recognizable faces in the industry, and despite his success, he doesn’t want his children to follow in his footsteps. He told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 that he’ll try “to keep ’em out of it.” He continued, “It’s very hard on people, and I don’t want them to have that pressure. I’m tough, I can handle it, but I wouldn’t want to put someone I love [through] that.”

Jessica Alba was a child star and, in a 2011 interview, admitted it “worked” for her. However, now that times are different, she said she has the means to provide a different life for her children. “When they’re done with college, if they want to get into the arts, that’s fine. I think you will be a better artist the more life experience you have, but I wouldn’t encourage them to work in this type of environment as children,” she said.

Even though Matt Damon has quite the Hollywood resume, the Interstellar actor said it’s not an industry he wants his daughters to get into. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he spoke about the unfair treatment some women face behind the scenes. “I would try to steer my daughters away from acting. Women are in a different business than we are. It is just brutal for women. For men, the roles get really good at 40 and beyond. And that’s when you really start doing your best work.”

Channing Tatum is so secretive about his personal life that I forgot the 21 Jump Street star had a kid! With that, it makes sense why he’s uneasy about his daughter acting when she’s younger. “I want her to learn how to act if she wants to do that, but I don’t know if I will be excited for her to just start acting as a job [when she’s] younger. I want her to experience life and do things, but she’s going to do something. She’s such a little trickster,” he told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest in 2020.

Nick Cannon has many kids, so it may be harder for him to prevent all of them from entering show business; however, he’s hopeful some will turn into big-name athletes. “Out of all my kids, I’m like, if they want to be in entertainment, that’s fine, but that’s almost easy,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “That’s why I love … to see my kids try sports because it has nothing to do with anything. It literally is however much work you put in, how hard you go, that’s how you’ll succeed in that space.”

Halle Berry has played the fierce, protective mother in different films, and in 2008, she confirmed that’s how she is in real life, too. “I have long since come to terms with the fact that choosing a career as an actress has made me a public figure, but my baby has made no such choice, and unless and until she does, I will do everything I can…to keep her out of the public eye,” she said in a statement.

Jennifer Garner stood beside Halle Berry in 2013 at the California State Capitol in support of a bill that would protect the children of public figures. In her statement, she said, “I love my kids. They’re beautiful and sweet and innocent, and I don’t want a gang of shouting, arguing, lawbreaking photographers who camp out everywhere we are all day, every day, to continue traumatizing my kids.”

During her interview with Vogue, Penélope Cruz was very clear about protecting her child’s upbringing. “The fact that his father and I have chosen to do the work that we do doesn’t give anybody the right to invade our privacy.”

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are uber-famous, and that’s why they want their child to be as sheltered as possible during their younger years. “Our wish is that she can choose how to share herself with the world when she comes of age and that she can live as normal of a childhood as possible, without worrying about a public image that she has not chosen.” she wrote on Instagram.

Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha, a former NFL player and actor, are hoping to keep their kids shielded from stardom. “These are their lives. But it’s not about pulling a Rapunzel and hiding them away in a castle from the world — we don’t want to do that. I think any parent would want to keep kids from a situation that causes them to feel scared.” she told InStyle.

Adele is one of the biggest celebrities in the world, and because of that, she’s determined to keep her son out of the spotlight. “What if he wants to smoke weed or drink underage, or what if he’s gay and doesn’t want to tell me, and then he’s photographed, and that’s how I find out?” she said during an interview with Vogue.

Like many others on this list, Kristen Bell said that even though she chose to be “quoted” and have her “picture taken,” she doesn’t know if her children will want that, and she doesn’t want to choose it for them.

Zoe Saldana welcomed children with her husband, Marco Perego, in 2014 and 2017, and even though her oldest children are 10, she still doesn’t post them online. When she spoke with E! News after having twins, she shared more about why. “I just don’t want 16 years from now to get, ‘You are so disrespectful. You invaded, you exposed me, and I wasn’t ready.’ Even though they’re babies and they’re under our care, it’s still their face.”

Not only does Mindy Kaling want to keep her child out of the spotlight, but she also chooses to keep her child’s father a mystery. She told Today that she worries about whether she should have her daughter in the public eye. “I’m far too fragile. [My daughter will] be big enough, and people will see her. Am I even doing the right thing? Maybe she’ll be mad at me later on, but I’ll deal with it then.”

We know and love Padma Lakshmi from her time hosting Top Chef and several other television programs. But just because she did it, that doesn’t mean she wants the same for her kid. “I would like her to do what I did, which was finish college before she starts modeling. I think having an education is very important for a whole host of reasons. I want her to be happy and healthy and do what naturally interests her. I modeled to pay off my college loans. I don’t think she will have that problem,” Padma told People. How fortunate.

Minnie Driver has done it all, from acting to music to even hosting a podcast, but when it comes to her child, she’d prefer they stay away from that world.

“I’m not really for the whole kids in show business thing,” she told Us Weekly. “It’s really difficult even when you meet lovely parents of children who are in show business. There is still the fact that they’re not having a childhood. They are out of their element and in the element of an adult world, which is not always appropriate. It seems to me there is always a certain level of desperation that makes a person put a child in that position.”