Two new nepo baby stories have dropped: Ava Philippe in an “Elle Woods” bikini for her appearance on Doctor Odyssey (which is a nighttime soap I saw someone describe as the campy yin to The Pitt’s devastating yang), appearing alongside Paris Jackson and Charlotte Lawrence (daughter of Bill Lawrence and Christa Miller).
A nepo baby trifecta sent to “seduce” Joshua Jackson’s character (in real life, he is pretty close in age to some of their parents).
@doctorodyssey Never fear, Veronica is here 💖 Ava Phillippe is aboard The Odyssey, setting sail for spring break tomorrow at 9/8c on ABC! Stream on Hulu. #DoctorOdyssey
♬ original sound - Doctor Odyssey
At 25, Ava has waited a minute before taking a role (most jump in after they turn 18) but even if we put aside the acting pedigree, Ava’s mom and Charlotte’s dad are both powerful producers so there’s no expiration date on opportunities. This is the fun job they chose, just for kicks. And it’s great to see Paris healthy and working.
Onto to the next big thing, Apple Martin. She is interviewed by Mel Ottenberg (an editor who is a celebrity amongst other celebrities) for Interview. Apple interned there, so it makes sense and she delivers exactly what we would expect. She says things like, “Oh my god, I’m 20” and talks about her school production of a Love Island parody. She is in law but not really in law, she’s dabbling but also because she wants to act but is too shy. (Spoiler alert: she will absolutely act.) She says she will do theatre, doesn’t even mention film or TV. She talks about growing up and accepting the “surveillance state” of her life and her mom’s Calvin Klein wardrobe. She doesn’t shy away from the Gwyneth and Chris of it, but she doesn’t lean into it too hard.
Apple seems to have a grasp on the how much fame she can handle right now, saying she keeps a private Instagram but can’t read the comments because they hurt her feelings and make her feel anxious. She’s very into astrology. She doesn’t directly talk about the political climate in the US but says it’s heavy and she wants to have a disco summer.
Like many celebrity profiles, her every admission is treated as fascinating: she listens to Russian classical music, she has a record player, she likes blue eye shadow. These benign details are elevated because of her name and the tension here is that she is a typical college student, but has the halo of fame without having done anything to make her famous. She’s in the pre-solo-fame era and a lot of what she says and does until her first big project will be a shadow, for better or worse. Most people wouldn’t want quotes from when they were 20 or a short relationship from college with another famous person following them around for the next decade, but that’s what happens to people when they get famous a very young adult. Everything sticks and then they get stuck.
This isn’t to say she comes off wrong and strong – she is chatty and friendly, she doesn’t get defensive when they talk about her mom, and the photoshoot is cool. She doesn’t say it’s much harder for nepo babies (the babies need to keep that in the group chat). A solid first official media outing in a safe space.
The question is, why now? Sure it could be for fun – what 20-year-old wouldn’t want to dress up and talk about their star sign? – but I don’t think the Paltrow-Martin family is out for press just for the sake of press. She could make a single Instagram post and get the same amount of attention that she does for this interview. This is about legitimacy, taking her seat in the right room. It’s leading to something bigger, but I don’t think it will happen all at once; even Gwyneth had a small part in her dad’s TV movie to start. Apple’s step-dad Brad Falchuk is a producer on 9-1-1: Nashville and she lives in Nashville for school – maybe not a consistent role, just a cameo if she can squeeze it into her calendar?
