There’s a common belief that having a famous parent can automatically guarantee a successful career for so-called “nepo babies.”

While some, like Maya Hawke, Lila Moss, and Zoe Kravitz, have managed to carve out their own paths to success, others find the journey far more challenging.

Recently, The Daily Mail shed light on the financial struggles faced by Jesse Wood, following his divorce from Fearne Cotton.

The 49-year-old musician, who is the son of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, openly discussed his financial hardships, revealing that he’s been surviving on just £1,000 a month and facing difficulties in securing work after the end of his decade-long marriage.

Financial records further revealed that his business is significantly in debt, facing an increasingly difficult financial situation.

Rekognition Sound Limited – of which Jesse is the sole director and shareholder – has just £10,943 in its bank accounts while owing £111,903 to creditors. Of that sum, £37,352 relates to bank loans.

Most recent accounts, covering the 12 months to the end of November 2024, show the company is £101,562 in the red – a sharp increase from £56,211 the previous year.

Yet he isn’t the only nepo baby to be struggling. 

Despite being from big family name’s Lennon Gallagher and Junior Andre are failing to make their own fortunes.  

Meanwhile there has been a new wave of celebrity offspring jetting off to Mallorca as they enter the Love Island villa in an attempt to follow in the parents footsteps. 

Heading into the villa for a second time this January Ronan Keating’s son Jack is back in the villa to try find love, again.

We take a look at the nepo babies who are failing to make their millions despite their abundance of A-list connections. 

Lennon Gallagher  

He’s a regular at Fashion Weeks across the globe, most recently appearing at Milan Men’s Fashion Week after first gaining recognition as the face of the Burberry campaign in 2023. 

Signed to Models 1 Agency, Lennon Gallagher walked for esteemed fashion houses such as Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent and has been featured in Vogue and British GQ. 

However the eldest Gallagher son isn’t quite as financially sound as you may think. 

Lennon, 26, who is the son of Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher, set up his LF Gallagher Ltd in September 2019, however he has not filed accounts since June 2024 and is therefore being threatened with strike off by Companies House. 

The last accounts were made up to 30 September 2023 revealing it had zero reserves and £1,582 ‘cash in the bank’. 

Beyond the runway Lennon was also a member of the band Automotion with three of his close friends.

But in June last year the band revealed they had decided to part ways after six years together after releasing their final last recordings.  

Jake Roche 

The son of Loose Women star Coleen Nolan and EastEnders’ Shane Richie, Jake Roche was destined to enter the showbiz world. 

And the singer, now 33, appeared to be set to make it big after he bagged a record deal as the face of pop-rock band Rixton, partied with the likes of Justin Bieber and supporting Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato on their world tours. 

He was even engaged to Little Mix star Jesy Nelson until their split in late 2016 when he moved in with his pal Ed Sheeran. 

However in an interview with The Times in 2024, Jake recalled how his whole world was ‘blown to smithereens’ and before he knew it he was forced to sign onto benefits and move back to his childhood home. 

Company accounts show that after Rixton LLP was set up in September 2014, they voluntarily struck the business off five years later in May 2019. 

The last accounts from 2018 revealed that it had £7,354 ‘cash in the bank’ and £10,316 in net assets.

Jake explained: ‘It’s your classic story of a teen pop star who gets it all and loses it all… [I had] an existential crisis at the end of my twenties…’ 

When a fan recognised him in a bar in 2022, he admitted that he was living on Universal credit in his mother’s garage and said: ‘I’m a failure’.

Since his fall from stardom, Jake has created his own ‘autobiographical musical’, Neporrhoids! which details his ‘journey from Universal Music to Universal Credit’. 

Having performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024, he is set to bring it to London this April. 

Junior Andre 

His sister Princess may have set her sights on becoming the UK’s answer to Kylie Jenner as she establishes her own make up empire following the success of her ITV2 reality TV show, The Princess Diaries. 

However for her elder brother Junior things aren’t going so swimmingly. 

Back in 2022, Junior, 20, had a promising music career as his debut single Slide hit No1 in the UK’s iTunes pop chart, with his follow-up track Only One also bagging the top spot a year later.

Junior – who is the son of Peter Andre and Katie Price) signed his first record deal but in the months that followed, but a number of delays appeared to stall the release of any further tracks. 

And after setting up JR Andre Ltd in October 2021, the last accounts from 2024 show it had accumulated losses of £9,068 – and owed creditors £13,192.

Last August Junior admitted he was ‘overcoming challenges’ as he prepared to get his music career back on track. 

He told The Sun: ‘I haven’t been putting pressure on myself and I’ve been overcoming a couple of challenges.

‘It’s nothing that I can’t beat but it will be good in due time. Don’t sleep on me – trust me, it’s coming hot!’

Junior also told the publication that he is busy focusing on ‘music and acting’ as well as teasing plans for his own business as well as a fragrance line.

He has also since signed to talent management company Ignite Elite Artists, which was set up in 2011 with it’s headquarters in Sydney, Australia.

Joe Sumner 

He had big shoes to fill as the son of music legend Sting. 

And despite also going down the music route, Joe, 49, has failed to hit the big time. 

Forming his band Fiction Plane, they recorded their first album Everything Will Never Be OK in 2003. 

He set up his company Alien Foetus UK Ltd with his fellow band mates of Fiction Plane in May 2007. 

However it was compulsorily struck off in July 2017, last accounts from 2016 reveal it had a debt of £16,030. 

Joe continues to perform with his band, supporting his dad during his tour back in 2022. 

Antigoni Buxton

The daughter of TV host Tonia Buxton shot to mainstream fame after appearing on Love Island back in 2022. 

And since her appearance in the villa the singer has gone on to release numerous singles and perform at various events. 

Antigoni, 29, was first signed by Island Records when she was 20 by former president Darcus Beese, the man who also signed Amy Winehouse to the label.

However she later parted company with the firm, she set up her own independent label Sirena Records and released a single called Hit List in May 2023. 

Her financial records show that her company Sirens Productions Ltd’s had negative equity of £233 and owed creditors £16,415 as per its last accounts in 2024. 

It paid £501 corporation tax, at a 25% rate, meaning the company had profits of just £2k over the year. 

However things could be looking up for the star who is set to represent Cyprus in this year’s Eurovision competition.

She wrote at the time of the announcement in November: ‘I’m so honoured. Cyprus I will make you proud.’ 

Phoenix Brown  

There are also a number of celebrity offspring who surprisingly don’t even have accounts registered to their names, despite carving out their own careers. 

Mel B’s daughter Phoenix, 26, is DJ and artist, yet there are no financial records available. 

Last year Phoenix told  The Daily Mail she quickly realised she had to find her own path in life as she addressed nepo baby claims.

She had never shied away from the viral term, even releasing Channel 4 documentary, Born in the Limelight – Nepo Babies: Untold, last year – which saw her explore the advantages and challenges that come from being the child of a celebrity.

The star now does DJ work and exhibits her art in London as she makes a career for herself.

She said in the candid interview: ‘I’m discovering who I am, what I like, who I like, where I want to be. It’s a lot of questions, and I just got to figure out the answers, but I’m here for the journey.’

She credits her mother for teaching her to step out of the shadow of fame.

Phoenix revealed: ‘My mum kind of let me know that ‘I’m the famous one and you’re not.’

‘That quickly made me realise that I got to find who I am and not be a shadow. So I’ve just had a journey with that.’

Anais and Gene Gallagher  

Lennon isn’t the only famous one of the Gallagher offspring.

His brother Gene and cousin Anais are also well-known, but neither have any financial accounts. 

Gene is also a model and frontman of indie rock group Villanelle and the band are supporting Miles Kane during his January tour. 

Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher’s daughter Anais, 25, has spent years fighting off accusations of nepotism and is attempting to carve out a career path as a photographer and previously worked snapping her dad’s studio sessions and concerts with his band High Flying Birds last year.

Since she was a young teenager, she has been hounded with claims of nepotism, but Anais said: ‘When I was younger, I was massively in denial. “No, my dad doesn’t help me.” Or, “I’m talented in my own right.” I pushed against it.

‘I’m not delusional about the fact that my dad has helped me out immensely. I never had to get a part-time job. 

‘If I needed a new camera, he would buy me one. I’m very lucky that not only have they given me such a comfortable life, but my parents are very cool. 

‘Lots of people have parents who are really rich and help [them] out, but they’re a horrible Tory politician or something. At least my dad is a cool dad.’

Iris Law

Another regular on catwalks around the globe, Jude Law and Sadie Frost’s daughter Iris has carved out her own career in the spotlight, yet she has no financial records. 

Iris previously opened up about how she stumbled into modelling after doing one ‘little shoot’.

Speaking previously about her career, Iris said: ‘It started with a shoot for Illustrated People, I kind of just rocked up thinking it was a little shoot.

‘I was excited to see how the photos would turn out but I didn’t realise it was going to be a reveal type thing.

‘Then it dropped and it was on the website and newspapers were picking up on it. My agent, who I’m with now saw that and got in touch. I didn’t think anything would come of it.’

She recently made her catwalk debut for lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret, during which she appeared alongside supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Lila Moss.

Jack Keating 

Another Love Island nepo baby, Ronan Keating’s son Jack first attempted to launch his career when he appeared on the eighth series of Love Island in 2022. 

He lasted just five days before he was dumped from the show and has returned this year for the third series of Love Island: All Stars in South Africa. 

While he has no company records available, the star is a radio presenter on SPIN 1038. 

However fans have immediately claimed nepotism is at play over his appearance in the villa. 

Taking to social media, one said: ‘Come and see nepotism, Jack didn’t contribute a single thing last time round’

‘Who even is Jack, he was on air for 2 seconds bye’; ‘We all know the real reason Jack gets women. And it’s not his Irish charm. Life really is a rollercoaster’;

‘Nepotism is crazy. Jack Keating wasn’t even the most interesting casa reject, yet he landed a spot on all stars’;

Speaking on his decision to return to the show, Jack said: ‘I feel like I have to come back and redeem myself, my experience before was short and sweet, I was in there for four days and I didn’t couple up with anyone, so it didn’t really go to plan.

‘The revenge tour is here! I’ve been single for a year now and I’m looking for love.’