Julia Fox has zero qualms about her son being a nepo baby – in fact, she wants him to be proud of being born into the industry.
“I feel like by [hiding your kids] it’s almost like a disservice,” she told Variety in a new profile published Monday, April 29. “It’s like I have this very highly coveted thing, I want to share that with my son. We need him to be a nepo baby, and he needs to, like, own it, too. He can’t be like, ‘I’m not really a nepo baby,’ he needs to be like, ‘Yes I’m a nepo baby, and what?’”
By definition, a nepo baby is a “notable or powerful person, such as a celebrity or politician, with a parent who is also notable or powerful, especially one whose industry connections are perceived as essential to their success.”
The Uncut Gems actress explained to Variety that despite Valentino, 3, being a nepo baby, she also makes sure he maintains a relatively normal life; she doesn’t depend on a nanny, is on an email chain with parents from his daycare and even invites other kids over to their home for playdates. She currently lives in a four-story home in Harlem with her best friend and boyfriend, whom she called “the man in Valentino’s life.” (Fox shares Valentino with ex-husband Peter Artemiev. The former spouses were married from 2018 to 2020.)
“He’s a really good example of masculinity,” she explained. “He’s very comfortable in his masculinity and is definitely the best role model I could have ever chosen for Valentino because I don’t want him to grow up aggressively macho like some other men in his vicinity are.”
Fox added, “The family unit in this country is really disintegrating so we have to find new ways to remedy that. Chosen family is the best. It’s better than biological family.”
Fox kept her pregnancy and her son’s birth a secret until she announced his arrival by sharing snaps from her nude maternity photo shoot in February 2021, one month after Valentino was born.
“Right after the shoot I went to the hospital and had my precious baby boy,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “My forever valentine, Valentino. Born on January 17th, 2021. The best day of my life.”
