Meg Ryan’s son, Jack Quaid, is now famous in his own right, but his mom still does her best to protect him from the public criticism that comes with being a celebrity.
“You don’t wish it [on anyone]. It’s too hard and it’s too weird,” Ryan, 62, said in an interview with Glamour published on Thursday, November 30.
As the son of Ryan and Dennis Quaid, Jack, 31, is one of many young stars whose fame has been called into question amid recent discussions about nepo — short for “nepotism” — babies. A nepo baby is the child of a celebrity who has gone on to become famous too, and some critics think they get ahead thanks to their parents’ names rather than their own talent.
Ryan, however, thinks the nepo baby discourse is silly. “Jack is really talented. He’s more of a natural than I’ll ever be,” she said. “That nepo stuff is so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege.”
Best known for his role as Huey Campbell on The Boys, Jack made his screen debut as Marvel in 2012’s The Hunger Games. He has since starred in projects including Logan Lucky, Plus One, Scream, Oppenheimer and Star Trek: Lower Decks. (Ryan is also the mother of daughter Daisy, 18, whom she adopted in 2006.)
Jack previously weighed in on the nepo baby debate, telling Thrillist in June 2022 that he considered changing his name and that his dad wouldn’t let him get an agent. “I knew that people would constantly say, ‘Oh, I know how he got that job,” he explained. “And they’re still going to say that. It’s fine. But as long as I knew how I got there, that would be enough.”
Ryan noted on Thursday that she spotted her son’s talent from an early age. “I remember seeing him in a middle school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He was playing Bottom,” she told Glamour. “I was newly divorced from his dad, and he was seated at the other side of the gym. I had my head in my hands and was like, ‘Oh, no. He’s good. He’s really good.’” (Ryan and Dennis, 69, split in 2000 after nearly 10 years of marriage and finalized their divorce the following year.)
According to Ryan, Dennis came to the same revelation. “I leaned forward, and I see Dennis, and he’s also leaning forward with his head in his hands,” she added. “I just knew.”
Earlier in the interview, Ryan gushed about being a mother to Jack and Daisy. “My kids have always been a blast,” she shared. “They’re the best hang. They’re so alive in their curiosity and interest in the world. … I’m just so happy to know them, to be their mom.”
