How Stars Like Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie Raised Kids Who Turned Away From the Spotlight

Picture this: You’re born into a life where the cameras are always flashing, people have seen your breakfast on Instagram before you’ve even digested it and you’re called a “nepo baby” just for existing. Plus, you’re constantly questioning the motives of people who befriend you — do they actually like you, or do they just want some VIP concert tickets?

That’s the roller-coaster life of anyone who happens to have A-list parents — and while a famous surname might open a lot of doors, many kids of big stars are now shunning a life in the spotlight in favor of more ordinary careers.

Take Bruce Springsteen’s younger son, Sam. While his dad might be one of the biggest rock stars in history, the 31-year-old is an altogether different kind of hero: he works as a firefighter in New York, and Springsteen has his back. “It was a long road,” he told The New York Times when Sam finished training. “He was very dedicated for quite a few years and we are just excited for him today.”

Bella Cruise has two superstar parents, and yet Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s daughter, 32, has no desire to see her name in lights. She’s creative, but pours her talents into digital art, leading an ordinary life in London, designing cute tote bags and looking like any other hip, arty urbanite.

She’s not the only celeb descendant with a creative streak that’s being poured into something other than entertainment: both Harrison Ford and Bill Murray have kids cooking up something even more satisfying — food! Ford’s son Ben runs a low-key diner at LAX, along with a market. And, perhaps surprisingly considering their totally different careers, he says his dad’s success inspired him. “My father was definitely around when I was growing up, and he likes to cook too,” noted Ben, 58. “Seeing how meticulous he was at his craft has stayed with me as a chef.”

Murray’s son Homer, 42, runs a hip restaurant in Brooklyn. His Ghostbusters star dad is delighted that his boy is doing something different, saying at the opening party, “I am so happy — that he has not continued in the family business!”

Meanwhile, plenty of younger Hollywood scions are branching out as well. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s son Maddox, 23, is studying biochemistry; Jerry Seinfeld’s son Julian, 21, is majoring in sociology and, this year, Violet Affleck, 19, and Moses Martin, 18, were among A-listers’ kids heading to college versus a Hollywood gig straight out of high school. (Parents Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner and Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow couldn’t be more proud!)

So, what is it that’s making so many famous names opt not to follow in their parents’ footsteps? Obviously, the enormous wealth and success of their elders has empowered them to take risks — if those jobs don’t work out, they’re probably not going to be on the breadline — but ultimately they’re rejecting the glamorous world they grew up in. While they might have enjoyed many of the perks of fame, like living in incredible houses and traveling the world from a young age, they’ve also witnessed the pitfalls firsthand, too: the lack of privacy, the pressure and the shallowness of life in Hollywood.

Instead, many are seeking out lives with more purpose and stability. Plus, they’re not alone in recalibrating what success means. Now, two decades into the dominance of social media and reality TV, we know that fame isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Maybe more normal kids, too, will look at these big-name examples who are actively rejecting fame and fortune and wonder if life outside of the spotlight is ultimately more rewarding — even if you don’t get to spend your summer on a yacht.