Who is George Clooney's famous aunt? Emma Roberts cites the actor's example as she claims men have it easy in the “nepo baby” discourse 

Recently, singer, actress, and producer Emma Roberts referred to veteran actor and filmmaker George Clooney as a “nepo baby” and claimed that male actors have it easier than women like her when they come from celebrity families.

In the June 25 episode of the podcast Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, Roberts explained that, being the niece of Julia Roberts and the daughter of Eric Roberts, people had “preconceived notions” about her, which made it challenging for her to succeed in her career. Emma Roberts further added:

“I think there's something to be said where everybody loves the kind of overnight success story. And so, if you're kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there's kind of an eyeroll of like, ‘Oh, your dad was this.' And I always joke, ‘Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby?’ Rosemary Clooney was an icon.”

For those uninitiated, Rosemary Clooney was a famous 20th-century singer and actress and the aunt of George Clooney.

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George Clooney’s aunt won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002

Rosemary Clooney was the sister of George Clooney’s father, Nick Clooney, who lived from May 1928 to June 2002. She was a renowned actress, pop singer, and jazz vocalist.

Clooney famously appeared in the 1954 holiday film White Christmas alongside Bing Crosby and is well-remembered for her iconic songs including Come On-a My House, Mambo Italiano, Botch-a-Me, Sway, Tenderly, Half as Much, Hey There, and This Ole House, among others.

George Clooney shared a close bond with his aunt and even moved from his hometown of Kentucky to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood under the guidance of Rosemary Clooney. He stayed with his aunt and even worked as her chauffeur, riding her and her colleagues from one music gig to the next.

In fact, over the years, George Clooney has credited his aunt for helping him build his career and teaching him how to handle success, fame, money, and all of their fleeting nature. In this regard, he once told NPR during an interview about Rosemary’s fall from fame due to addiction and mental health issues and noted:

"I had the great vision of watching, especially with Rosemary, how big you can get and how quickly it can be taken away. And it's not like Rosemary became less of a singer in that period of time, which showed me that it has very little to do with you."

Later, George Clooney went on to boast about his aunt’s rise and fall in career and her eventual comeback and told W Magazine that “the best piece of advice I ever received was from my aunt Rosemary,” which was to “never mix grain and grape. No wine, and live, tequila.” He also quipped that he was only seven years old at the time.

Before her death, the aunt-nephew duo appeared together during an episode of ER, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy. Later, she was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

In the aftermath of her demise, George Clooney shared on the Stars in the House show,

“I miss her. She was the fun one in the family.”

The two-time Oscar winner was also one of the pallbearers at Rosemary Clooney’s funeral, and he paid tribute to his aunt by including her iconic song There’s No Business Like Show Business in his December 2002 movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. At the time, he told the Daily Mail:

"She passed away afterward and it's a great thing to be able to do this for her because she was such a huge part of my life."

In 2019, George Clooney also included several of his aunt’s songs in his popular Hulu series Catch-22. Notably, when George proposed to his wife Amal Alamuddin in 2014, he made a playlist for her, which included a few of Rosemary Clooney’s songs, including Why Shouldn’t I.

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In brief, exploring Emma Roberts’ take on nepotism

During her recent appearance on the podcast Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, Emma Roberts got candid about the double standard in Hollywood nepotism. She alleged that the industry treated women unfairly as compared to men.

The Scream Queens star shared that one of her favorite movies was Legally Blonde, as she finds Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle Woods as someone relatable who tried to “defy people’s expectations” much like she had to do in her own career.

“I think as a young woman and growing up, I've felt that way before, where it's like people think you're one thing and won't give you a chance to be something else,” she mentioned.

The 33-year-old further added that, hailing from a well-known family and being the niece of Julia Roberts and the daughter of Eric Roberts, it has been “challenging” for her to navigate Hollywood.

“People definitely have preconceived notions of you. I think there's two sides of the coin. People like to say, ‘Oh, you have a leg up because you have family in the industry.’ But then the other side to that is you have to prove yourself more. Also, if people don't have a good experience being with other people in your family, then you'll never get a chance,” Emma explained.

Roberts then mentioned how people never “eye-roll” George Clooney, even though he is a “nepo baby,” but when a woman like her attains overnight success, they raise a lot of questions.

The Madame Web actress went on to claim:

“I feel like [young girls] get it harder with the nepo baby thing. I don't really see people calling out sons of famous actors. Not that they should be called out. I don't think anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dreams."

Emma Roberts also confessed that she has never asked her aunt or father to “put in a good word for me” or “book things” for her, and added that just like the “wins,” people who come from celebrity families also have to deal with “rejection along the way.”

She explained how she has always been “open” about things, be they successes or failures, and considered it “important” to address the fact the fact that things have not been “great, linear, and easy” for her.