Catherine Zeta-Jones has praised her children, Dylan and Carys, for the determination they have shown while pursuing careers in the family’s acting profession.
Michael Douglas, 82, and Zeta-Jones, 57, have been married since 2000. The couple share son Dylan, 26, and daughter Carys, 23.
After recently criticizing the “horrific” label “nepo baby,” Zeta-Jones has offered a passionate defense of her children’s decision to enter the entertainment industry.
The actress told AARP Magazine that she and Douglas deliberately exposed their children to the tougher realities of Hollywood to determine whether their commitment to acting was genuine.
“We told them all the [Hollywood] horror stories to see if their passion for the art and the craft was genuine,” she said. Zeta-Jones recalled that Dylan and Carys attended every production and theater camp they could, leaving their parents longing for more family time. “Sometimes it was like: ‘Can you just come home from theater camp? Can we have two weeks to see you at the summer break?’”
Despite their parents’ efforts to discourage them, both siblings stayed focused on the stage and screen. Zeta-Jones said they “worked every college film and musical and straight play” while continuing to develop their craft.
Catherine Zeta-Jones, who recently called the phrase “nepo baby” “horrific,” has mounted a spirited defense of her children’s decision to follow her and Michael Douglas into acting.
“We told them all the [Hollywood] horror stories to see if their passion for the art and the craft was genuine,” the Welsh star told AARP Magazine.
Zeta-Jones acknowledged that only a small share of people in the entertainment business can earn a living from their creative work. Still, she said, her children clearly have a genuine love for acting.
“Look at the world and the life that acting has given me. I mean, it’s amazing,” she said. “I would give anybody the opportunity that I’ve had, and they’re loving it, they’re working hard, they’re auditioning and they’re making their way by themselves, their own path. And I’m very proud of them both.”
Dylan and Carys both graduated from Brown University. Dylan studied political science, while Carys earned degrees in film and international relations.
Zeta-Jones was pregnant with Dylan when she married Douglas and was expecting Carys when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago.
In an interview published earlier this month, Zeta-Jones said her children were continuing to “plug away” at acting, while acknowledging how difficult it has been for them to establish themselves independently.
She criticized the backlash surrounding celebrity offspring, telling the Times: “This horrific phrase ‘nepo baby’ is horrible because these kids didn’t ask to be born into this, they’re finding their own way in life.”
She added that Dylan and Carys are talented and committed. “But they love it, and they’re good. Otherwise Michael and I would be the first to go: ‘You know what? Maybe law school looks really good.’”
Douglas also comes from a prominent Hollywood family. He is the son of screen legend Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill, his first wife, who appeared on Days of Our Lives.
Despite their parents’ concerns, Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23, remain committed to pursuing careers in film and theater. They are pictured with their mother in 2019.
Their father, Michael Douglas, 82, has been married to Zeta-Jones since 2000 and is himself the son of Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas. He is pictured with his children in 2024.
Dylan also explored political commentary, a path that culminated in a bruising CNN debate last year with Republican commentator Scott Jennings.
Dylan’s brief venture into political punditry led to a difficult moment last year when he faced Republican commentator Scott Jennings in a heated debate on CNN.
As they argued over which party was responsible for the latest government shutdown, Dylan, who leapt to the Democrats’ defense, was left flummoxed and stuttering in a clip that went viral and brought him in for a deluge of online mockery.
In the wake of their son’s embarrassment, sources claimed that Douglas felt CNN had ‘crossed a line’ and that Zeta-Jones regarded the segment as ‘unfair and exploitative.’
‘Dylan’s never been spoken to like that in his entire life,’ one insider told showbiz reporter Rob Shuter. ‘He’s always been the golden boy — adored, protected. CNN gave him a taste of the real world, and his parents hated every second of it.’
The family were said to have felt the debate was an ambush and a ‘total betrayal,’ and to have vowed they would stop granting interviews to CNN.
Jennings expressed bemusement at their purported outrage, saying he was ‘more than willing to apologize personally to Catherine Zeta-Jones over a nice seafood dinner if she wants to do it,’ on Meghan McCain’s podcast Citizen McCain.
‘Actually, I have to say Dylan was really nice off the air. I think he was honored to be there,’ said Jennings, who served in the George W Bush administration.
