Celebrity Kids Who Didn't Know Their Parents Were Famous

When you’re a celebrity kid with movie star parents, it’s hard to have a normal childhood. After all, with strangers constantly pestering your famous parents for pictures and autographs, it’s not long before you realize your boring mom and dad are actually huge mega stars!

For Alexa Ray Joel — the daughter of musician Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley — for most of her childhood she had no idea her parents were famous.

Christie, Alexa, and Billy in 1988.

“My parents tried to shield me from how famous they were when I was growing up on Long Island,” she told New York magazine back in 2010. “I had no idea [they were famous]. When everybody said ‘Hello, Billy! Hello, Christie!’ — I just thought they were popular.”

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Alexa, 31 — who is a musician just like her dad, and even performed a cover of her father’s song, “Just The Way You Are,” on the Today show in 2016 —
admits that being the daughter of two famous parents has its downsides.

“It’s tough to live in that shadow,” she said. “I’ve been pushing and pulling and I’m still fighting my way out of it.”

“It took me a minute — being the daughter of such iconic figures, it took some growing into,” she said on the Today show. “You’re exposed to the spotlight at such a young age and that, of course, can be challenging… But I made it through.”

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Billy and Christie ended their marriage when Alexa was only 9 years old. Fortunately, her parents still get along and are both supportive of her burgeoning music career.

“I worked a long time to get good at what I’m doing,” she said, “and nobody handed me a recording contract because of who my father is.”

Check out the gallery to see more celebrity kids who had no idea how famous their parents were!

Michael Jackson's son, Prince

Michael's oldest son Prince didn't realize how famous his father was until he saw a video of the King of Pop in action. "We were watching some videos of his performances," Prince said on Good Morning America in 2016. "But what blew my mind was when I saw these big, muscle-bound dudes fainting and having to be dragged out. So, I was like 'OK, there’s something else going on here.'"

Audrey Hepburn's son, Luca

“To me, my mother was Audrey Dotti,” Audrey's youngest son, Luca, said in 2015. “I never realized she was Audrey Hepburn. I didn’t know she was a movie star."

He was even more puzzled when journalists would approach and ask him about "Audrey Hepburn."

“I’d say, ‘I don’t know who you are talking about. You must be mistaken. My mother is called Dotti,’” he said. “I didn’t know she was Audrey Hepburn until I was 6 or so.”

Ricky Martin's twins, Matteo and Valentino

“One day, when I thought that they were big enough, I said, ‘Go to the front of the [stage],’ and they see the lights and the whole spectacle,” Ricky said in 2016. “When the show was over, they came to me and said, ‘Papi, you’re Ricky Martin.’ I said ‘I’m not Ricky Martin, I’m your father.’ They said, ‘No, no, no, you’re Ricky Martin,’ and so it changed.”

Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid's son, Jack

"When I was a kid, I didn't really know having parents that are actors were in any way different from my friends' parents, who were lawyers," Jack said in 2016. "The moment where I realized it was slightly different was when I came to school one day, and I said, 'I was on set.' And they were like, 'You were on set?' I was like, 'Oh, is that a thing?' They were like, 'Yes, it's cool.' I think that was the moment I realized it was slightly different than what most parents do. I had a very normal childhood considering."

Julianne Moore's kids, Liv and Caleb

"A couple of years ago I got an award," Julianne told The Edit back in 2016. "My kids came and they had seen one or two of my movies, but they hadn't seen them all, and they were shocked! Shocked! First of all, they were shocked that I had done so many movies, and then, that I seemed to be doing these outrageous things."

Pamela Anderson's sons, Dylan and Brandon

Because her sons were too young to remember Baywatch, they didn't find out their mom was famous until they were in their teens.

“They came up to me and they said, ‘Mom, are you Pamela Anderson?’ And I said ‘Yeah,'" Pamela said in 2015. "They were like, ‘What is that?’ And, ’Why are people saying these things? Are you Pamela Anderson for real? Like, what is going on?’”