Richard Curtis’ writer daughter criticises Kate Winslet’s stance on nepo babies and insists people like her have to ‘literally just step out the door’ to follow in their parents’ footsteps

Writer Scarlett Curtis has criticised Kate Winslet’s stance that her children are not nepo babies, insisting that her own father’s career has given her huge advantages in her work.

Scarlett is the daughter of writer, producer and director Richard Curtis, the man behind some of the most beloved romcoms of the nineties and noughties including Love Actually and Four Weddings And A Funeral.

Scarlett, 30, whose mother is the broadcaster Emma Freud, has written for major TV series The Summer I Turned Pretty and most recently penned the script for the TV adaptation of We Were Liars, based on the 2014 novel of the same name by E. Lockhart.

The young writer has taken umbrage with actress Kate’s recent claim that her children ‘are not getting a leg up’, in defence of her son Joe Anders, 21, who has written the screenplay for his mum’s directorial debut Goodbye June. 

Sharing a clip of Kate’s BBC interview about her children, Scarlett wrote on Instagram: ‘Nepotism is about so much more than hand outs – it’s about growing up in a world that is notoriously hard to penetrate and learning from a young age how to navigate that world.’

‘It’s about not having to get 5 jobs to support your creative dreams. And more than anything it’s about having the confidence to go into a field of work where you’re literally just making s**t up and getting paid for it.’

Referring to Kate’s comment that there are ‘lots and lots of people in the world whose children go into a similar family business,’ Scarlett wrote:  ‘I love her so much but I do hate this s**t.’

‘Doctors and lawyers have to get degrees to follow in their parents footsteps. We have to literally just step out the door.’ 

She added another post, declaring: ‘I would legit teach a class on how to talk about the nepo baby question when it comes up in interviews. If any nepo parents or babies are interested you can email my dad and he’ll pass it onto me.’

Kate has spoken out on nepotism in recent interviews to promote her joint project with son Joe. 

Before writing the script for Kate’s new film, Joe starred alongside his mother in Lee as well as appearing in the Oscar-nominated war film 1917, which was directed by his father Sam Mendes. 

Meanwhile Kate’s eldest child, daughter Mia – whose father is Kate’s first husband, actor Jim Threapleton – is also making a name for herself as an actress, winning acclaim for her role alongside her mother in the BAFTA award-winning domestic drama I Am Ruth.

‘It doesn’t surprise me at all that my children wanted to do something creative with their lives,’ Kate told the BBC.

‘But that doesn’t necessarily translate to being able to actually get jobs and actually gain respect from your peers and people around you. And both of them have separately carved their own paths.’ 

‘Part of it is actually teaching them to ignore the white noise of silly terms like nepo baby, which you can’t really do anything about.’

Scarlett meanwhile has been outspoken about the help her family have given her in her career. 

She got an early taste of the spotlight aged just seven when she landed a cameo in her father’s film Love Actually, as Lobster Number 2 in the school nativity concert. 

She began her writing career as a teen blogger and has written for The Guardian, Elle magazine, The Times and The Telegraph as well as being the Sunday Times Style ‘Gen-Z’ columnist from 2016 to 2018. 

In 2018, Scarlett curated the Sunday Times bestseller Feminists Don’t Wear Pink & Other Lies, a collection of essays by 52 women on what feminism means to them, which featured pieces from family friends and leading ladies from her dad’s movies including Keira Knightley and Emma Thompson. 

A year later she followed up the successful anthology with It’s Not OK to Feel Blue & Other Lies, a collection of essays by 74 people on what mental health means to them.

Scarlett has also acknowledged that her privileged background meant help was available to her in the depths of her battle with her mental health, in a way it may not be to everyone.

‘I went through hell from the ages of 14 to 20, I wouldn’t have wished it on anyone,’ she has explained.

‘But within that, I always had access to treatment, my parents always understood what I was going through, I always had different therapists that I could be trying.’

‘So while what I went through was horrible, it was also defined by my life and my circumstances.’