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Meet Romy Mars, the internet’s new favourite nepo baby: Sofia Coppola’s teen daughter went viral for her controversial TikTok, and has already starred in a Marc Jacobs campaign

Romy Croquet Mars is the latest nepo baby to go viral – but did her TikTok video show cinematic promise? Photo: @themarcjacobs/Instagram
The heated conversation surrounding “nepo babies” – celebrity children who are afforded more opportunities than their industry peers by virtue of their familial connections – continues to rage in 2023.
Sofia Coppola and Romy Mars attend the Marc Jacobs autumn 2020 runway show during New York Fashion Week in February 2020, in New York City. Photo: Getty Images

Social media was abuzz last week when Romy Mars, the 16-year-old daughter of Sofia Coppola and Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars, revealed on TikTok she was grounded for trying to charter a helicopter ride on her dad’s credit card from New York to Maryland to meet up with her “camp friend”.

Romy shared she is prohibited from having any public social media accounts lest she might be labelled a “nepotism kid”.

Romy then attempted to make vodka pasta while humorously claiming she doesn’t know the difference between an onion and garlic. She introduced her babysitter’s boyfriend, joking they are her “replacement parents” since her real parents are never home.

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So who is Romy Mars, and will she pursue a career in fashion, film – or both?

She has already fronted a Marc Jacobs campaign

Romy Mars starring in a Marc Jacobs campaign in October 2020. Photo: @themarcjacobs/Instagram
Mars was only 13 when she starred in a fashion campaign for Marc Jacobs’ teenage diffusion line, Heaven by Marc Jacobs, in 2020.

The campaign was arguably bound to happen given her actress/filmmaker mum Sofia Coppola was Marc Jacobs’ ultimate muse. According to Harper’s Bazaar, Coppola met Jacobs when he was designing for Perry Ellis in the 90s. She has since collaborated with him multiple times by appearing in his fashion and fragrance campaigns.

Coppola also has a history working in fashion. In her teenage years, she interned at Chanel under the tutelage of the label’s late creative director, Karl Lagerfeld. Last year, she directed the trailer for Chanel’s Cruise 2022-23 show. In 2017, she directed a Cartier commercial featuring the 1980s Panthère jewellery watch, according to The New York Times.

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Her parents have kept her away from the spotlight

Romy Mars and Sofia Coppola arrive at the Marc Jacobs fashion show at the Park Avenue Armory in February 2020, in New York City. Photo: GC Images

Coppola is very private about her kids. In 2017, she opened up to The Guardian saying she wants to make sure that her career won’t affect Romy and her sister Cosima’s childhood.

But in 2020, Romy made a surprise appearance at Marc Jacobs’ autumn runway show during New York Fashion Week. Some believe that Coppola might have brought Romy to give her fashion exposure.

Her mum is a also a nepo baby

Writer/director Sofia Coppola attends a Focus Features lunch and studio programme celebrating 15 years during CinemaCon at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in March 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: AFP

Sofia’s father is Francis Ford Coppola, a legend in Hollywood. He has received five Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and two Palmes d’Or, per Grazia. Known for directing Hollywood hits such as The Godfather trilogy, he has an estimated net worth of US$400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

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Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola and Eleanor Coppola. Photo: WireImage

Sofia’s mother, Eleanor Coppola, is also a documentary filmmaker. She directed the 1991 film Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, which chronicles the struggle of her husband as he was directing Apocalypse Now.

Robert Coppola Schwartzman (far left), Gia Coppola (in yellow), Eleanor Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola (green shirt) attend the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted in Beverly Hills. Photo: Getty
Her siblings Gian-Carlo Coppola and Roman Coppola, and niece Gia Coppola, are all filmmakers, while her aunt Talia Shire is an actress who stars in the Rocky series and in The Godfather films. Sofia’s cousin is also actor Nicolas Cage.

As the daughter of an acclaimed filmmaker and a Grammy-award winning musician, Romy’s more than ready to break out in the industry.

She lives in New York

Romy Mars is the daughter of two Hollywood celebrities. Photo: @themarcjacobs/Instagram
Per L’Officiel US, Romy Mars was born in Paris. In 2010, the family relocated to their West Village town house in New York City.

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Her TikTok showed “filmmaking potential”

Although her TikTok appeared to be out of touch (casually telling people you tried to book a helicopter ride isn’t exactly ‘down to earth’), users found her clip fascinating. Not only did it offer a glimpse of her wealthy and privileged life, but many described Mars’ video as “cinematic” and one user even called her “the greatest Coppola”.

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  • Romy Mars went viral on TikTok for trying to charter a helicopter from New York to Maryland on her dad – Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars’ – credit card, giving a glimpse into her privileged life
  • She’s got more famous family members – her mum Sofia Coppola has directed films for Cartier and Chanel and counts Nicolas Cage as a cousin, while her grandad Francis Ford produced The Godfather