HARD LINE

‘SNL’ Icon’s Daughter Reveals Dad’s Strict Rule About Hollywood

The star hasn’t broken the rule for any of his 10 children.

Nepo babies may be commonplace in Hollywood, but one star’s kids won’t be joining in until they’re old enough to vote.

Eddie Murphy’s daughter, actress Bella Murphy, 24, told People that her famous dad has never wavered on his one strict rule, even though it only made her more “obsessed” with becoming an actress.

“I would always ask my dad, ‘Can I please be an extra in this movie, please?’ He’d always say, ‘No’,” Murphy told the site. “Because we have a rule that we can’t act or work until we’re 18 in this industry, so he really wanted me to have a normal childhood, which I’m very appreciative of.”

She added, “That kind of made me even more obsessed with it, because I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t do it now. So by the time that I am able to do it, I want to be as prepared as possible.’”

Now that she’s finally of age, Murphy stars in the Netflix film, Roommates, as part of a cast full of nepo babies, including Chris Rock’s daughter, Zahra Rock, 21, Martin Scorsese’s daughter, Francesca Scorsese, 26, Adam Sandler’s daughter, Sadie Sandler, 20, and Laura Dern’s daughter, 21. Murphy made her first on-screen appearance alongside her dad in his 2021 sequel, Coming 2 America.

Murphy said he didn’t work his star power to get Bella the role. “She had to audition for Craig Brewer, who directed the movie,” Murphy said on Good Morning America at the time. “I wasn’t musclin’ my kid into the movie. She had to really be able to, you know, to deliver. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gotten the role.”

Bella, the youngest of five children Murphy shares with his ex-wife, Nicole Mitchell, is just one of his children who are following in his footsteps. Bria Murphy, 36, Christian Murphy, 35, and Eric Murphy, 36, have all taken on roles in prominent projects. Shayne Murphy, 31, appeared on the ABC reality competition show Claim to Fame. Shayne told Entertainment Weekly that her dad is “very supportive of everything that I do” and watched the show in real-time.

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Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

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