When she wasn’t appearing alongside her mother on Sarah Palin’s Alaska, “Bristol the Pistol” was hoofing it on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, finishing in a strong third place despite weeks of subpar scores from the judges. Whether it was a Tea Party conspiracy or just Palin family chutzpah, Bristol’s got more up her sleeve. If she’s not accompanying her mom on a presidential campaign next year, she’ll be up to something else. Bristol told People that DWTS “gave me a lot more confidence… there’s a lot of things I want to accomplish.”
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When this pint-size daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith whipped her hair back and forth, the whole world whipped with her. Willow, who turned 10 this year, scored a record deal with Jay-Z’s label, and her breakout single “Whip My Hair” was a sensation right out of the box. The track climbed to No. 11 on the Billboard charts, and its accompanying album is already in the works. Her superstar parents have been supportive, appearing with her on Oprah and on the set of her music video, where mom Jada, in a major understatement, said, “We are really proud of Willow.”
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While his big sister was off climbing the pop charts, Jaden Smith didn’t waste any time getting his own career off the ground. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s son, who turned 12 in July, starred in one of the summer’s biggest surprise hits, The Karate Kid, which kicked up more than $350 million worldwide. Smith also found time to record the hit song “ Never Say Never” with fellow young star Justin Bieber and made a cameo in Willow’s hit video for “Whip My Hair.” Next up: a role in M. Night Shyamalan’s next thriller—and a rumored collaboration with his little sister in the graphic novel adaptation Amulet.
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She’s got a long way to go before she can upstage her mother, but Madonna’s daughter Lourdes had no problem grabbing attention this fall. After drawing compliments for her retro fashion sense at red-carpet events, the 14-year-old launched her own clothing line, Material Girl, and started a successful fashion blog. The collection, designed with her mother and infused with flashbacks to Madonna’s own 1980s looks, is sold exclusively for Macy’s, whose CEO called the label a “ home run” for the company.
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Lenny is no longer Hollywood’s most visible Kravitz: his daughter Zoe (her mother is Cosby star Lisa Bonet) was all over the big screen in 2010, starring in It’s Kind of a Funny Story with Zach Galifianakis, Beware the Gonzo, which she promoted at the Tribeca Film Festival, and Twelve. She’s also gearing up for a big 2011, with a turn as a mutant hero in the anticipated prequel X-Men: First Class. As if that weren’t enough, Zoe has also ventured into her father’s area of expertise, fronting a band called Elevator Fight.
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Georgia Jagger, daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, scored two major campaigns in 2010, becoming the face of both Versace and Chanel. Successful as she may be, though, the 18-year-old isn’t out of Mick’s jurisdiction yet: She was grounded when she broke her curfew last spring, but skipped town instead to walk in Chanel’s 2011 cruise show in St. Tropez.
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With her constant stream of publicity-grabbing antics (the latest being her videotaped salvia bong hit), it can be easy to forget that Miley has a father who’s also famous. This year alone, Miley, who’s the daughter of “Achy Breaky Heart” crooner Billy Ray Cyrus, released a big album, Can’t Be Tamed and made her first major big-screen role aside from her Hannah Montana gigs with The Last Song. Never mind that critics called her “stiff” and “unconvincing.”
Joel Ryan / AP Photo
Frances Bean, the daughter of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, came into adulthood this year in an encouragingly well-adjusted state. After turning 18 last summer, Bean legally emancipated herself from her mother, whose alarming behavior had included threatening tweets telling Frances that she had “done a damned good job… destroying anything I could build that is positive.” Off on her own—and using the alias Fiddle Tim—Bean put on her own art show in L.A., dismissing questions about her mother as “irrelevant to the work.”
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Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s little girl is all grown up. Rocker Osbourne and Sharon have seen their daughter, Kelly, go through a major transition in the last year. She is rocking a new, slimmer, body after her stint on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, dropping 50 pounds overall. The 26-year-old also dumped her fiancé, Luke Worrall, after he cheated on her. Professionally, Kelly just filmed her first movie, Marc Bennett’s comedy Should Have Been Romeo, and will film another, So Undercover, with Miley Cyrus, next year. Kelly is also a regular commentator alongside Joan Rivers on E!’s Fashion Police.
Chris Pizzello / AP Photo
Eight-year-old Romeo, son of David and Victoria Beckham, is spreading his entrepreneurial wings. The middle son in the Beckham clan is starting his own line of designer sunglasses in September, following in his mother’s fashionista footsteps. And who else will display such stylish shades but Romeo’s young celebrity friends such as Suri Cruise and Heidi Klum’s daughter, Leni.
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