The Stunning Transformation Of Sofia Coppola's Daughter Romy Mars

Nepo babies are kind of insufferable. After all, they're symbols of privilege, having grown up with wealth and access that make life a breeze. Many of them end up in industry careers without having to do the work of climbing the ladder. That tends to make them kind of unlikable. Unless, of course, you're the ultimate nepo baby — the daughter of film director Sofia Coppola and rock star Thomas Mars.

Technically, Romy Mars is more like a nepo grandbaby, since her grandfather is the lauded filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Perhaps the fact that her mother was, herself, a celebrity child means that Romy has someone who can help her navigate the complicated waters of celebrity with aplomb. That might be why Romy has embraced her nepo baby status with an endearingly winking charm — ironically playing up her famous roots rather than trying to obscure them. "No one gives a s*** that a nepobaby is a nepobaby, only if they are disingenuous about it," wrote one Reddit commenter. "She's so unapologetically herself, it's hard to hate on her." In addition to her burgeoning career as a pop star and actress, Romy has a knack for dryly funny TikTok videos, including ones that rib on nepo baby stereotypes.

Parents Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars have made a clear effort to keep both of their daughters out of the spotlight, which means Romy Mars' early life was largely defined by privacy. "I don't want them ever to be jaded," Coppola told The Guardian in 2017. "I never saw the point of taking little kids to movie premieres and stuff. I just want them to have a childhood."

Although she's since pivoted to a life that's much more in the spotlight, Romy enjoyed a relatively normal childhood — for someone born into a Hollywood dynasty, that is. But that doesn't mean she didn't get any exposure to the lifestyle. Along with her younger sister Cosima, Romy often visited her mother on movie sets. "I think seeing my daughter on set — I have pictures of me sitting on my dad's lap on the set of The Godfather II at that age — it was funny to see my daughter visiting me there," Sofia told the Toronto Star in 2011. That means Romy's early years were shaped by the day-to-day reality of the film industry, rather than the intensity of celebrity. During these years, Romy remained something of an enigma, which really just made her all the more glamorous.

​​After years of intense privacy, at thirteen, Romy Mars burst into the public sphere in the chicest way possible — as a model for Marc Jacobs' teen diffusion line, Heaven. Sofia Coppola has long been a muse and friend to the designer, so Mars' debut felt appropriate, both fresh and nostalgic. She was walking in her mother's footsteps, and it was charming in the same way as nepo babies who wear their mom's iconic dresses.

In the photos, Mars is naturally pretty. The styling emphasizes her youth, with little makeup and slouchy hoodies. "I met you Romy shortly after you were born," wrote Jacobs in the caption of an Instagram carousel of the photos. "It is a beautiful trip watching you grow up and becoming such a cool and beautiful young woman." The photoshoot managed to capture Mars in the twilight of girlhood, like a frame from one of her mother's movies, suggesting that Romy, like other nepo babies, including Nicole Kidman's stunningly transformed daughter, Sunday, had a desire to follow in her mother's famous footsteps.

The next time Romy Mars made headlines, it was as a sixteen-year-old with a shocking TikTok reveal. The teenager filmed herself preparing vodka sauce in her kitchen, a surprisingly intimate pivot after years of privacy. She revealed that she was making a cooking video because she was grounded. "I tried to charter a helicopter from New York to Maryland on my dad's credit card because I wanted to have dinner with my camp friend," she explained. She continued the video by playing up her confusion about the difference between garlic and onions, before explaining the logic behind her abrupt social media debut. "I thought I would do this because my parents' biggest rule is I'm not allowed to have any public social media accounts... because they don't want me to be a nepotism kid."

this tiktok of sofia coppola's daughter... this means so much to me pic.twitter.com/6AQtWNhAgG

— savannah (@savbrads) March 21, 2023

It's clear Mars has a burgeoning humor about her unique privilege, between the onion jokes and the dry reveal of why she was grounded. The video is a funny glimpse behind the curtain of Sofia Coppola's seemingly perfect, chic life. Mars hams it up for the camera like the Gen Z digital native that she is. While it's easy to see why that may be charming, not everyone is a fan. "It tickles me that elegant artsy Sofia has somewhat of a thirsty Insta pick-me daughter," wrote one Reddit commenter.

By 17, Romy Mars launched a pop career, dropping two 2024 singles that blend a sweet pop feel with an indie electronica vibe that her father, Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars, must be proud of. She's also launched a public Instagram account that features selfies with celebrities alongside classic teenage mirror shots, along with plenty of playful references to her celebrity status. One photo captures the blonde teen posing with a city skyline behind her, captioned "start my days up on the roof" —seemingly a reference to the languid privilege of Frank Ocean's song "Super Rich Kids."

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In October 2025, Romy revealed in a TikTok video that she had been invited to speak at UC Berkeley. "Just to give some kind of backstory, the previous speakers for UC Berkeley are the creators of Khan Academy, PayPal, medical chiefs," she explained. "Why? What's going on? I don't even know what you want me to give advice on. I was born into this. I don't have work ethic."

So it's clear that Romy has a well-adjusted perception of herself, and we can't help but love her for it. "Romy is the nepo baby doing it right to be frank," wrote one Reddit commenter. "Making jabs on tiktok about her nepotism, being real about it and not dumbing herself down or cosplaying as poor to seem relatable." Cracking jokes on TikTok and wearing bespoke Chanel looks, easily placing her among the best-dressed nepo babies in Hollywood, sure seems like the life.