Mel B's daughter Phoenix reveals why she's made a documentary exposing all the injustices of fame
- UK music legend Mel B's daughter Phoenix starred in a new Channel 4 doc
- READ MORE: Nepo babies have never faced 'so much hate', claims Mel B's daughter
Like any fully fledged ‘nepo baby’ – the term used for celebrity children who’ve been given a leg up on the career ladder by virtue of their famous parents – when Phoenix Brown decided to make a documentary about the phenomenon she was given her own show by Channel 4, a 45-minute documentary called Born In The Limelight: Nepo Babies.
Thankfully Phoenix, 25, the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B and dancer Jimmy Gulzar, has a humility about her as she explores this rarefied world. Not only do we see how lucky she’s been, but also the dark side of growing up in the limelight.
‘Having a famous parent has definitely opened doors for me, I don’t think I’d be making this documentary without it,’ she says. ‘But with that privilege comes a lot of scrutiny.’
Of course, nepotism has always been around, but there are few places where it’s more visible than in arts and entertainment, even more so today when anyone can become a celebrity regardless of talent.
To test exactly what sort of advantages nepo babies get, Phoenix embarks on an experiment where she pretends to become an artist.
Brooklyn Beckham, son of David and Spice Girl Victoria, had a brief career as a photographer (including a much-derided book of photos), Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s son Rocco’s art has featured in his father’s films and Bear Grylls’s son Jesse is making a living as an artist.
Phoenix, who admits she has no artistic talent, prepares for her first exhibition to see how far her inherited fame will take her. She spends a few hours creating extremely adolescent pieces before an art valuer comes and announces her paintings are ‘fantastic’ and that she should charge up to £2,000 for the bigger ones.
When news of Phoenix’s debut exhibition is reported online she’s shocked by the negativity of the readers’ comments, some of which focus on the fact she was a chubby child. Phoenix likens it to being bullied at school.
Phoenix, who admits she has no artistic talent, prepares for her first exhibition to see how far her inherited fame will take her. Pictured with her mother
Phoenix (pictured), 25, the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B and dancer Jimmy Gulzar, has a humility about her as she explores this rarefied world
Phoenix would be the first to admit she had a very different upbringing from her working-class mother
Of course, nepotism has always been around, but there are few places where it’s more visible than in arts and entertainment, even more so today when anyone can become a celebrity regardless of talent. Mel B and her daughter in a campaign together
Phoenix has a transatlantic twang having lived half her life in a mansion in LA, and she has her mum’s celebrity friends on speed dial. Pictured as a child with her famous mother Mel B in London
‘They try to insult you. It’s crazy they know so much about me. I was fat as a kid and really insecure about it,’ she says. ‘At school I was bullied to the point where I had no friends. There was a club after school called the “Hate Phoenix Club”. I obviously wasn’t invited. It’s hard growing up like that. Your confidence is shot at a young age.’
At the same time she meets struggling 22-year-old artist Betty Ogun, a graduate of the renowned Slade School Of Art who has been unable to sell any of her work and is thousands of pounds in debt.
The art industry is almost completely dominated by privilege, with only 8 per cent of artists coming from working-class backgrounds. Betty’s experience shows what it can be like if you have no connections or money.
Phoenix and Betty then both write to the same art institutions asking for an internship. Phoenix describes herself as ‘the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B’ while Betty tells of her lifelong love for the medium and her training. Then they wait for the replies.
The backlash against nepo babies began when a Twitter user coined the phrase in 2022 referring to Euphoria actress Maude Apatow, whose parents are director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann. That sparked a huge online debate about the trend, before New York Magazine published an extensive list of nepo babies.
The documentary aims to explore the broader issue of inequality in society.
To test exactly what sort of advantages nepo babies get, Phoenix embarks on an experiment where she pretends to become an artist
Phoenix (pictured as a baby with her mother) admits, ‘My mum’s awesome but I don’t know anything different, so I can’t compare
Brooklyn Beckham , son of David and Spice Girl Victoria, had a brief career as a photographer (including a much-derided book of photos)
Madonna and Guy Ritchie ’s son Rocco’s art has featured in his father’s films. Pictured with his mother
Bear Grylls ’s son Jesse is making a living as an artist. Pictured next to his survival celebrity father
‘One study found only one in five 18 to 24-year-olds think every young person in the UK has the same opportunity to succeed, and I’m sure this feeds into the frustration levelled at nepo babies,’ says Phoenix. ‘I hope this will be a good eye-opener.’
Phoenix would be the first to admit she had a very different upbringing from her working-class mother, who grew up in Leeds and describes in the documentary how the Spice Girls would have to wait for hours outside record companies just to be heard.
In contrast, Phoenix has a transatlantic twang having lived half her life in a mansion in LA, and she has her mum’s celebrity friends on speed dial.
Phoenix admits, ‘My mum’s awesome but I don’t know anything different, so I can’t compare. I’m proud of what she’s achieved, and it’s helped me build my career as a DJ. The term nepo baby has gone viral in that time. This industry is full of them, and the press and public are obsessed with us.’
She describes how she asked 90 fellow nepo babies to appear, and only one agreed. Jack Keating, the son of Boyzone star Ronan and his model first wife Yvonne Connolly, appeared on Love Island and is now a radio DJ – a job he admits he got with the help of his dad. Phoenix and Jack met when their parents were judges on Australia’s X Factor.
Jack admits the first time he realised his upbringing was different was when he flew on a plane that wasn’t a private jet. ‘I was used to private jets, but once we got a normal flight. I said, “Dad, how come there’s other people on our plane?” He said, “You are cut off from normal life.”
‘But when you get older you see the darkness behind the scenes. When my parents got divorced it was tough. I was 13 or 14 and there were paparazzi outside the house for two weeks. You feel like other people’s property.’
Phoenix, whose mother had a romance with Eddie Murphy that ended in a paternity battle over her second daughter and was then in an abusive relationship with her husband of ten years, producer Stephen Belafonte, agrees being in the public eye has been hard. After her mother split from Belafonte she says there were a lot of inappropriate comments, ‘even from teachers. There was no line.’
The two agree it’s hard to tell if people really want to befriend you. ‘There are people who want to hang out with you but don’t really care about you,’ says Jack.
Jack admits he’s the only one doing his job who didn’t go to university – he dropped out after three months – but insists, ‘If you were c*** on air, they wouldn’t put you on. Being a nepo baby can get you in the right doors but if you’re not charismatic you’ll get caught out pretty quickly.’
That theory is tested in the show when Phoenix’s exhibition opening arrives. Even without any Spice Girls (they sent a note wishing her luck) she gets a smattering of Love Island and The Only Way Is Essex ‘celebrities’ to attend and she sells more than £5,000 of her art.
When she goes back to meet Betty she finds that, while Phoenix had three replies to requests for an internship, Betty had none. ‘That showed how hard it can be,’ says Phoenix. ‘Everyone deserves a shot, no matter what your background is; if you have talent it should be acknowledged.’
Finally, with just a touch of nepo baby attitude, Phoenix reveals making the documentary has made her want to do more television. ‘Presenting is something I’m striving for,’ she admits. ‘It’s on my bingo card for 2025. DJing and music is in my blood but I enjoyed presenting.’
And who would bet against this nepo baby being successful?
Born In The Limelight: Nepo Babies, Wednesday, 15 January, 12.05am, Channel 4.
