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Nepotism. In politics it’s a dirty word, cousin to cronyism. In business it’s often tolerated, but kept on the quiet side, as if there were something slightly shameful about giving a job to a relative. But Hollywood is another story. The movie and TV biz can seem a vast constellation of nepotism, a starry night of the relatives and friends of successful actors, directors, and moguls, many in plain sight.

Struggling thespians might begrudge the plum opportunities provided to the offspring of the already famous and powerful in Hollywood, but the public’s reaction generally ranges from not giving a hoot to being… intrigued. Did Meryl Streep’s daughters inherit her talent? Will the career of Emma Roberts sizzle or fizzle? How about Colin Hanks? The odds a person 12 or older has gone to the movies in the past three months are 1 in 1.69 (59%); perhaps we’re so deeply invested in our celluloid celebrities that it’s only natural we should be interested in the fruits of their off-screen labor as well.

You find these fruits everywhere you look. The big question about the upcoming biopic Soul Surfer will be whether country singer Carrie Underwood can act, but peer more closely at the cast list and you’ll see some equally famous and much more screen-weathered names, including Nicholson and Brosnan. Just don’t be expecting a Chinatown sequel or a 007 retread. We’re talking Hollywood offspring here, in the persons of Jack Nicholson’s daughter Lorraine and Pierce Brosnan’s son Sean.

Some family connections are less obvious and more surprising. Sean Astin, best known as Sam Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is the son of 1960s TV princess Patty Duke. Christian Bale is feminist icon Gloria Steinem’s stepson. House’s Olivia Wilde is the daughter of writer/producer Andrew Cockburn. And talk about luck: Christian Slater is the son of casting agent Mary Jo Slater. (The odds an employed person 16 or older in California is an agent or business manager of artists, performers, or athletes are 1 in 4,249, compared to just 1 in 11,160 nationwide.)

Being a starchild isn’t always a charm. Another member of the Brosnan brood, Pierce's adopted son Chris, who's also gone into the family business, claims a blood pedigree as well: his uncle was Irish acting legend Richard Harris. This double blessing hasn’t kept him out of trouble with drugs and the law (Among other incidents, he was arrested in London in 2004 for stealing cell phones). The saga of Christian Brando, Marlon’s son, who died at 49 after a sorrow-streaked life, does not make for happy reading. On the other hand, Kate Hudson, Jeff Bridges, Angelina Jolie, and many others with a big-time actor parent seem to be doing just fine, thank you very much.

Children of legendary Hollywood pairings have a mixed record too. Isabella Rossellini, daughter of Ingrid Bergman and famed director Roberto Rossellini, has enjoyed a successful career as a model, actress, and activist. Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland and director Vincent Minnelli, has experienced perhaps equal measures of outsized success and tabloid-worthy trouble.

As for All in the Family itself (to get back to the title of this article), the legendary sitcom featured funnyman Carl Reiner’s son Rob as Mike “Meathead” Stivic. Reiner fils, of course, went on, sans toupee, to enormous success behind the camera, directing films like Stand By Me, which featured the young Kiefer Sutherland (son of Donald), and When Harry Met Sally…, with Carrie Fisher (daughter of Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher) in the “best friend” role. The erstwhile Princess Leia has certainly had her ups and downs, and lived to laugh about them in her hit Broadway show Wishful Drinking. “You can't find any true closeness in Hollywood,” she is reported to have quipped, “because everybody does the fake closeness so well.” All in the family indeed.