Sofia Coppola’s "Nepo Baby" Says She Was Grounded for Trying to Charter a Helicopter

Sofia Coppola’s daughter, Romy Croquet Mars, has gone viral on social media after sharing a candid video about how she was grounded for trying to charter a helicopter using her father’s credit card. Romy Mars, the 16-year-old daughter of the Oscar-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola and Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars, went viral on social media this week after one of her TikTok videos was reposted to Twitter. In the clip, which has since been viewed more than 1 million times, Romy is seen talking about nepotism as she cooks in her parents’ kitchen.

Mars kicked off the video—later shared to Twitter by user @savbrads—by stating, “Make a vodka sauce pasta with me because I’m grounded.” She then revealed why she had ended up in trouble: “Because 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.” Presumably, once that charge was spotted, the charter was shut down, and the teen was grounded until further notice.

Mars decided to make the most of being cooped up by making her first TikTok: “I thought I would do this since I’m already grounded because my parents’ biggest rule [is] I’m not allowed to have any public social media accounts,” the teen explained, adding, “Here’s why,” as she picked up her dad’s Grammy and flashed it to the camera. “They don’t want me to be a nepotism kid, but TikTok is not gonna make me famous so it doesn’t really matter,” she concluded.

The teen’s video made waves not just for the helicopter charter reveal but for all the fascinating details of her life as the daughter of two stars—such as introducing viewers to Ari, her babysitter’s boyfriend, who Mars refers to as being one-half of her “replacement parents,” because, according to the teen, “my parents are never home.”

“What do you think about the helicopter fiasco?” she asked Ari in the video, who quickly transformed his impromptu cameo into a star moment. “Oh, I like 'fiasca' because it’s like a feminine form of 'fiasco',” he replied, not missing a beat. Despite much criticism that “nepotism babies” – children of famous or successful parents – have received within the last year, many of the Twitter replies applauded Romy’s candid and normal video, despite being one of the few teenagers who could charter helicopters on their father’s credit card if they wanted.

“This is all we want from nepo babies honestly,” said sports host, Tanya Ray Fox. “Other nepo babies plz take notes”.

“Chartering a helicopter from NY to MD for dinner w/ your camp friend is a rad way to get grounded,” said user @BAMpmacdonald. “If more nepotism babies were chaotic and open like this I would forgive almost anything,” tweeted @roeurboat, while another user said: “I’m so sorry, she is hilarious.”

Coppola is no stranger to nepotism herself, as the only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola. She made her screen debut as an infant in her father’s film The Godfather and drew a lot of attention — much of it negative — over the years after she starred as Mary Corleone in the 1990s film, The Godfather Part III. Coppola’s famous family extends beyond her parents and includes her aunt, The Godfather actress Talia Shire, and first cousins, Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman.