The daughter of a legendary singer has claimed that being a nepo baby ‘doesn’t help you much’ after landing her first leading role in a feature film aged 22.
Her famous mother shot to fame as the lead singer of the band The Sugarcubes in the late 1980s.
She later embarked on a successful solo career, with her hits ‘Debut’ and ‘Post’.
Beyond her music, she’s also known for her stand-out fashion sense and acting roles, including her performance in the film Dancer in the Dark.
Over her four-decade-long career, she has earned 15 Grammy nominations and received Iceland’s prestigious Order of the Falcon – the country’s only order of chivalry.
But can you guess who this nepo baby is with the famous parent?
The daughter of a legendary singer has claimed that being a nepo baby ‘doesn’t help you much’ after landing her first leading role in a feature film aged 22 – but can you guess who it is?
It’s Isadora Bjarkardottir Barney, the daughter of Icelandic singer Bjork!
London-born Isadora, whose father is the American artist Matthew Barney, has been cast as the lead in the new drama, The Mountain.
But despite her A-list roots, Isadora – who is studying performance at Central Saint Martins in London – says her surname hasn’t made things as easy as people might think.
‘I have the benefit of their direct support as experienced veterans in their fields, which I am so, so lucky to have,’ she said.
‘They’re the first people I come to, if I have an idea for a script or a project. They have so much guidance to offer.
‘But then there is the other kind of benefit that disguises itself as a benefit but doesn’t really serve you, which is nepotism.
‘Financially, sure, it can get you super far, but in terms of one’s own personal journey – uncovering how I see the world, how I relate to it and how I’d like to share that with people as an artist – it doesn’t help you very much.’
Isadora, who grew up between New York and Reykjavik following her parents’ split in 2013, also said that public assumptions about her background can get in the way.
It’s Isadora Bjarkardottir Barney, the daughter of Icelandic singer Bjork (pictured in 2023)
London-born Isadora, whose father is the American artist Matthew Barney, has been cast as the lead in the new drama, The Mountain (Matthew pictured with ex Bjork in 2006)
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, she said: ‘People have preconceived ideas about me, based on what they think they know about my family.
‘I hope I don’t sound bitter, because it’s such a gift. I just mean that it’s a challenge discerning what’s what. But you get pretty good at it, eventually.’
In The Mountain, Isadora plays Anna, a teenage musician trying to keep her life together following the sudden death of her mother – while navigating grief, early pregnancy, and a strained relationship with her father.
The film marks her first time in a lead role, and she also contributed to the music.
The role came to her by chance, after a former crew member she’d worked with on a TV series remembered she had acted before.
‘I went over for coffee and we did some scenes and I brought some demos for music and we just flew from there,’ she said.
‘It felt like a dream, really. It kind of came out of nowhere – it was wild.’
She played a small role – a singing Viking slave – in the 2022 film, The Northman, which starred her mother Bjork, Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, and Anya Taylor-Joy.
But Isadora says her new role gave her the space to really develop her skills as a performer.
London-born Isadora, whose father is the American artist Matthew Barney, has been cast as the lead in the new drama, The Mountain
Isadora said she was drawn to the role because of how emotionally complex the character was
‘I definitely felt on set, ‘wow, this is really forming me as a collaborator’,’ she said.
‘The first few weeks I was maybe a little shy, kind of nodding my head and saying, ‘sure, I’ll stand here and say that’. Eventually, I started to take up more space.’
Isadora said she was drawn to the role because of how emotionally complex the character was.
‘I think Anna’s teetering carefully on multiple precipices,’ she explained.
‘Journeys of grief, of adulthood, of both motherhood and losing a mother, of being a daughter in this new way, of being an artist. It’s a lot of big firsts being opened up to her.’
And while she admits she’s benefited from having two parents with decades of creative experience – calling them her ‘first people to come to’ with new ideas – Isadora is clear that she’s carving her own path.
‘There isn’t a career path that’s pre-written if you’re committed to a life in the arts,’ she said.
‘Even if you are making the right decision, it doesn’t always feel that way. And that’s comforting.’
