The “nepo baby” discourse has exploded in recent years, as the children of famous actors who’ve followed their parents into the industry have come under a lot of scrutiny. Many believe that these second-generation stars have been given an unfair advantage simply because of Hollywood’s inherent nepotism — a privilege that some nepo babies admit but others resent.
For Tessa Gourin, however, having a famous father only made her life and career as an actress even more taxing. Although he has never publicly acknowledged her as his child, Gourin is the daughter of acting legend Jack Nicholson, the result of a fling he had with her mother — at the time, a young waitress working in New York — in 1993.
Tessa Gourin and Jack Nicholson’s relationship, explained
Nicholson, who has famously had one of the most storied and busiest love lives in Hollywood history, has fathered six children by five different women. He may only count the number as five, however, as he does not seem to consider Tessa his daughter. Jeanine Gourin, now a former real estate agent, had a brief romance with Nicholson and their daughter, Tessa, was born on Aug. 15, 1994.
Gourin’s connection to Nicholson was not widely known to the public until she went viral in the fall of 2022 for publicly calling out Lily-Rose Depp for complaining about the negativity surrounding her nepo baby status. “Things could be worse girl trust me!!” Gourin wrote on her Instagram stories. “I’d be thrilled to use my ‘nepo baby’ title (that I can’t claim bc it isn’t considered ‘legitimate’) if it meant I could get in the room and showcase my talent and craft. Do you know how hard it is to even get an audition?! Let alone an agent/manager?!”
Soon after, Newsweek published an article written by Gourin herself titled ‘I’m Jack Nicholson’s Daughter—I Wish People Could Call Me a Nepo Baby.’ In her essay, the then-28-year-old wrote: “Having grown up without my father, I’ve sat on the sidelines and watched in frustration as other celebrity children have seamlessly secured roles or been signed to huge agencies. More recently, I have grown even more frustrated at what I think is a missed opportunity for these so-called ‘nepo babies’ to own their position and embrace it instead of complaining about it.”
Gourin — whose IMDb page currently lists three credits — went viral again in February 2023 when she shared her life story with The Daily Beast. The actress revealed how she had grown up in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in a two-bedroom apartment with her mother and half-brother. She was under strict instruction to keep her father’s identity a secret.
“From a very young age, my mother told me not to tell anyone that I have this famous dad,” Gourin revealed. “I knew he was powerful and Daddy Warbucks-level rich, so I kind of equated my life to being like Orphan Annie’s.”
Gourin had a lifelong passion for acting — a letter she wrote in Kindergarten and shared on Instagram sees her proclaim “When I grow up, I want to be actress and I will be in the movies,” noting that she specifically wants to be in “scary movies.” Fitting for the daughter of the star of The Shining. “I’ve wanted to act my entire life,” she told Daily Beast, but unfortunately for Gourin her mother forbade it.
“My mom wouldn’t let me act when I was younger, and I can respect that, but I’m like, ‘F*ck, I would have killed it,’” she explained. Nevertheless, as an adult, Gourin has embarked on the career, although it has proven difficult to land her big break. She opened up to Daily Beast:
‘I was afraid people would think I was tacky or that I was riding off his coattails. But this person doesn’t want me in his life, so how would you use that to your benefit?’
Although allegedly reluctant to have any kind of relationship with her, at the insistence of Gourin’s mother she would spend “between one hour and a couple of days” with Nicholson on occasion, but a bond was never formed. “I don’t know this person very well, we’ll just say that,” she summarized. Nicholson did pay for her private school education, but Gourin admits that she didn’t get the “full benefit” of the experience as her “home life wasn’t great” and so she “acted out.”
Despite their complicated relationship, Gourin has a lot of respect for Nicholson as a performer. “I really want this to come across: If I were to discredit anything about his acting, then that wouldn’t make me an artist, because making art and being the world’s greatest dad are not the same thing,” she declared to Daily Beast.
“I’m also f*cking crazy,” she joked. “I’m not the poster child for sanity, and I do think that’s a little similar to my dad, from what I’ve read.”
