Barron Trump: College or gap year? Other class of 2024 celebrity grads, 'nepo babies'
High school, check. Next up? College.
Like thousands of children across the U.S., Barron Trump, the only child of former president Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, received his high school diploma and was branded part of the class of 2024. Barron Trump graduated May 17, 2024, from Oxbridge Academy near West Palm Beach, Florida, and both parents attended.
Will Barron Trump go to college? Will the 6-foot-7 former first son take a gap year? The former first couple has not said much. One possibility could be New York University in Manhattan, where Barron Trump spent much of his childhood — and lived until his father was sworn in as the 45th president in early 2017.
As of Friday, June 14, it has not been announced where Barron Trump will attend college, but, like many other celebrity children or "nepo babies" ? a shortened slang term (aka "nepotism baby") used to describe children or relatives of celebrities or famous people ? people are curious about their future and whether they'll follow in their famous parents' footsteps.
Here's a look at other class of 2024 celebrity children and where they're headed to college in fall 2024. Keep scrolling for a roundup of class of 2024 celebrity children or celebrity college graduates, too. Some of the famous people listed have a Florida tie.
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Suri Cruise, daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
Suri Cruise, the only child of Tom Cruise ("Mission Impossible" films, "Top Gun Maverick") and Katie Holmes ("Dawson's Creek," "Batman Begins"), graduated from LaGuardia High School in June 2024.
According to an E! Online story on June 7, 2024, speculation on where Suri Cruise plans to go to college surfaced after a classmate posted a TikTok on May 20 with the caption "LaG commitment day," showing Suri and her friends celebrating their school picks and showing off their college sweaters. E! Online reports the video, which is private, was set to the Hannah Montana song "I'll Always Remember You" and featured the 18-year-old "sporting a red Carnegie Mellon University sweater while making silly faces for the camera and doing a cute dance with her friends."
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were married from 2006 to 2012. Cruise, who has two other adult children (Isabella Cruise and Connor Cruise) with ex-wife Nicole Kidman, has had a condo in Florida for many years.
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Ryder Fieri, son of Food Network star Guy Fieri
Ryder Fieri, the youngest son of Food Network star Guy Fieri ("Guy's Grocery Games," "Tournament of Champions") and his wife, Lori, graduated from Windsor High School in Windsor, California, in June 2024.
Ryder Fieri played basketball and lacrosse for the Windsor Jaguars, according to maxpreps.com. His celebrity chef father, Guy Fieri, complimented his son on his sports achievements and GPA in an Instagram post ? and some famous people responded to the news, including Sammy Hagar, Iron Chefs Alex Guarnaschelli and Michael Symon.
Since 2021, Food Network star Guy Fieri doubled down on South Florida, purchasing homes in Lake Worth Beach and on Singer Island near West Palm Beach. In September 2023, the Palm Beach Post reported Fieri, who signed an $80 million, three-year deal with the Food Network in 2021, is a frequent visitor to Palm Beach County, but it was unclear whether he planned to make the area his full-time residence. He told the Bradenton Herald in 2021 that his family would stay in Northern California at least until his youngest son Ryder finished high school.
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Justin Pippen, son of Chicago Bulls star, NBA legend Scottie Pippen
Justin Pippen, the youngest son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen and Larsa Pippen, graduated from Sierra Canyon High School in California in May 2024.
Scottie Pippen, a seven-time NBA All-Star (including six with the Chicago Bulls), posted on Instagram about his son Justin Pippen, who played guard for his high school basketball team, calling himself a "proud dad." In an April 2024 story on espn.com, Justin Pippen formally committed to Michigan and will become a Wolverine in the fall. Justin Pippen chose new coach Dusty May and the Wolverines over a final list that included Cal, the University of Florida Gators, Stanford and Texas A&M, ESPN reported.
Violet Affleck, daughter of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
Violet Affleck, the eldest child of Ben Affleck (DC's "Justice League," "Armageddon") and Jennifer Garner ("13 Going on 30," "Family Switch"), graduated from a Los Angeles-area high school on May 30, 2024.
The class of 2024 student, whose siblings are Seraphina and Samuel, looks like she's headed to Yale, according to a public post on her school's Instagram, in which Violet Affleck is seen wearing the Ivy League college sweater.
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Moses Martin, son of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
Moses Martin, the youngest child of Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow ("Iron Man" and "Avengers" films) and Coldplay's Chris Martin, graduated from high school on May 30, 2024.
The class of 2024 graduate has an older sister, Apple Martin. According to thecut.com, Moses Martin is headed to Brown University.
Henry Samuel, son of Heidi Klum and Seal
Henry Samuel, the eldest son of actress and Victoria Secret supermodel Heidi Klum ("America's Got Talent," "Project Runway") and singer Seal, graduated from Pacifica Christian High School in Santa Monica, California, on June 7, 2024.
Klum posted videos on her Instagram congratulating the 18-year-old class of 2024 student, who has a half-sister Leni Klum, and siblings Johan Samuel and Lou Samuel. Klum's caption says, "College here we come," though she did not specify which university Henry Samuel had picked.
Shepherd Seinfeld, son of Jessica and Jerry Seinfeld
Shepherd Seinfeld, the youngest son of Jessica Seinfeld and comedian Jerry Seinfeld ("Seinfeld," "Unfrosted"), graduated from high school June 10, 2024.
The class of 2024 graduate has siblings Sascha Seinfeld and Julian Seinfeld. While she didn't mention college plans for her youngest son, Jessica Seinfeld did post on Instagram her retro graduation gift to Shepherd Seinfeld: a flip phone.
Class of 2024 celebrity children college graduates
Celebrities are just like us! Who says famous parents with children can’t be excited or get the “empty nester” feeling when their child graduates from college? Here’s a roundup of class of 2024 college graduates: celebrity children or “nepo baby” edition.
Nikko Gonzalez, son of journalist Lauren Sanchez (soon to be Mrs. Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men on the planet) and her ex, former NFL player Tony Gonzalez, graduated from college in May 2024. Sanchez, Bezos and Tony Gonzalez attended the commencement ceremony. Bezos and Sanchez moved to Florida, with multiple properties in Indian Creek Village, a private neighborhood known as "Billionaire Bunker." In 2023, USA TODAY reported Bezos said he wanted to live in Miami to be closer to his parents and the Cape Canaveral operations of Blue Origin, his space exploration company.
Karma Bridges, daughter of actor and rapper Ludacris, real name Chris Bridges, graduated from Spelman College in May 2024. Ludacris, who appeared in several of the “Fast and Furious” films over the years, posted on Instagram about his daughter’s college graduation, adding in the caption: “Make sure you add Summa Cum Laude”
Liv Freundlich, daughter of Academy Award-winning actress Julianne Moore (“Still Alice,” “The Kids are All Right”) and director Bart Freundlich, graduated from Northwestern University in May 2024.
Sophia Meloni, daughter of actor Christopher Meloni (“Law and Order: SVU” and “Runaway Bride”) and wife Sherman Williams, graduated from college in May 2024. According to People magazine, Christopher Meloni’s longtime “SVU” co-star Mariska Hargitay is the godmother of Sophia Meloni, and she also attended Sophia’s college graduation.
Bridgit Mendler, the “Good Luck, Charlie” and Disney Channel star graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2020 with her master’s degree. Mendler, who recently established her startup Northwood Space, was pursuing her PhD doctorate at MIT before taking a pause, according to a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. In May 2024, however, Mendler graduated from Harvard Law School.
Massai Dorsey, son of actress Nia Long “(Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) and ex Massai Z. Dorsey, graduated from NYU in May 2024.
Ella Stiller, daughter of actress Christine Taylor (“Friends,” “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”) and Ben Stiller (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “Night at the Museum” films), graduated from the Juilliard School in New York in May 2024.
Contributing: Antonio Fins and Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Celebrity children in college: What's next for Trump, Affleck, Cruise, Fieri
