Born into one of Hollywood’s most celebrated creative dynasties, Romy Mars has storytelling in her DNA. As the daughter of Academy Award-winning director Sofia Coppola and Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars, her life has been steeped in art, music, and cinema from the very beginning. Yet, despite this illustrious heritage, she has begun to craft her own unique path, stepping into the spotlight as a pop musician and social media personality with a self-aware charm that has captivated a generation. Her journey offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a modern “nepo baby” who is fully aware of her privileged position but is determined to be known for her own talents and voice.
The Coppola-Mars household provides a rich backdrop for Romy’s own burgeoning career. Growing up between New York City and Paris, she and her younger sister were initially raised out of the public eye, a conscious decision by her parents who wanted to provide a sense of normalcy. This plan was upended, in a wonderfully ironic twist, when a homemade TikTok video launched Romy to viral fame and made her the internet’s most relatable—and ultimate—nepo baby.
You Might Like: Marshawn Kneeland: The Bonds That Defined Him
A Cinematic and Musical Pedigree
Romy Mars’ family tree is a veritable who’s who of artistic legends, forming a cornerstone of modern Hollywood history. Her mother, Sofia Coppola, is an acclaimed Italian-American filmmaker known for her distinct visual style and atmospheric storytelling in movies like Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, and The Virgin Suicides. Sofia is herself a famed “nepo baby,” being the daughter of cinematic giant Francis Ford Coppola, the director of The Godfather trilogy. This makes Romy the direct heir to a multi-generational filmmaking empire.
Her father, Thomas Mars (born Thomas Croquet), is the charismatic lead singer of the French alternative rock band Phoenix, a group that has achieved critical and commercial success, including a Grammy Award win that Romy once proudly showed off in a viral video. Her parents met while Sofia was directing the music video for Phoenix’s song from her film The Virgin Suicides, and they married in 2011 when Romy was four years old.
Romy’s immediate family includes her younger sister, Cosima, who was born in 2010. Unlike Romy, who has embraced a public presence, Cosima is known for maintaining a much lower profile. The tight-knit unit splits their time between New York City and Paris, with Romy’s father noting they maintain a strong connection to France, traveling there frequently. As for her own relationship, Romy is reportedly dating Miles Jebbia, the son of Supreme founder James Jebbia.
The famous extended family doesn’t end with her grandparents; her cousins include actor and musician Jason Schwartzman and Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage, further cementing the Coppola clan’s deep roots in the entertainment industry.
Carving Out a Creative Identity
While her lineage is inescapable, Romy Mars is actively building a career that is distinctly her own. She first burst into the public consciousness in a way that was both accidental and perfectly suited to her generation: a viral TikTok video in 2023. In the now-deleted clip, she attempted to make vodka sauce pasta while explaining she was grounded for trying to use her father’s credit card to charter a helicopter from New York to Maryland for a dinner with a friend.
this tiktok of sofia coppola’s daughter… this means so much to me pic.twitter.com/6AQtWNhAgG
— savannah (@savbrads) March 21, 2023
With a deadpan, self-deprecating delivery, she directly addressed the “nepo baby” label, stating, “My parents’ biggest rule is I’m not allowed to have any public social-media accounts… because they don’t want me to be a nepotism kid. But TikTok’s not going to make me famous, so it doesn’t really matter.” The clip was a sensation, making her an instant and ironically very famous internet icon for its unvarnished and humorous look at her life.
Since then, she has deliberately stepped into the creative world. She began releasing music in 2024, with pop singles like “Stuck Up” and “From a Distance,” and has continued to put out new music, including the 2025 singles “A-Lister” and “Ego.” Her mother, Sofia Coppola, even directed the music video for “A-Lister,” showing a direct, though supportive, collaboration between the two generations. On the acting front, Romy had a small role as a reporter in her grandfather Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film Megalopolis and appeared in the FX series English Teacher.
Beyond her creative pursuits, she is also navigating a relatively normal life as a college freshman, having recently started attending Lehigh University, where she has documented her experiences on social media. Balancing a Chanel-clad, front-row presence at Paris Fashion Week with the realities of college life, Romy Mars is thoughtfully writing her own chapter in the Coppola family story.
