Cover Story

Story by JONATHAN FAM, JASMINE TEO, TAN YI HUI & SARAH CHANG

Genetically-blessed and (some) with real talent to boot, these babes might be the next generation of A-listers.

When do celeb kids realise they’re celeb kids? For the ones who become acquainted with flashing camera lights before their ABCs, we’d have to say, even before they can spell their name (even worse if your name is Bronx Mowgli). As admirers of fine gene pairing, we celebrate the beauty, adorability and even talent of these kids, most of whom have famous parents, some, celebs in their own right. We’re not trying to nudge fertility rates up in Singapore, although looking at these kids may be stronger inspiration for some parents than the Baby Bonus. Ordinary folk shouldn’t feel badly about their progeny, though. After all, we can’t all boast the pedigree of these youngsters. A potpourri of superior DNA, coupled with obscene trust funds and a healthy sprinkling of celebrity dust, they’re made for instant fame. — KI’ERN TAN

SURI CRUISE, 6Daughter of Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise

True, her famous parents are beautiful people — Tom Cruise looks like the all-American jock and Katie Holmes, the sweet girl-next-door. But with those rosy cheeks and pale blue doe eyes, this six-year-old has a magnetic quality that we dare say her parents somehow lack. Ah, the wonder of DNA coupling. The most photographed celeb kid in Tinseltown, Suri is also a master of camera angles. Whether she’s staring boldly into the lens or pouting petulantly at her mum, the power tyke seems to be aware of where the cameras are — and how to play to them. She’s also the most fashionable six-year-old on the planet (see p60 to find out where she shops). Unlike her peers, Miss Cruise doesn’t deign to slip her pretty little feet into just any old ballet flats (or, heaven forbid, Crocs). She wears custom-made Roger Vivier flats costing upwards of US$300 that the designer specially created for her (the brand doesn’t have a children’s line). And a day out for this mini-supermodel involves parading around in the latest designer kiddie frocks from Burberry, Gucci and Stella McCartney. She even has fashion blogs dedicated to her, and apparently owns US$3mil worth of clothes and US$150,000 worth of designer shoes. All this may change with her parents’ divorce. Katie has instructed designers to stop sending her munchkin freebies in an attempt to clean up Suri’s posh-brat tabloid image, and give her daughter a normal life. Well, as normal as the offspring of the world’s biggest movie star can be, that is. Dad’s still taking care of the accounts and Tom is reportedly responsible for the bulk of his daughter’s expenses, which includes US$40,000-a-year private school fees. According to the divorce settlement, Suri is entitled to a sizable trust fund when she hits 18, and will have full rights to it in her 30s. By which time, even if she doesn’t join showbiz, she’ll be a Hollywood veteran of sorts, won’t she?

HARPER SEVEN BECKHAM, 14 monthsDaughter of David & Victoria Beckham

Until Prince William puts a royal bun in Kate Middleton’s oven, Harper is the Brits’ answer to Suri Cruise, minus the shroud of Scientology. This peach-faced, chubby-cheeked tot doesn’t know it yet, but she’s a budding fashionista who has, in one year, amassed a wardrobe of chic designer threads so massive that even her own style-obsessed father has called it “ridiculous”. Thanks to her posh mum, she’s also becoming quite a fixture at fashion shows. Little wonder that she was just named Britain’s Most Stylish Celebrity Kid. Sorry, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, Harper’s the next Beckham the world will be obsessing over.

For the full story, read this week's issue of 8 DAYS (#1144).