Kaia Gerber Talks Getting 'Starstruck' by Mom Cindy Crawford and Keeping Relationship with Austin Butler 'Sacred'

Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, has been in the spotlight since the day she was born. In addition to her career as a model, her breakout acting role in Bottoms and her status as the “Internet’s librarian” thanks to her burgeoning book club, she’s also a nepo baby — a title she’s willing to own. 

“I don’t think it’s a topic that will go away, so I’ve clearly reached a point of acceptance,” the 22-year-old said of her privilege in a cover story for WSJ. Magazine's Spring 2024 Women’s Fashion Issue (out Feb. 17).

“I personally am very aware of all the wonderful things it has done for me, and I would never, ever say anything negative about it, because that is my truth about it.”

Despite the negative connotations around the term nepo baby — a label that indicates a celebrity's famous relations — Gerber feels fortunate that she has her dad (61, Casamigos cofounder and former model) and her supermodel mom, 57, for guidance. 

“I can actually ask my parents [for] advice on career things, on business things,” Gerber said. “That’s very rare, to have parents who are in the same industry or career as you, whose advice you actually can trust.”

That doesn’t mean she’s never fazed by their star power, especially Crawford’s. In her cover story, Gerber admitted she was “starstruck” in front of her mother after watching The Super Models documentary, which also stars Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista. 

“I was like, ‘I didn’t realize. I knew you were iconic, but….’ I didn’t understand when I was younger,” Gerber said, adding that, after watching the series, she saw Crawford's ambition, wit and focus in a whole new light. “What she made of her career, there wasn’t really someone’s footsteps to follow.” 

While attending the Planet Omega exhibition in November, Gerber told PEOPLE that she feels she and Crawford have formed a “really strong bond and friendship outside of just a mother-daughter dynamic, which has been so fun for me over the last few years.” 

Although she did confess that her “cool mom” is still capable of embarrassing her. She added: "But it's good! It brings me back down to earth... I probably embarrass her constantly as well."

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Gerber may have a stellar resume online, but she prefers to keep her life private. “I’m very sensitive, so I don’t keep social media on my phone,” she told WSJ. Magazine.

That privacy extends to her relationship with Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler, which tracks back to December 2021. The couple officially went public in March 2022 ahead of the Oscars. 

“Honestly, I feel like so few things in my life are private, and that is one of the things that I try to keep as sacred as possible,” she shared. 

Gerber and Butler, 32, have managed to keep a low profile, but have made a few public appearances at large-scale events, such as the Met Gala and the Elvis premiere at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival. At both events they shared a sweet kiss on the carpet.