Second Generation Stars

Everywhere you look this summer, you’ll find Angelina. The new Jolie adventure Wanted opens Friday, and the super-pregnant citizen of the world is frequently featured in news stories, tabloid television shows and tabloids themselves. But is estranged poppa Jon Voight proud?

Meanwhile, after a long, steady career, Jeff Bridges, son of television sea explorer Lloyd, finally made a colossal hit playing Iron Man’s nemesis. So let’s get down and dirty with a selection of second-generation stars accompanied by a few second-generation wannabes.

ANGELINA JOLIE. This could be the Year of Angelina. Wanted should be a hit, and Clint Eastwood’s period thriller Changeling was a Cannes smash. Changeling, to be released this fall, looks like Oscar-bait for Angelina. Could a reconciliation with her alienated pop be in the works? And in the meantime, there’s Brad, Brad, Brad, babies, babies, babies, tattoos, tattoos, tattoos — and maybe even some tattoo removals.

JEFF BRIDGES. For years, Jeff laughed about having made a career of playing decent chaps in films that, with a few exceptions, never drew large audiences. Now he’s a big, bad mega-villain in Iron Man, and the crowds are lining up. Brother Beau has been busy on television, much like dad Lloyd, whose Sea Hunt was a part of small-screen folklore.

KATE HUDSON. The daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson has her mother’s looks and some of her mother’s charm. Yes, but does she have her mother’s staying power?

BEN STILLER.The son of comics Ben Stiller and Anne Meara is now one hot comedy star. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he’s allegedly one hot pain in the butt on the set.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS. In Michael’s Oscar acceptance speech for Wall Street, he publicly thanked dad Kirk for “helping a son step out of his father’s shadow.” Kirk stayed home that night, reportedly because he didn’t want to take the spotlight away from Michael. That’s one of the few times Kirk’s ever been known not to grab the spotlight for himself.

MELANIE GRIFFITH. She’s the frisky, giggly daughter of Tippi Hedren, the frosty beauty besieged by The Birds. Nobody could ever call Melanie “frosty,” although she’s named for her mother’s character in the cockamamie Hitchcock chiller.

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