Celebrities with big family money — Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Armie Hammer, Edward Norton, Balthazar Getty and the Mara sisters

YOU may know them for their on-screen ‘talents’ but these celebs have BIG family money they can fall back on if things hadn’t worked out.

THEIR faces and names are synonymous with entertainment but these celebrities would have been able to rely on a helping family hand if the fickle fame game didn’t work out.

We’re not talking about the Tori Spelling, Bridget Fonda or Rashida Jones of the world. These stars’ families made bucketloads of money in other industries, far away from the glare of Hollywood. Check out what they stand to inherit.

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ family controls French commodities company Louis-Dreyfus.

She may be known as a comedy star with starring roles in Veep, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Saturday Night Live in addition to her legendary turn in Seinfeld. But the Emmy-winning actor is also heir to a multi-billion dollar shipping fortune.

The oldest daughter of Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Louis-Dreyfus belongs to a family whose wealth stretches back to mid-19th century France. Today, the Louis-Dreyfus family is worth a reported $3 billion.

ANDERSON COOPER

Anderson Cooper’s mother is Gloria Vanderbilt.

Anderson Cooper’s patrician looks owes its genetics to one of America’s ‘great families — the Vanderbilt railroad and shipping barons. Cooper’s mother is Gloria Vanderbilt, herself a famed artist, designer and writer.

Cooper is the most high profile contemporary descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, his great-great-great grandfather, who started the Vanderbilt empire. Cornelius Vanderbilt was considered one of the richest men in the world with one source estimating his wealth to equal $143 billion in 2007 terms.

KATE AND ROONEY MARA

The Mara sisters’ parents came from two prominent football families.

Rooney Mara took her mother’s maiden name, Rooney, as her first name instead of her given name Patricia.

The Mara sisters have been all over our screens in recent times with Kate in House of Cards and Rooney (birth name Patricia) in flicks such as The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo and Her. But the sisters are enshrined in two American football dynasties.

The Maras are great granddaughters of the founders of NFL teams the New York Giants (on the paternal side) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (on the maternal side). Their families still run and have ownership in the two teams — uncle John Mara is the CEO and co-owner of the Giants while uncle Art Rooney II is president and co-owner of the Steelers.

ARMIE HAMMER

Armie Hammer was named after his great-grandfather Armand Hammer, the chief executive of Occidental Petroleum.

Long before he was the Lone Ranger or both Winklevoss twins, Armie Hammer was born into an oil family. His great-grandfather and namesake Armand Hammer was a chief executive of Occidental Petroleum for a long time and also had interests in pharmaceuticals and other ventures.

He also, controversially, continued to trade with the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was involved with the socialist and communist movements. Additionally, he was a passionate advocate for cancer research. In the 1980s, Forbes valued his net worth at $200 million.

Armie Hammer’s father is also an entrepreneur with businesses in the publishing and film production industries.

EDWARD NORTON

Ed Norton’s grandfather founded the modern shopping mall.

The Fight Club and Moonrise Kingdom actor’s maternal grandfather, James Rouse, was a renowned urban planner and real estate developer. Mr Rouse has been credited with developing the modern shopping centre as well as planned communities.

In fact, he created the whole new city of Columbia in Maryland, where Norton was raised. Mr Rouse founded The Rouse Company, which he ran for four decades. In 1995, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Norton has publicly spoken about his grandfather’s contributions.

BALTHAZAR GETTY

Balthazar Getty’s family fortune comes from his great-grandfather, who founded Getty Oil.

The former Brothers and Sisters actor and musician of Ringside fame Balthazar Getty is the great grandson of billionaire industrialist Jean Paul Getty, who founded Getty Oil and was named by Guiness World Records as the world’s richest private citizen in the 1960s. Guiness valued his wealth at over a billion dollars, which is over $8 billion in today’s terms.

Balthazar Getty’s father, John Paul Getty III, was actually kidnapped in Italy as a 16-year-old by suspected Calabrian mobsters. After the Getty patriarch refused to pay the ransom, the kidnapped Getty’s ear was mailed to an Italian newspaper. He was eventually released three months after he was taken.

Balthazar Getty’s uncle Mark Getty is the founder of Getty Images.