Ms. Ross agrees. ''I think you are scrutinized a lot more if you have talented parents,'' she says. Your blood line may get you in, ''but if it turns out you're not good, you are out the door a lot faster.''

She adds, ''You get held up to the standard of your parent.''

That's what Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve, found when she began. ''It's true that in the beginning somehow you haven't worked yet, but people know who you are because of your parents,'' Ms. Mastroianni says, ''and they expect more of you. It's understandable, because if I went to a doctor who is the son of a famous doctor, I would expect him to be good, too.'' (Ms. Mastroianni appears with her father in the French film ''Three Lives and Only One Death,'' which will be shown as part of the New York Film Festival in October.)

Such comparisons can be harmful for actors just starting out. Their first performance is often compared to one by a parent who has practiced the craft for years. Ms. Ross points to the example of Sofia Coppola, who had a supporting role in her father's ''Godfather, Part III.'' Ms. Coppola's performance was savaged by critics. ''I bet if she hadn't been his daughter, the reviews would have been bad, but they wouldn't have been that bad,'' Ms. Ross says. Ms. Coppola has since given up acting to become a fashion designer.

Some parents, Mr. Voight included, discourage their children from following in their footsteps. Paul Sorvino, father of Mira, tried to persuade his daughter not to become an actress. ''I didn't want her to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous rejection,'' he says. ''But she persevered.'' She won an Oscar for her performance in ''Mighty Aphrodite.''

Ms. Jolie, like Ms. Sorvino and Ms. Paltrow, is proving that her talent can stand on its own. She will be in several movies opening this year and next. Until recently, she belonged to the Met Theater group in Los Angeles, working on her skills alongside the veteran actors Holly Hunter, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. From them, as well as from her parents -- her mother, Ms. Bertrand, studied with Lee Strasberg before quitting to raise her children -- she learned some valuable techniques.

With sleepy blue eyes that are clearly her father's and full lips that would rival Liv Tyler's, Ms. Jolie exudes intensity. One moment she can be sultry, the next she can charm you with mischevious eyes. Her presence -- and perhaps her tattoos, which are visible in the movie -- is what landed her the role of Legs.