The actress shared her bold stance during a new interview with Variety ... in which she defended her son, Valentino's right to use her celebrity status to better his life -- if he so chooses.

She said, "It’s like I have this very highly coveted thing, I want to share that with my son. We need him to be a nepo baby, and he needs to, like, own it, too. He can’t be like, ‘I’m not really a nepo baby,’ he needs to be like, ‘Yes I’m a nepo baby, and what?'"

Julia indirectly took a dig at Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rumer Willis, Dakota Johnson and Lily Rose-Depp ... all of whom are nepo babies, but deny nepotism played a role in their Hollywood success.

Despite leaning heavily into fame, Julia says she and Valentino lead relatively normal lives -- she says she doesn't have a nanny, and is actively involved with the other parents at Valentino's daycare.

Julia revealed she has upgraded her and Valentino's living arrangement, having previously been roasted for her quaint apartment in NYC. These days, Julia and Valentino live with her best friend, and also her boyfriend ... who she didn't name.

She did say, "He’s very comfortable in his masculinity and is definitely the best role model I could have ever chosen for Valentino, because I don’t want him to grow up aggressively macho like some other men in his vicinity are."