Bristol Palin to Parlay Mom's Notoriety into Her Own TV Fame

Bristol Palin to Parlay Mom's Notoriety into Her Own TV Fame

Bristol Palin appeared on Good Morning America Monday to promote her new Lifetime reality show, Bristol Palin: Life's a Trip which starts June 19. The show follows Palin as she raises her son Tripp, deals with the paparazzi, and even confronts a critic of her mother, former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin. She told GMA anchor Robin Roberts, "I think if somebody is going to talk poorly about my mom, I am going to pick and choose my battles. ... People are going to see the real Bristol in this show."

She also said that viewers will see her as "a grounded, normal mom."

Since the 2008 race when news broke that the unmarried teenage daughter of the GOP vice presidential nominee was pregnant, Bristol has remained in the spotlight. No stranger to TV, she appeared on her mother's reality show Sarah Palin's Alaska and placed third in the fall 2010 season of Dancing With the Stars.

[See a collection of political cartoons on Sarah Palin.]

She is also not the first politician's daughter to parlay a parent's political notoriety into her own TV opportunity. Jenna Bush-Hager, daughter of former president George W. Bush, and Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former president Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, both contribute to NBC News. Even Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan plays pundit on MSNBC in addition to writing a Daily Beast column.

But the transition from political offspring to television celebrity isn't always a smooth one. Controversy marred Chelsea Clinton's arrival at NBC Newsâ€"first that she wasn't qualified for the job and later that she had received special treatment despite a lackluster performance that was slammed by critics and even NBC insiders.

Palin acknowledged that she may be facing detractors of her own.

[See photos of Sarah Palin and her family.]

"I think the people who don't like me, I'm not trying to change their opinion on it, but it's going to be a good show," she said on Good Morning America.

One former McCain adviser says Bristol's show won't cause much of an echo outside the world of entertainment.

"It will have no political impact whatsoever," says Boris Epshteyn, a former aide to the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign.

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