30 Famous People You Probably Had No Idea Were Related By Blood

Statistically speaking, everyone on Earth is related to one another. With every generation, the amount of ancestors one person has doubles. So when you think about how many people you have in your family tree, this notion begins to make a lot of sense. That’s why we were so fascinated to find out more about who’s related to whom, and celebrities often serve up some curious tidbits when it comes to genes.

One of our hobbies at Bright Side is finding out the connections between famous people. Today, we have prepared for you 15 pairs of celebrities that you might not have known were genetically linked.

1. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

Aside from being childhood friends and successful colleagues, Affleck and Damon are also 10th cousins, once removed! This totally explains their chemistry and how they were able to win an Academy Award for Good Will Hunting, the first movie they ever wrote together.

2. Beyoncé and Queen Elizabeth II

Yes, Queen B successfully defends her pop title by actually having royal blood. Beyoncé and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II are 11th cousins, twice removed, so technically Meghan Markle shouldn’t feel alone as part of the British monarchy.

3. Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein

Seeing how funny and charismatic Beanie is, we’re actually not surprised that Jonah Hill is her brother. If you haven’t yet seen Feldstein on the big screen, then we highly recommend Lady Bird and Booksmart, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. And Hill is Jonah’s middle name, his birth name is Jonah Hill Feldstein.

4. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine

MacLaine’s real last name is Beaty, which makes her an older sister to the legendary actor (who also added an extra “t” to his surname). Shirley and Warren pack serious talent in their genes as they both have multiple Academy Award nominations and can boast some wins: MacLaine for Terms of Endearment, and Beatty for directing Reds.

5. Melissa McCarthy and Jenny McCarthy

Even though the 2 women share the last name, some haven’t put 2 and 2 together to realize that they’re actually cousins on their fathers’ side. Technically, that makes Melissa related to the Wahlberg family since Jenny is married to Donnie Wahlberg, the older brother of the famous actor Mark Wahlberg.

6. Denzel Washington and John David Washington

The BlacKkKlansman and upcoming star of the Christopher Nolan film, Tenet, John David Washington inherited his talent from his legendary father Denzel. That’s right, the 2-time Academy Award winner has blessed Hollywood with his son, who we’re quite sure has a spectacular career ahead of him.

7. Kate Middleton and Dakota and Elle Fanning

The Fanning sisters can also boast their royal connection as they’re 21st cousins of the Duchess of Cambridge. Whatever it is about their blood, it’s working well — all 3 women are highly likable and gorgeous.

8. Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson

Diana and Sarah weren’t just related through their marriages to Prince Charles and his brother Prince Andrew, respectively, but they also share an ancestor. These 2 royal ladies descend from Lady Georgiana Spencer, who lived in the 18th century.

9. Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman

Both Nicolas and Jason come from the Coppola family, which is a very famous dynasty in Hollywood. Their family tree is quite complex, but we’ll try to break it down: Cage and Schwartzman are both nephews of the director Francis Ford Coppola, through his brother August Coppola (Nicolas’ father) and sister Talia Shire (née Coppola, Jason’s mother), which makes them cousins to each other and Sofia Coppola.

10. Ralph Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes

Did you know that Voldemort was related to The Handmaid’s Tale star? When you think of their last name, it seems obvious, but they’re not the first famous sibling pair to pop into mind. Ralph and Joseph are brothers and have 4 other siblings. Fun fact: their nephew Hero Fiennes-Tiffin played a younger version of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

11. Lenny Kravitz and Al Roker

Aside from being connected to Jason Momoa through his ex-wife, Lenny Kravitz has yet another famous personality in his family tree. The rock legend is a second cousin on his mother’s side to NBC’s heavyweight Al Roker.

12. Liev Schreiber and Pablo Schreiber

Sometimes when people in Hollywood have the same last name, it’s a coincidence, but not in the case of Liev and Pablo. These 2 actors are half-brothers. Liev’s father divorced his mom 5 years before Pablo was born. And if you need a refresher on where you might’ve seen the younger Schreiber, we’re here to help. His most notable credits include shows Orange is the New Black and American Gods, as well as films First Man and Skyscraper.

13. Justin Bieber and Ryan Gosling

We used to think that Canadian roots and musical chops were the only things that Justin Bieber and Ryan Gosling had in common, but we were wrong. Turns out, they’re 11th cousins, once removed and are also genetically linked to singer Avril Lavigne.

14. Julianne Moore and Marisa Tomei

Tomei found out, pretty recently, that her colleague Julianne Moore is also her genetic cousin. She was surprised and quite delighted, and revealed that they also went to school together. What a small world! The 2 ladies starred together in the film Crazy, Stupid, Love.

15. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick

We’ve saved the most interesting pair for the end. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, who’ve been married for over 30 years, are also 9th cousins, once removed! They learned about it during their appearance on an ancestry reality show, and although this information was shocking at first, ultimately, it ended up being not that big of a deal.

Were you surprised by any of these connections? And would you ever want to dig deeper into your family history?