Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Related (Including 2 Actresses Who Are Distant Cousins with a British Royal)

Snoop Dogg, Gabrielle Union, Lance Bass, Jason Sudeikis and more stars have high-profile (and super surprising) connections in their family tree

Hollywood may be expansive, but six degrees of separation isn't just a saying about Kevin Bacon.

The pool of talented stars has plenty of familial overlap, and it's not a surprise that talent runs through bloodlines. After all, the Barrymores, Fondas and Coppolas are famous Hollywood dynasties, and the new generation of A-listers like Zoe Kravitz and Lily Collins have familiar last names too. But did you know there are plenty more celebs with family ties in the industry that you might not have realized?

Take Tom Hanks, for example, who had more in common with Fred Rogers (a.k.a. Mister Rogers) than portraying the beloved TV host in 2019's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood — it turns out they're cousins. Then there's Sabrina Carpenter, whose aunt is the voice behind one of the most famous cartoon characters ever, and Britney Spears, who's related to a fellow pop star.

There's nothing more fun than learning the unexpected connections some celebrities have in their family tree, including famous parents, siblings, cousins, uncles and aunts. Read on to find out which stars are related to royalty, who joins the Cheers comedic dynasty and the politician-comedian duo who bear more than a passing resemblance to each other.

Sabrina Carpenter's aunt is Simpsons voice actress Nancy Cartwright

Don't have a cow, man — even if you're surprised by this cool connection.

The "Manchild" hitmaker is the niece of Nancy Cartwright, the voice actress behind Bart Simpson, among other Simpsons characters.

Cartwright confirmed the connection on social media on July 9, 2024, saying, "She's pretty amazing." Her caption for the video, shared on Instagram and TikTok, read, “The rumors are true! Sabrina Carpenter is my niece! 🥰."

During a December 2024 appearance on Good Morning America, Cartwright shared that Carpenter has known what she wanted to do with her life since elementary school.

"She knew at age 6 … that she wanted to work for Disney," the voice actress said of her niece. "That was her dream at age 6."

Ashley Tisdale and Austin Butler are 10th cousins

On a 2022 episode of Ancestry's 2 Lies & A Leaf, Ashley Tisdale learned that she's a distant relative of Austin Butler.

It turns out that the High School Musical actress and the Elvis star — who both starred in 2009's Aliens in the Attic and 2011's Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure — are 10th cousins once removed.

"No wonder we have such a connection!" Tisdale said when she heard the news. "We've always said we were brother and sister! That is insane. I literally am going to cry."

Yellowstone actress Michelle Randolph and Bachelor alum Cassie Randolph are sisters

Former Bachelor contestant Cassie Randolph's sister is Michelle Randolph, the blonde beauty who plays Elizabeth "Liz" Strafford on the Yellowstone prequel 1923.

The sisters are close and even shared an apartment together in L.A. before Cassie moved out in 2021.

"The last 2 years (and our entire lives for that matter) we have been pretty much attached at the hip," Cassie captioned a photo of the twosome on Instagram. "We've shared an apartment, the same friends, joint custody of our kitties, closets, food, starting a company — you name it."

Brother-sister duo Ray J and Brandy are Snoop Dogg's first cousins

Triple the musical talent! Siblings Brandy and Ray J are first cousins with Snoop Dogg.

The rapper spoke about his family ties to the Norwood siblings — and their desire to succeed on their own terms — in a since-deleted 2006 interview with MTV.

"Brandy's my first cousin. We never really told the world because we weren't trippin' off of that, but that's my family," Snoop said at the time.

Gabrielle Union is second cousins with rapper Saweetie

Gabrielle Union and Saweetie are second cousins.

The actress-producer spilled the tea on X in 2018, telling a fan, "Her father and I are 1st cousins. Her grandma is my aunt Joanne Glass who I based Eva from Deliver Us From Eva on."

Though the two are super supportive of each other on social media, Saweetie said she didn't want to use her connections to "make it" in Hollywood.

In a 2020 interview on Showtime's Desus & Mero, the "Best friend" rapper explained, "I believe in being self-made and trying to figure things out on my own … I appreciate the support, but for me, I've always been self-motivated. So instead of asking for help, I just wanted to see if I could do it on my own."

Lance Bass and Britney Spears are sixth cousins once removed

*NSYNC's Lance Bass and Spears toured together in 1998 and shared the Super Bowl stage in 2001. Their connection goes much deeper than that, however.

In 2021, Bass found out that he and his old friend share a family tree when he appeared on 2 Lies & A Leaf.

"Look, I wanted to be related to the Queen," he said. "Well, now I'm related to the queen of pop!"

Calling Spears his "little sister," Bass said he always "felt like we looked like family." He added that the "Oops… I Did It Again" singer "is like family to me, so the fact that we are blood-related is amazing."

Jason Sudeikis is the nephew of Cheers star George Wendt

It's not hard to go where everybody knows Jason Sudeikis' uncle's name: George Wendt played barfly Norm on the hit sitcom Cheers.

In 2021, Sudeikis told GQ that his uncle "made finding a career in the arts, in acting or whatever, seem plausible."

Wendt was "very proud" of his nephew and godson, sharing on an episode of the podcast Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko in 2024 that the Ted Lasso star is "so sharp."

"He's such a great kid," Wendt said. "Very proud. Proud especially, you know, not only of the success, but he's solid. Have you read profiles and stuff? I mean, he is such a mensch, so smart, so thoughtful. I mean, it all comes out in the show. Right?"

Wendt died in his sleep on May 20, 2025. He was 76.

Sen. Cory Booker and RuPaul are cousins

RuPaul and Cory Booker found out they were related on episodes of PBS' Finding Your Roots.

Naturally, RuPaul asked the New Jersey senator to make a cameo on the season 13 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race, to which Booker obliged.

"Now, to explain the rules of the Lip Sync Smackdown, please welcome United States Senator — and my cousin — Cory Booker," RuPaul said during the episode, addressing the final four queens before adding, "No, really, we are related."

Matthew Perry was the stepson of Dateline anchor Keith Morrison

The late Matthew Perry got by with a little help from his Friends, but he had another popular TV personality for a stepdad: Keith Morrison.

Perry's mom Suzanne married the Dateline anchor Keith Morrison in 1981, when the actor was 10, and they maintained a close relationship.

During a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Morrison told Andy Cohen that Perry gave him a Porsche 911, "and I still drive it around!"

After Perry's death at age 54 on Oct. 28, 2023, Morrison opened up about his grief on Hoda Kotb's Making Space podcast, saying, "As other people have told me hundreds of times, it doesn't go away. It's with you every day. It's with you all the time, and there's some new aspect of it that assaults your brain."

"It's not easy. Especially for his mom," he added. "Toward the end of his life, they were closer than I've seen them for decades."

Tom Hanks and Fred Rogers are distant cousins

An Ancestry.com deep dive found that Hanks and Rogers are, in fact, sixth cousins.

“No, impossible … you’re pulling our leg,” Hanks' wife Rita Wilson said upon hearing the news, scanning a family tree diagram.

“Listen,” said the Phoenician Scheme actor, harping on the significance of the revelation, “it all just comes together, you see.”

The records showed a link between Hanks and Rogers through a shared five-times great-grandfather, a German immigrant named Johannes Mefford, born in 1732. More digging into their backgrounds showed that the two also descended from two brothers who fought for American independence in the Revolutionary War.

Podcaster Joe Rogan and singer Gerard Way are distant cousins

Joe Rogan confirmed on his podcast, as reported by NME in 2019, that he and My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way are distant cousins — though "I don't know him," the former Fear Factor host said.

Jonah Hill is Beanie Feldstein's older brother

Oscar-nominated actor Jonah Hill is Booksmart star Beanie Feldstein's older brother.

Hill admires his younger sister so much that he's called her his "personal hero" and even has a tattoo dedicated to her that reads, "Hello, Beanie!"

Melissa Gorga and Ralph Macchio are cousins

Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member Melissa Gorga and The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio are cousins. The reality star confirmed the family tie on X, replying to a post directed at Cohen in 2012, "Yes we are!!"

Ashlee Simpson is the daughter-in-law of legend Diana Ross

Ashlee Simpson's husband Evan Ross happens to be the son of music icon Diana Ross.

"She's got my back no matter what," Simpson told PEOPLE of her mother-in-law in 2025.

Ludacris and late comedian Richard Pryor are cousins

Ludacris (born Chris Bridges) has serious comedic chops, just like his legendary comedian cousin, Richard Pryor.

"I never got a chance to meet him. But I'm a big fan of his," the Fast and the Furious star told PEOPLE in 2015.

Sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning are Kate Middleton's distant cousins

Actresses Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning are distant cousins of Kate Middleton.

"It's so weird … it's crazy," Elle told E! News in 2014 of finding out the news. "I've always wanted to do the Ancestry.com thing because I think it would be really cool. But someone did it for me, which I think is great."

Game of Thrones alum Alfie Allen and singer-actress Lily Allen are siblings

Lily Allen's brother Alfie Allen played Theon Greyjoy (who we loved, hated and pitied) on the HBO series Game of Thrones. Their parents are Welsh actor-comedian Keith Allen and British film producer Alison Owen.

The singer's 2006 debut album Alright, Still closes with a song called "Alfie," which Lily admitted in her 2018 autobiography that her brother wasn't thrilled about, mainly as it detailed his weed-smoking habits.

Speaking to Pitchfork at the time, Lily explained that her little brother wasn’t too pleased with the song at first. “At first he was really upset about it, because he thought that I was just pointing out all of his bad points and attacking him,” she told the outlet, noting that she thought the song was “flattering.”

“I thought he'd be really, really happy because it proved to him how much I loved him, that I care about him,” she continued. “I want him to do something with his life.”

Amy Schumer and Sen. Chuck Schumer are cousins

Amy Schumer has teamed up with her high-profile family member in the past. The funny lady previously joined her cousin, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, to support gun reform.

Today weatherman Al Roker and musician Lenny Kravitz are second cousins

Lenny Kravitz is famously the son of Roxie Roker and the father of actress Zoe, but he has another unexpected A-list relative: Today anchor and weatherman Al Roker. The two share the same great-great-grandfather, as their grandfathers were cousins.

Of their connection, Roker shared during Kravitz's 2011 appearance on Today, "All I know is I'm going with it. Kids think it's cool."

Halle Berry and politician Sarah Palin are distant relatives

Halle Berry can't believe who one of her relatives is.

"You want to know who I'm related to? Sarah Palin!" the Oscar winner told Extra in 2012. "[In] some twisted way. Somebody sent me this information that she was my distant [relative]."

Jenny McCarthy and Melissa McCarthy are cousins

Melissa McCarthy is a household name these days, but it was her cousin, Jenny McCarthy, who gave the Bridesmaids star her first gig as a production assistant on the short-lived 1997 sitcom Jenny.

Rumors started in the 2010s that Jenny had criticized her cousin about her weight, which the former SiriusXM host denied.

“There is a crazy story going around that I once told my cousin, Melissa, that she would have to lose weight in order to get into show business. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Jenny told PEOPLE in 2014.

“When she was starting out, I was fortunate enough to be in a position to get her a job on a show I was doing, to learn the ropes and get some experience on a TV set in front of the camera and behind the scenes,” she continued, adding, “She has accomplished everything she has accomplished through hard work and her extraordinary talent, and I’ve only ever encouraged and supported and wished her the very best.”

Actors Liev Schreiber and Pablo Schreiber are brothers

You may recognize Liev Schreiber's half-brother Pablo Schreiber from his Emmy-nominated performance as "Pornstache" on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black. More recently, Pablo starred on the Paramount+ series Halo and Netflix's His & Hers.

Singer Elle King is the daughter of actor Rob Schneider

The father-daughter duo shares different surnames because the singer opted to use the last name of her mother, former model London King, in order to find fame on her own.

"She [used to] get, 'You're Rob Schneider's kid.' Now I get, 'You're Elle King's dad,' " the actor told PEOPLE of his daughter.

King has spoken on multiple occasions about not being close to her father growing up and evading the nepo baby label.

"Growing up as somebody who was chubby, awkward, funny, has OCD and is weird and quirky and awkward but super sensitive, I had to really fight to be OK as myself. So I didn't want to be known as someone's kid," she told PEOPLE in 2023. "I wanted to be my own person. I never wanted to borrow money from anybody, and I've worked hard for my family and for me. I want to have a life built for myself, and I want to know that I did it."

Actors Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty are siblings

In case you needed a reminder, Shirley MacLaine is the older sister of Warren Beatty. Both siblings have won Oscars, but the two actors have never starred in a film or collaborated on a project together.

"Warren was the beautiful one in the family. That was the given," MacLaine told The Guardian in 2007. "I didn't see myself that way."

Larry David and Sen. Bernie Sanders are 'third cousins or something'

The resemblance is uncanny. On an episode of PBS' Finding Your Roots, Larry David discovered that he was "like a third cousin, or something" of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

"I was very happy about that," David shared during a Curb Your Enthusiasm panel in July 2017, per CBS News. "I thought there must have been some connection."

Conan O'Brien and Rescue Me star Denis Leary are third cousins

During a January 2025 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Denis Leary confirmed it was "true" that he and Conan O'Brien were cousins.

When host Jimmy Fallon held up a photo of the the performers, the Emmy-winning actor joked, per The Hollywood Reporter, “We look like two Irish aunts. Look at us, the two of us. Oh my God, we literally look like sisters. That’s what we look like, two old sisters.”

It was Leary's uncle Patrick who made the connection after watching Leary on an episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The two are related on the side of O'Brien's late mother Ruth Reardon O'Brien.

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is the daughter of legendary director Ron Howard

Golden Globe-nominated actress Bryce Dallas Howard is the eldest daughter of former child actor and director Ron Howard. In addition to 2001's A Beautiful Mind, Bryce also appeared in the Ron-directed holiday flick How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

Yet Bryce, now best known for the Jurassic World franchise, told PEOPLE in 2024 that her mother Cheryl Howard and father weren't too keen on her acting at a young age.

"I think if I had the chance to act younger, I would've taken it. But I wasn't allowed to," she said. "My parents were very firm on that boundary, that they were not going to support anyone who wanted to be a child actor."

Bryce later added, "It's so wonderful to get to be in an industry with family members, for me at least, because I'm not alone in it."

Director Sofia Coppola and Nicolas Cage are cousins

Nicolas Cage, born Nicolas Kim Coppola, is the cousin of Sofia Coppola, who won an Academy Award in 2004 for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation. Sofia, in turn, is the daughter of five-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

Back to the Future actress Lea Thompson is the mother of actress Zoey Deutch

Mother-daughter acting duo Zoey Deutch and Lea Thompson are as close as ever.

Zoey and her sister Madelyn Deutch starred alongside their mom in 2011's Mayor Cupcake and 2017's The Year of Spectacular Men, with Thompson telling Parade in 2023 that it "was an incredible experience."

"My kids couldn't be cooler. Zoey is an amazing actress," Thompson said. "It was the first thing I ever created from nothing … I couldn't be prouder of my children and my life."

Describing Thompson as her "role model," Zoey told DuJour, "She's inspired me in so many ways more than just the obvious thing of following in her footsteps as an actress. She's a really, really remarkable woman."

Julia Roberts is the aunt of actress Emma Roberts

In 2012, Emma Roberts — daughter of Julia Roberts' older brother and fellow actor Eric Roberts — paid homage to her aunt's iconic one-piece getup from the classic 1990 film Pretty Woman, complete with a blonde wig and thigh-high patent leather boots.

"She's the best," Emma said of her aunt during a 2014 interview on The Queen Latifah Show.

Emma later told Bruce Bozzi on his Table for Two podcast in 2024, via Hello!, "I think I saw very up close what [fame] really looks like with my aunt Julia," adding, "It's obviously, you know, it's fun and it's great, but there is a part of it that's really scary."

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