“No wonder we have such a connection!”
Everyone seems to know everyone in Hollywood — and sometimes celebrities are a lot closer than you’d think! In fact, there are some celebrities who are actually related and many fans have no idea. Whether it’s because they use a different last name than their parents or just have a really expansive family tree, these stars all happen to share familial ties.
Find out which stars are secretly related…
1. Beanie Feldstein & Jonah Hill
Fans may not know that actress Beanie Feldstein is actually the younger sister of Jonah Hill — especially considering they use different last names. While Jonah uses a stage name, Beanie says she always thinks of her brother by his given name, Jonah Feldstein.
“It’s just so not how I think of him — we shared a bathroom for so many years, you know what I mean?” she told The Cut. “But he’s my best friend. We are very close. And we lost our brother, so we have a very, very deep connection, and he’s like one of the most important people in my whole life, and being his sister is like my greatest joy.”
2. Saweetie & Gabrielle Union
In 2018, it was revealed that rapper Saweetie is second cousins with Gabrielle Union. On Twitter, Gabrielle shared that her first cousin is Saweetie’s father and her aunt is Saweetie’s grandmother. Despite the relationship, Saweetie says she never wanted to use the connection to further her career.
“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,” she said in an interview with “Desus & Mero”.
3. Lily Allen & Sam Smith
British musicians Lily Allen and Sam Smith are actually distant cousins. Since Sam rose to fame, Lily has publicly supported her cousin, even congratulating Sam on career milestones on Twitter.
“She’s my cousin but I’ve only met her once in my entire life. My family told me for years that she’s my cousin… I never believed them so I tweeted her and she tweeted me back saying that we are cousins,” Sam once shared.
4. Al Roker & Lenny Kravitz
Al Roker and Lenny Kravitz happen to be distantly related, by way of the pair sharing the same great-great grandfather. That also means that Al and Lenny’s grandfathers were cousins. Since revealing their family bond, the cousins have had several on-air reunions on the “Today” show.
“Many people get Lenny Kravitz and I confused, especially when his shirt is off,” Al joked on an episode where Lenny made an appearance.
5. Melissa McCarthy & Jenny McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy and Jenny McCarthy are cousins who grew up in Illinois together. The pair even headed to Hollywood around the same time and Jenny helped Melissa get one of her first jobs. While the cousins post occasional throwbacks with one another, they’re not as close as they used to be with Melissa sharing that they just happen to be in “opposite worlds” now.
6. Ashley Tisdale & Austin Butler
Ashley Tisdale was making an appearance on Ancestry’s 2 Lies & A Leaf series when she learned Austin Butler was her very distant cousin. Despite being 10th cousins once removed, Ashley says it explains the connection she has with Austin, who was her co-star in both “Aliens in the Attic” and “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.”
“No wonder we have such a connection!” she said on the show. “We’ve always said we were brother and sister! That is insane. I literally am going to cry.”
7. Brandy and Ray J & Snoop Dogg
Brandy and her brother Ray J are first cousins with Snoop Dogg. The famous family haven’t often talked about their connection through the years — and Snoop says it’s because they really just didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
“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 told MTV in 2006.
8. Gerard Way & Joe Rogan
My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and controversial podcast host Joe Rogan happen to be distant cousins. Joe confirmed their relationship on an episode of his podcast, admitting they had never actually met.
“Yeah, we’re related,” Joe said. “I don’t know him, but we’re cousins.”
9. Brooke Shields & Glenn Close
Brooke Shields and Glenn Close are said to be second cousins once removed. According to their ancestry, Brooke’s great-grandmother Mary Elsie Moore happens to be the sister of Glenn’s grandfather, Charles Arthur Moore Jr.
10. Lance Bass & Britney Spears
During an appearance on Ancestry’s “2 Lies & A Leaf,” Lance Bass learned that his longtime friend Britney Spears is his sixth cousin, once removed. Reflecting on the connection, Lance said he had always felt like he and Britney “looked like family.”
“Look, I wanted to be related to the Queen. Well now I’m related to the queen of pop!” he said, adding, “She is like family to me so the fact that we are blood-related is amazing.”
11. Elle and Dakota Fanning & Kate Middleton
According to the experts at Ancestry.com, Dakota Fanning and her sister Elle are related to Kate Middleton. The trio are all descendants of King Edward III, making Dakota and Elle 21st cousins with Kate.
“It’s so weird…it’s crazy,” Elle told E! 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.”
12. Yara Shahidi & Nas
Yara Shahidi is second cousins with rapper Nas and she was even the flower girl at his wedding in 2005. The pair have remained close through the years and Nas even appeared on Yara’s show, “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off,” where he praised the actress.
“You have become an inspiration for so many people. I go places and people are like, ‘Yara’s your cousin!’ And they tell me about things that I missed. At such a young age, you always seemed like you were so focused and I had no idea how focused you really were!” he shared.
