Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Related

Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci

Source: NewsweekWho doesn't love The Devil Wears Prada? We still have the occasional nightmare about Ms Priestly taking over as our editor... But did you know the gorgeous Emily and Nigel (aka Emily and Stanley) are real life in-laws? Stanley met Emily's sister Felicity at Emily and John Krasinski's wedding in 2010 and now have 2 children together. Cute!

Angelina Jolie and Jon Voight

Source: Yahoo Movies UKHaving the spectacular human that is Angelina Jolie as your daughter might well be considered a life's best achievement for Jon Voight, even if he did win an Academy Award for Best Actor (The Champ, 1979). When asked on CBS Sunday Morning if he'd like to star in one of his daughter's films, Jon replied:

"She would be tough! But yes, of course, I would love to work with her."

Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie 

Source: People

Staring alongside childhood friend Paris Hilton in The Simple Life is not Nicole's only claim on another famous name. After marrying Punk band Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, she also gained Cameron Diaz as a sister-in-law through her new husband's twin brother, Benji. They literally have the same taste in guys.

Denzel Washington and John David Washington

Source: Today Show

Put them side by side and no one would be surprised to find out Denzel and John are father and son. They certainly are very cute. When he found out that his dad had been named NY Time's Greatest Actor of the 21st Century, John told Access Hollywood:

"It’s about time. I think he is one of the greatest to ever do it, so it was a very proud moment for our entire family."

When his words got back to Denzel he, understandably, got a bit teary:

"Wow, I'm speechless,” he said. “I forgot what the question was, but I'm speechless. I didn't know he said that."

Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick

Source: WireImage

Music clearly runs through the heart and soul of this family. Between them, cousins Whitney and Dionne have sold over 300 million records worldwide. Both feature on the Billboard Hot 100's "Greatest Artists of All Time", Whitney coming in 9th, and Dionne at,  a still impressive, 74th.

Tracee Ellis Ross and Diana Ross

Source: Harper's BazaarSticking with music, it can't be easy to carve your own path in life then your mum is the living legend that is Diana Ross. But we have to hand it to her daughter, Tracee, she's done alright. Fans have fallen completely in love with the sitcom star in her roles as Joan Carol Clayton in Girlfriends and Rainbow Johnson in Blackish.

Brad Pitt and Barack Obama

Source: Daily MailOk so we're stretching it a bit here. Former President Obama is indeed a cousin of actor Brad Pitt... ninth cousins to be precise. But still! It's also pretty funny when you note that his ex-Mrs, Angelina Jolie, is related to Hillary Rodham Clinton. If only things had worked out, we could have had a very beautiful couple in the White House with those connections? Maybe not...

Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh

Source: InsiderA penchant for horror clearly runs in this family. Best known for her appearance in Albert Hitchcock's Psycho, Janet must have been thrilled by her daughter Jamie's casting in the Halloween movies. Remembering her late mother on what would have been her 93rd birthday, Jamie tweeted:

'The world will never forget your beauty, talent, grace, and grit.'

Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard

Source: The GuardianArguably one of Hollywood's favourite directors, Ron Howard has overseen the creation of A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Parenthood and Splash, to name but a few. Before he turned his talents to directing, he also acted which perhaps inspired the career progression of his daughter too. After staring in a wide variety of films from Spider-man to Lady in the Water, Bryce turned to producing and directing, a documentary about dads no less. Not hers though. She was very clear on that!

Hugh Grant and Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Source: PinterestAnother set of famous cousins - slightly closer this time, second cousins, meaning Thomas' grandmother and Hugh's great-grandmother are sisters. Hugh reportedly only made the connection when the two starred alongside each other in the Christmas comedy-drama, Love Actually in 2003.

Bianca Lawson and Beyoncé

Source: PinterestWinner of a Teen Choice Award in 2001 and star of Save the Last Dance and, The Feast of All Saints, amongst others, Bianca has been acting since the age of 9. When her father, Richard Lawson married Tina Knowles in 2015, she gained one heck of a step-family!

Antonio Banderas and Dakota Johnson

Source: Just JaredThe Mask of Zorro and arguably one of Spain's most well known, international actors. Antonio Banderas was married to 50 Shade's star Dakota's mum for 9 years. Clearly there's no hard feelings post-divorce, as she presented him with the Hollywood Actor Award for Pain and Glory in 2019.

Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein

Source: VougeAcademy award nominee (for supporting roles in Moneyball and Wolf of Wall Street) Jonah Hill is very proud of his sister, Booksmart's Beanie Felstein - he recently captioned a selfie with the words "Iconic sister alert 🚨". The two are really close, despite the 10 year age gap, especially after they lost brother Jordan in 2017 to a leg blood clot.

Barbra Streisand and Josh Brolin

Source: People

Josh Brolin, of The Goonies, Deadpool 2, What If...? fame, is the stepson of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (yickes) winner Barbra Streisand (wooo wooo wooo wooo...) Her husband and his dad, James Brolin has quite an impressive IMBd too. Daughter Molly Elizabeth is a assistant producer and art director, but son Jess struggled with the surname-related fame and was homeless for a spell in 2014.

Jason Momoa and Zoë Kravitz

Source: People

Anyone who knows Jason Momoa will tell you, family is his everything. After his split from step-daughter Zoë's mum Lisa Bonet, the couple took to Instagram to share the news "not because [they] think it's newsworthy but so that as we go about our lives we may do so with dignity and honesty." Jason continued to be a cheer leader for all his kids, biological or not, saying of Zoe in an interview with Men's Health,

"I hope and pray my daughter is that talented and loving and open and close to her family."

What an inspirational bunch.

Billie Lourd and Carrie Fisher

Source: Eonline.comThe Scream Queens and American Horror Story star's move to Star Wars makes more sense when you find out her mum was Princess Leia. Billie played Lieutenant Connix in The Skywalker Saga, but also literally stepped in to her mother's shoes during the fight scene between Leia and Luke during Jedi training. It must had been a slightly heart-wrenching process, but one which Billie told Good Morning America made her very proud.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Blythe Danner

Source: Today Show

Oscar, Golden Globe Award, and Primetime Emmy Award winner and Goop founder  Gwyneth is daughter of Meet the Parents actress Blythe. On her mum's 78th birthday, Gwyneth posted:

'This beautiful creature fills our hearts with so much warmth.'

What a sweetie.

Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland and Sarah Sutherland

Source: Nicki SwiftKiefer Sutherland of 24 and Designated Survivor is the son of Donald, which might explain the ease at which they played father and son in Forsaken in 2015. The Hunger Games villain is also father to Sarah Sutherland, or Catherine Meyer in Veep. Despite acting clearing being in their genes, Sarah told Harper's Bazaar that she and her dad "don't talk about work very much."

Tom Cruise and William Mapother

Source: Purple CloverWe can see why Tom Cruise dropped the last part of his birth name: Thomas Cruise Mapother IV; too swanky to be accepted by your average AMC goer. But now we know that, the link with him and his cousin William becomes a bit more obvious. The two actor-cousins have even appeared in movies together 5 times - serous points if you can name them all: Vanilla Sky, Minority Report,  Born on the Fourth of July, Magnolia, and Mission: Impossible II.

Phil Collins and Lily Collins

Source: Us weeklyBeginning her acting career at the age of 2 in Growing Pains, Lily got her big break staring in the The Blind Side in 2009. Her dad, the legend Genesis musician, Phil Collins, split from her mum (his second of three wives) when she was 5; consequentially she didn't see him very often. In an open letter to her dad, Lily wrote:

"We all make choices and, although I don’t excuse some of yours, at the end of the day we can’t rewrite the past."

She attributes her later eating disorders to the stresses caused by the divorce. We very much hope she's found peace in herself now.

Elle King and Rob Schneider

Source: ABC NewsIt's perhaps no surprise that showbiz runs in the veins of multi-talented singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, television personality, and actress, Elle King. Her dad, Rob Schneider, is best known as a NBC's Saturday Night Live veteran (he's also starred in a number of films). Despite having a complex relationship when she was younger, the singer  was delighted to reconnect with her dad after leaving a destructive marriage. She told People that “now the relationship I have with my father is what I always wanted," which is what we want to hear!

Riley Keough and Elvis Presley (and Michael Jackson!)

Source: W MagazineA linage like this must be both blessing and curse! Riley is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley (Elvis' daughter with ex-wife Priscilla) and then step-daughter of Micheal Jackson when her parents' marriage dissolved and her mum remarried. Not content to ride on any coat tails however, Riley burst onto the modelling scene as a teenager, gracing the runway for Dolce & Gabbana. She later appeared on the cover of Vogue with her mother and grandmother. Modelling wasn't enough though, and Riley landed her first acting role in 2010 as Marie Currie in The Runaways. 

Quincy Jones and Rashida Jones

Source: VarietyTo say Quincy Jones is a musical legend may be an understatement. Your man holds the record for 80 Grammy Award nominations, as well as collecting 28 Grammys and a Grammy Legend Award (1992.) Rashida is a much loved face on the US sitcom circuit: staring in The Office, Angie Tribeca, Parks and Recreation, Boston Public and more recently, Netflix's #blackaf.

Alexander Skarsgård and Bill Skarsgård

Source: Digital SpyProbably best known for his role as vampire Eric Northman True Blood, Alexander also stared in Zoolander back in the day. His bother Bill, is best known in infamy for his portrayal of Pennywise the Dancing Clown in It. The brothers were scheduled to star together in The Northman, but Covid put a stop to that, ceasing havoc with their scheduling. 

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Source: History Extra

Don't panic, they're not siblings or anything. But if history tells us anything, it's not unusual for royals to marry within the family (which might explain Prince Charles' unfortunate ears.) Her Majesty the Queen and her beloved Phillip are both descended from Queen Victoria, making them third cousins. This was pretty useful when they were trying to persuade the stuffed shirts of the day that an exiled, Greek prince was worthy to marry the future Queen.

Meryl Streep and Mamie and Grace Gummer

Source: Heart RadioSee the family resemblance? It would be impossible to not hear the call of the silver screen if your mum was movie royalty, Meryl Streep surely? Daughters Mamie and Grace certainly did. Mamie and Meryl even played a mother and daughter in Ricki and the Flash in 2015. The audience would have had no problem seeing the connection there.

Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt

Source: Harper's BazaarFamily members don't always look as similar as the Streep-Gummers however. No one looking into the piercing blues of CNN anchor Anderson would suspect for a moment that his mother was fashion icon and socialite, Gloria Vanderbilt. After she sadly passed away, her son had this to say about her on Insta:

"In the end, after all else is stripped away, there is only love. My mom believed in love more than anyone... “i love you, you know that,” she would say to me, and i did, i knew it from the moment i was born, and i will know it till the moment i die. It was her greatest gift to me."

We're not crying. You're crying.

Snoop Dogg, Brandy and Ray J.

Source: The Sun"The Vocal Bible" and her little brother kept their relationship pretty quiet until Ray J Instagrammed a photo of his latest tattoo: his sister's name - BIG - on his forearm. Brandy reposted with

“This is real love♥️ I couldn’t have asked for a better brother. I love you @rayj ♥️”

Perhaps this will make up for the riff he caused with in her friendship Kim K after a sex tape of the two of them was leaked, ultimately ending their relationship. At least they are not without an abundance of famous family to fall back on - Snoop Dog is their cousin after all.

Emma Roberts and Julia Roberts

Source: Eonline.comEmma Roberts has had an eclectic mix of acting roles, from Addie Singer on Nickelodeons's Unfabulous, to Scream 4. This kind of versatile acting must run in the family, however, as Auntie Julia has stared in a mix of RomComs and Thrillers, with the occasional heist thrown in.

Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus

Source: InsiderOk so this is a slight cheat (as they're not strictly "blood relatives") but the great Ms Parton is Miley's godmother, and referred to as "Aunt Dolly" by the child star. They both have fond memories of performing together on Hannah Montana, and Dolly was a fierce supporter of Miley's during her re-defining, Robin-Ticke phase (shall we say.) Speaking to Us Weekly, Dolly said:

"She was spectacular on [Hannah Montana], but she just needed and wanted so bad to break out of that and wanted to become Miley Cyrus and she tried every way in the world to do it and nobody would let her go. So, she just had to resort to extreme measures but she pulled it off."