19 Celebs With Unexpected Family Connections In Hollywood
In Hollywood, some people like Brooklyn Peltz Beckham are born famous because of who their parents are, some like Ayesha Curry get more famous because of who they're married to, and some like Hailey Bieber are famous because of both. Sometimes, however, celebs have relatives who are, quite honestly, surprising.
Here are 19 celebs with unexpected family connections in Hollywood:
1.Sabrina Carpenter's aunt, Nancy Cartwright, is the voice actor behind Bart Simpson on The Simpsons.
"It was always really cool growing up, like when she would just, like, pull out the Bart voice if we were, like, at a restaurant," Sabrina told Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp.
2.Barbra Streisand is Josh Brolin's stepmother.
She married his father, James Brolin, in 1998. Josh was 30.
3.Pretty Little Liars actor Bianca Lawson is Beyoncé and Solange's stepsister.
Bianca's dad, Richard Lawson, married Beyoncé and Solange's mom, Tina Knowles, in 2015. At the time, Bianca was 36, Beyoncé was 34, and Solange was 29.
4.The L Word actor Katherine Moennig and Gwyneth Paltrow are cousins.
Gwyneth's mom, Blythe Danner, and Kate's dad, William H. Moennig III, are siblings.
The cousins shared the stage once before. When Gwyneth made her onstage debut at the Williamstown Theater Festival, Kate had a minor, nonspeaking role in the same play.
5.Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick are cousins.
As the mother of two sons, Dionne thought of Whitney as the "little girl [she] never had."
6.Timothée and Pauline Chalamet are the nephew and niece of Rodman Flender, who directed episodes of The Office and Gilmore Girls, and Amy Lippman, who co-created Party of Five.
Their mom, Nicole Flender, is also an actor. She's been in productions like The Bird Watcher and In The Heat Of Passion.
7.Gabrielle Union and Saweetie are second cousins.
Saweetie's dad, Johnny Harper, is Gabrielle's first cousin, and her grandma, Joanne Glass, is Gabrielle's aunt.
Gabrielle based Eva in Deliver Us From Eva on Joanne.
8.Monica and Ludacris are cousins.
In 2010, they collaborated on the song "Still Standing."
9.Cheers actor George Wendt is the uncle of Jason Sudeikis.
Jason's mom, Kathryn Sudeikis, is George's older sister.
10.Viola Davis and Luke Cage actor, Mike Coulter, are second cousins.
They didn't meet each other until 2019.
Mike told The Talk, "We had never met but our families have family reunions, and they talk about us and stuff. They are very proud of us."
11.Troian Bellisario's dad is Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter/producer Donald P. Bellisario.
He created and wrote for NCIS, Quantum Leap, and JAG, all of which Troain played small roles on.
12.Yara Shahidi and Nas are cousins.
When Nas married Kelis in 2005, Yara was the flower girl.
13.Rich Kids of Beverly Hills star, Morgan Stewart McGraw, is the daughter-in-law of Dr. Phil.
She married Dr. Phil's son, Jordan McGraw, in 2020.
14.The Mandalorian actor, Mercedes Varnado, who's also known as former WWE star Sasha Banks, has two cousins in the spotlight — siblings Brandy and Ray J.
All three of them are also Snoop Dogg's cousins.
15.Tracee Ellis Ross is Ashlee Simpson's sister-in-law.
Ashlee married Tracee's brother, Evan Ross, in 2014.
16.Pharrell Williams and Timbaland are cousins. They're related through their grandmothers.
In high school, they were in the group S.B.I. together.
17.Zooey and Emily Deschanel are the daughters of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, whose notable work includes The Passion of the Christ and The Lion King (2019).
Their mom, Mary Jo Deschanel, is also an actor. She's known for her roles in Twin Peaks and The Right Stuff.
18.Scandal actor Tony Goldwyn is the grandson of MGM Studios cofounder, Samuel Goldwyn, and the son of producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Tony's brother, John Goldwyn, is also a producer. He worked on the series Dexter, which Tony had a guest spot in.
19.And finally, Love Actually costars Hugh Grant and Thomas Brodie-Sangster are second cousins. They met for the first time on set.
Their great-grandmothers were sisters.
