These stars aren’t the only famous people in their family
“No way! That’s my cousin?”
That was probably and ‘s reactions when they learned they were related to a pop princess and an -nominated impersonator, respectively.
It’s no surprise that some of the most famous celebrities share family ties with other equally notable figures — you know what they say: It’s a small world!
Can you guess the icy female rapper is proud to call her little cousin? You’ll probably gag when you find out which of ’s cousins happens to be a popular senator.
Read on to discover some celebrity cousins that you probably didn’t know about.
Cory Booker and RuPaul
New Jersey Senator and famed drag queen and TV personality RuPaul on different episodes of the PBS series Finding Your Roots. They brought the news to a bigger audience in April 2021, when Booker appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race. “Thank God for you, thank God for America and ,” Booker said during his cameo.
Jenny McCarthy and Melissa McCarthy
You couldn’t ask for a better cousin than . In the ’90s, the judge — who is married to Blue Bloods star — helped her older cousin, -winning actress , land her first TV role as a guest star on Jenny’s MTV sketch series, The Jenny McCarthy Show.
Now that both McCarthy ladies have cemented their places in Hollywood, Jenny has on multiple occasions.
Tom Cruise and William Mapother
Once you know ‘s is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, the resemblance between the A-lister and his character-actor cousin William Mapother becomes much more apparent. (Look at their chins!)
Mapother has acted in five films with Cruise — Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Magnolia (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002) and Mission: Impossible II (2006) — but to us, , the duplicitous member of the Others from .
Brandy and Snoop Dogg
This is one of those facts that you feel a lot more people should know than they do. We’re talking about two of the most famous musicians to come out of the ’90s!
Although, perhaps that would have made it weird for them to collaborate on a love song, as -winning singer-songwriter did on ‘s 2009 track, “Special.”
Kyra Sedgwick and Edie Sedgwick
If someone asks you to explain the concept of first cousins once removed, just tell them, “It’s like and Edie Sedgwick!” (Edie’s father was the younger brother of Kyra’s grandfather.)
Glenn Close and Brooke Shields
Likewise, the next time someone asks you how to explain the concept of second cousins once removed, just tell them, “It’s like and !” (Shields’ great-grandmother was the sister of Close’s grandfather.)
The difference? You have probably met most of your first cousins once removed at least once or twice (unless your parents hated their cousins). You probably haven’t met many of your second cousins once removed.
Damon Dash and Stacey Dash
While some might assume “Damon Dash” was not the real name the former Roc-A-Fella Records honcho was born with — it actually is!
When you realize that “your whole perspective is wack,” it makes more sense that he and actress are cousins.
Sofia Coppola, Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman
Composer unwittingly spawned a Hollywood dynasty: His son became the famed director of (1972) and Apocalypse Now (1979). At the same time, his daughter Talia Shire starred as Adrian in the Rocky movies.
Decades later, the second generation of Coppola cousins got mixed up in the family business: Francis’ daughter and Shire’s son Jason Schwartzman have each followed in their parent’s footsteps, while their cousin (son of the comparatively unknown August Coppola) took a new name from one of his favorite superheroes and became the internet’s .
Other Coppola cousins in the entertainment industry include Sofia’s older brother, Roman Coppola, who co-wrote The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and Schwartzman’s younger brother, Robert Schwartzman, lead singer of the band Rooney.
K-Ci & JoJo and Fantasia Barrino
All their lives, brothers Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “JoJo” Hailey have been cousins with season 3 winner and actress .
The trio hasn’t officially recorded together, but K-Ci did appear during Barrino’s September 2012 concert in Oklahoma City to with his younger cousin.
Melissa Gorga and Ralph Macchio
Cousins often experience different levels of success at different points in their lives, but the comparison between these two relatives is striking.
was just a child when her cousin shot to fame in (1984). Years later, while Macchio was working as a guest actor on shows like Psych and , an all-grown-up Gorga became a cast member on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus
Though they’re only second cousins, Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus probably spend more time together than most of the relatives on this list. They have to — they’re two of the three members of the country group !
Gwyneth Paltrow and Katherine Moennig
Even before she became famous on , actress Katherine Moennig was haunted by questions about her blonder, goopier cousin.
For a , when Moennig was asked about , “a wary look crossed [her] eyes, and her facial muscles seemed to freeze up.”
Later, she expressed gratitude for their lack of resemblance: “We’re totally different people. We look very different, too. No one’s judging me solely on the fact that I am her cousin.”
Ashley Tisdale and Austin Butler
Ashley Tisdale and aren’t just the best of friends; they’re also relatives! Despite starring together in Aliens in the Attic (2009) and Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011), the alumna and the Elvis star never realized they were 10th cousins once removed.
Tisdale while speaking to her sister, Jennifer Tisdale, for a 2022 episode of Ancestry’s 2 Lies & A Leaf series. ” born very far apart because he’s much younger, and we’ve always had that connection,” the Frenshe founder told Jennifer.
“I’m telling you, when we first met, I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ We were like brother and sister from the minute we met,” Tisdale added of Butler, whom she dotingly called her “” in a for his 30th birthday in 2021.
Gabrielle Union and Saweetie
Some fans were shocked to learn that is actually Union’s “little cousin.” The actress about herself in 2018 while praising in a Woman Crush Wednesday post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Wait, so you & @Saweetie are cousins? Frfr,” , to which : “Yup. Her father and I are 1st cousins. Her grandma is my aunt Joanne Glass, who I based Eva from ‘Deliver Us From Eva’ on. #FunFact #DozensOfCousins.”
Lance Bass and Britney Spears
In 2021, Bass’ dreams of having a pop star to call family became a shocking reality. The revelation came when the member appeared on Ancestry’s 2 Lies & A Leaf series with his husband, , who asked Bass to guess which famous singer was part of his family tree: , or Elvis.
“I wish!” Bass said of the chances of being one of the “Toxic” singer’s relatives. “, but there’s no way,” he added, before going with Presley. Turchin guessed Spears, and although his boy bander husband believed the odds were “too good to be true,” it was revealed that Bass and Spears are actually sixth cousins once removed.
“Are you kidding me? … This is amazing. Oh my gosh!” the “Bye Bye Bye” singer exclaimed. “Look, I wanted to be related to the Queen. Well, now I’m related to the queen of pop!”
“That is so crazy though, ’cause, I mean, I feel like she’s my little sister, and this whole time she’s been my little cousin. And it makes sense because we were born an hour from each other. This is so cool,” Bass added. “For some reason, I always felt like we looked like family, even when we were kids. I mean, this means so much to me. She is like family to me, so the fact that we are blood-related is amazing.”
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