The world started out with a population of just a few thousand people, and now that almost 8 billion of us walk the Earth, there’s bound to be people we’d end up being related to without our knowledge. Then there’s marriage that bonds families together, and actors are connected this way, too.
There’s still not much of a chance that famous personalities would be related to one another and be equally successful, but you’ll be surprised to know there are several of these actors who are very closely related, and you just didn’t know it. Here are 10 such famous actors you had no clue were family.
Emily Blunt And Stanley Tucci (In-Laws)
The Devil Wears Prada movie seemed to be written in the stars for Emily Blunt, whose husband first saw her in said film and made it his mission to marry her. The other remarkable thing that came out of that film was Emily befriending Stanley Tucci, who would remain a close friend for several years and was invited to Emily’s wedding.
It was here that Stanley met Emily’s older sister, and just a couple years later, they were married. Now with two children of their own, Stanley’s children should thank Aunt Emily for becoming their father’s sister-in-law and allowing them to be born in the first place.
Melissa McCarthy and Jenny McCarthy (Cousins)
Though they have the same name, you never would’ve thought these two would be related, seeing as their careers and lifestyles are just worlds apart. However, Jenny and Melissa are pretty close, as the former was responsible for getting her cousin her first role in show business.
Melissa first arrived via an appearance on Jenny’s self-titled sitcom in the 1990s, and we all know how far Melissa’s gotten now. A few years ago, Jenny had uploaded a throwback picture of herself and Melissa as children at a family gathering as well. They’re probably not all that close, though, as Jenny didn’t seem to have invited Melissa to her 2014 wedding to Donnie Wahlberg.
Warren Beatty And Shirley MacLaine (Siblings)
It’s an incredibly rare occurrence to have siblings becoming legends in show business, but it’s even rarer to have a pair of siblings who are Oscar winners. These days, Warren is older than most people in the world, but the now-81-year-old is still younger than his elder sister by three years.
These two seem to be heading for the grand mark in terms of age, and that’s just about the only milestone left for the pair, as they’ve ruled Hollywood and everything that comes with it. It’s a testimony to their relationship that they managed to remain close despite being so successful in their careers.
Barbara Streisand And Josh Brolin (Stepmother And Stepson)
Barbara is the stepmother to Josh, but you’d never know that considering how chummy they are with each other. Josh’s Mother’s Day wish to Barbara even had a picture of them going in for a smooch, which was a light-hearted nod to them not being related by blood.
But they are most definitely the model pair when it comes to being stepmother and stepson, and this is how people with this kind of relationship should be in general.
Jason Momoa And Zoe Kravitz (Stepfather And stepdaughter)
Here’s another stepfather and stepchild pairing for you, and one that’s even harder to digest. If one were to look at a picture of these without knowing who they were, they would think these two were a couple, but Jason is in fact married to Zoe’s mother.
It’s easy to see why this isn’t common knowledge, as Zoe takes her famous biological father’s name, while her mother hasn’t taken either her ex-husband or current husband’s name – keeping it as Lisa Bonet. Jason, of course, has a very distinct surname, which ends up causing all this ambiguity. But the father-daughter never seem to show that they only have ten-year age difference, and behave like parent and child.
Jonah Hill And Beanie Feldstein (Siblings)
She’s still only 26-years-old, while he’s approaching his 40s in a few years, and there’s the matter of them not having the same last name in show business; this is why knowledge of Jonah Hill being Beanie Feldstein’s older brother isn’t commonplace.
As this picture will attest, Jonah wants to say it loud and proud that he does have a younger sister, and Beanie has been making her mark as of late, with her role in Booksmart garnering her further praise. They were part of a trio of siblings, all with significant age gaps, and tragically lost their elder brother not too long ago.
Steven Spielberg And Jessica Capshaw (Stepfather And Stepdaughter)
If you want to be a smart guy and point out that Steven Spielberg isn’t an actor, then let us point you toward the number of cameos and guest appearances he’s acted in. With that out of the way, an interesting factoid you’d like to know is that Steven is the stepfather to Jessica Capshaw of Grey’s Anatomy fame.
Spielberg had once said the best thing out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was that he’d met his wife there, and her daughter is Jessica; she’s gotten very well with Spielberg, who’s all praise about her.
Ron Howard And Bryce Dallas Howard (Father And Daughter)
Yes, they have the same last name, but Bryce’s middle name kind of makes her overall name sound distinct. Also, who’d have thought the kid from Happy Days would be the father of the woman from Jurassic World?
Bryce is famously close with her father, though, and they’ve shown this closeness whenever they’ve been seen in public appearances. Through his daughter, Ron has become a grandfather, and he’s been married to Bryce’s mother for all of 44 years now – getting hitched when he was only 20. The great thing about his daughter is that she’s carved her own fame away from her father’s influence, which makes this lesser-known fact a source of pride for Ron.
Julianne Moore And Marisa Tomei (Cousins)
We’re reaching very far with this one, but it has been genetically proven that Julianne Moore and Marisa Tomei are biologically related. In a TV show called Finding Your Roots, Marisa discovered this familial relationship to the actress who’s already a very close friend to her.
What’s funny is that they went to the same school together, and starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love as romantic rivals without being aware of this relationship. The kicker is that they don’t know from where they are related, as their ancestors are unknown, but it is factual that they are distant cousins who both happened to become Oscar winners.
Matt Damon And Ben Affleck (Cousins)
Who’d have thought these best buddies were actually cousins? And this relationship was traced back all the way to the 1600s, where a gentleman called William Knowlton Jr was proven to be a great-ancestor to both Ben and Matt.
Since they share the same ancestor, it cements these two as distant, but also (in some ways) direct cousins as well. As it happened in history, their ancestor moved from England to Massachusetts, where he settled down; paving the way for Ben and Matt to meet each other three centuries later and make Good Will Hunting. We’ve always thought they were closer than friends, now we have biological proof they are.