Sometimes celebrities who happen to be relatives are irrevocably linked to each other. Think the Wayans brothers. Will Smith, Jada Pinkett-Smith and their children Jaden and Willow. Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins from the old Super Friends cartoons. But on the other hand, there are times when you’re just living your life when you’re hit with some mind blowing news: Lily Collins is the daughter of Phil “It’s no stranger to you and me and then dramatic monster drum rift” Collins!? When celebrities never appear in anything together, have completely different last names, or even extremely common last names, it’s not always immediately obvious that they’re relatives. Here are 8 pairs (and one trio) of celebrities who you probably didn’t know were family.
1. Tom Cruise and William Mapother
Tom Cruise is everybody’s favorite actor/Scientology cult member. His first cousin, William Mapother, makes a living as a character actor on TV and in the movies. Aside from bit parts in several Cruise movies including Born on the Fourth of July, Magnolia, and Mission Impossible 2, Mapother is best known for his role as Ethan Rom, the main antagonist on the first season of Lost. Cruise’s father Tom III and William’s dad William Sr. were brothers. In fact, Cruise was actually born Thomas Mapother IV.
2. Julia and Emma Roberts
Many of us have aunts. Some of us might even have an Aunt Julia. A few have an aunt who happens to be named Julia Roberts. But only one person can say she is the niece of Julia Roberts. That would be Emma, the daughter of Julia’s brother Eric, also an actor. Julia and Eric were estranged for many years, due to his past struggles with drug addictions. But these days all is sunshine and rainbows in the Roberts family.
3. Jenny and Melissa McCarthy
Comedy runs in the family with these first-cousins. Former Playboy centerfold Jenny rose to fame in the mid-90s as co-host of the MTV dating game show Singled Out. She’s currently a judge on The Masked Singer. Melissa has made appearances in several movies including Bridesmaids and a terrible reboot of a beloved 80s movie, but let’s never speak of this again.
4. Jonah Hill and Beanie Feldstein
When you look at photos of Jonah and Beanie, the resemblance is unmistakable. That’s because they’re brother and sister. Hill is actually the Superbad star’s middle name. When Beanie landed a major role in the Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!, her brother celebrated by getting a tattoo of her name. Their late brother Jordan was the musical manager for Robin Thicke and Maroon 5. Sadly, he died unexpectedly in 2017 at the age of 40 from a pulmonary embolism.
5. Snoop Dogg and Brandy Norwood
In the mid-90s, Snoop was one of the biggest rappers on the planet while Brandy was a popular pop singer and actress. But few people knew they were actually first cousins. According to the rapper, the fact that they were related wasn’t a big deal to them, so there was no need to make an announcement. In 2009, they collaborated with Pharrel on the song “Special.”
6. Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson
Three generations of actresses. Starting as a model, Tippi Hedren was discovered by Alfred Hitchcock, who cast her in his horror film The Birds. Her subsequent movie career has lasted for almost 60 years and she’s even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She happens to be the mother of Melanie Griffith, best remembered for her performance in the 1988 romantic comedy Working Girl, for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Meanwhile, her daughter Dakota Johnson (with Don Johnson, whom she was married to twice) did those dumb Fifty Shades movies.
7. Blake and Robyn Lively
Since making a name for herself as the main character Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl, Blake has become a household name with several movies under her belt. She is also married to Ryan Reynolds. Meanwhile, Robyn is probably best known as Louise Miller in the 1989 cult classic Teen Witch. Blake and Robyn are half-sisters; Robyn is a product of her mother Elaine’s first marriage, while Blake came from Elaine’s second(and current) marriage.
8. Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beaty
Although these legendary actors don’t appear in a whole lot of movies these days — understandable considering they’re 86 and 83, respectively — they’ve earned the right to be regarded as royalty. Collectively, the siblings have been nominated for 120 acting awards and each have taken home an Oscar — Warren for Best Director for Reds and Shirley for Best Actress for Terms of Endearment. Although they have never done a movie together — entirely by design — they have a close relationship.
9. Quincy and Rashida Jones
Quincy is one of the most accomplished musical producers in history, having been nominated for a record 80 Grammy Awards (winning 28 of them) and worked with such acts as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson. Rashida currently stars in the Netflix sitcom Black AF and previously co-starred in Parks & Recreation. Although Rashida is Quincy’s daughter (his youngest of 7), even reporters don’t always make the connection. Case in point: during the 2015 SAG Awards red carpet, she was asked about her “very tan” appearance. Derp derp.
