You’ll Be Shocked to Learn That These Celebrities Are Cousins

Cory Booker and RuPaul

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and famed drag queen and TV personality RuPaul discovered they are distant cousins 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 thank God for my cousin, RuPaul," Booker said during his cameo.

Jenny McCarthy and Melissa McCarthy

You couldn't ask for a better cousin than Jenny McCarthy. In the '90s, the Masked Singer judge — who is married to Blue Bloods star Donnie Wahlberg — helped her older cousin, Emmy-winning actress Melissa McCarthy, 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 spoken out against criticism of Melissa on multiple occasions.

Tom Cruise and William Mapother

Once you know Tom Cruise's real name 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, he'll always be Ethan, the duplicitous member of the Others from Lost.

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 Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Brandy did on Snoop Dogg'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 Kyra Sedgwick 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 Brooke Shields and Glenn Close!" (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 Clueless actress Stacey Dash are cousins.

Sofia Coppola, Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman

Composer Carmine Coppola unwittingly spawned a Hollywood dynasty: His son Francis Ford Coppola became the famed director of The Godfather (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 Sofia Coppola and Shire's son Jason Schwartzman have each followed in their parent's footsteps, while their cousin Nicolas Cage (son of the comparatively unknown August Coppola) took a new name from one of his favorite superheroes and became the internet's One True God.

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 American Idol winner and The Color Purple actress Fantasia Barrino.

The trio hasn't officially recorded together, but K-Ci did appear during Barrino's September 2012 concert in Oklahoma City to duet on "Nobody Greater" 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.

Melissa Gorga was just a child when her cousin Ralph Macchio shot to fame in The Karate Kid (1984). Years later, while Macchio was working as a guest actor on shows like Psych and How I Met Your Mother, 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 Rascal Flatts!

Gwyneth Paltrow and Katherine Moennig

Even before she became famous on The L Word, actress Katherine Moennig was haunted by questions about her blonder, goopier cousin.

For a 2000 Observer profile, when Moennig was asked about Gwyneth Paltrow, "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 Austin Butler 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 High School Musical alumna and the Elvis star never realized they were 10th cousins once removed.

Tisdale revealed her surprising family ties while speaking to her sister, Jennifer Tisdale, for a 2022 episode of Ancestry's 2 Lies & A Leaf series. "Austin and I always say that we're like fraternal twins 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 “twin born 7 years later” in a sweet tribute Instagram post for his 30th birthday in 2021.

Gabrielle Union and Saweetie

Some fans were shocked to learn that Saweetie is actually Union’s “little cousin.” The Bring It On actress snuck in this familial fun fact about herself in 2018 while praising Kehlani in a Woman Crush Wednesday post on X (formerly Twitter).

“Wait, so you & @Saweetie  are cousins? Frfr,” one user tweeted, to which Union replied with the breakdown: “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 *NSYNC member appeared on Ancestry's 2 Lies & A Leaf series with his husband, Michael Turchin, who asked Bass to guess which famous singer was part of his family tree: Faith Hill, Britney Spears or Elvis.

"I wish!” Bass said of the chances of being one of the “Toxic” singer’s relatives. “I really hope it's Britney, 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."