Celebrities with Famous Ancestors
Have you ever wondered if you are a descendant of somebody noble and famous? Celebrities probably thought of that at one point, too. Sometimes, you would find that they are actually connected to some royalty or historical figure.
Here are some celebrities with famous ancestors:
1. Johnny Depp
Hollywood’s most versatile actor Johnny Depp has a descendant of royal blood that lived 500 years ago. A genealogist has found out that Depp is a 20th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Depp actually shared a great-grandfather with the queen that goes back 19 generations.
Depp is also a descendant of noblemen of the 15th century, William Gascoigne and Margaret Percy. Percy was the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Northumberland, who is directly related to England’s King Edward III.
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2. Hilary Duff
Most known as Disney’s Lizzie McGuire, Hilary Duff is probably the most royal celebrity because she has the closest relation to monarchs. She is an 18th cousin to both Queen Elizabeth II and King Edward III.
3. Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal
Hollywood’s Gyllenhaal siblings are descendants of King Edward III of England, making them connected to other descendants of the late king who are also in the entertainment industry: Audrey Hepburn, Michael Douglas, and Humphrey Bogart.
4. Brooke Shields 
Hollywood royalty Brooke Shields is related to different actual monarchs such as Elizabeth II, who is her 18th cousin, once removed. Shields is a direct descendant of King Henry IV, son of 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster, who is her ancestor. Her roots can be possibly traced also to Queen Catherine De Medici of France, and Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara.
5. Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is actually a third cousin, four times removed of former president Abraham Lincoln. They are linked through Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks. He is also distantly related to another former president, Herbert Hoover, as well as King John of England.
6. Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton is a 20th cousin to King Henry II of England, making her related also to presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Warren Harding. Plus, her relation to King Henry II connects her to Bette Davis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Brad Pitt.
7. Brad Pitt
As stated above, Brad Pitt’s royal ancestor is Henry II, who is his 25th cousin, twice removed. Pitt is also a distant relative to president Barack Obama, sharing their ancestry through a man named Edwin Hickman who was born in 1690.
8. George Clooney
George Clooney is Abraham Lincoln’s half-first cousin, five times removed. This means that Clooney is a relative to Tom Hanks, but is distantly related.
9. Robert Pattinson
Famous for playing a vampire named Edward for the Twilight series of movies, Robert Pattinson seems to be really destined for the role — it’s written in his genealogy. Pattinson is a distant relative of Vlad the Impaler – the inspiration behind the most popular vampire in the world, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
10. Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood is a descendant of Henry I of England. Because of this, he shares a lineage with ex-politicians like President Franklin Pierce, First Lady Nancy Reagan, and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, as well as business tycoon Bill Gates and actress Sigourney Weaver.
11. Ellen DeGeneres
The “Queen of Daytime TV” Ellen DeGeneres is a 19th cousin of Edward III. She is also related to Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, being her 14th cousin, twice removed.
12. Ben Affleck
Hollywood actor Ben Affleck is passionate about politics, probably because he is related to 16 presidents and an 11th cousin of Barack Obama. A bricklayer from the 17th century named William Knowlton Jr. linked him to Obama and to his long time buddy Matt Damon.
13. President Barack Obama
The first black American president, Barack Obama, became president probably because it is his birth right. Obama descended from England’s King Edward I, as well as other presidents like George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, James Madison, and William Henry Harrison. Being a politician is really in their blood.
