From Marilyn Monroe to the Royal Family: Celebrity Family Ties

American actress Dakota Johnson unexpectedly turned out to be a distant relative of Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe. This is the conclusion reached by the specialists of the Ancestry genealogical service, who studied the family trees of both actresses. However, this is far from the only case when modern celebrities are related to historical figures or other famous people. Among them are the English kings, the organizer of the Gunpowder Plot, the prototype of Count Dracula, and even Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The most unusual family ties of the stars are described in the Izvestia article.

Dakota Johnson and Marilyn Monroe: A relationship that hadn't been suspected for decades

The reason to talk about the unusual family ties of celebrities again was the research of the Ancestry genealogical service. The results of the analysis were published against the background of images of Dakota Johnson in the image of Marilyn Monroe, whose role she will play in the short film "Flesh Strike." Experts have found out that Johnson and one of the main Hollywood icons of the 20th century are nine cousins with a difference of three generations. Despite such a distant relationship, both women share a common ancestor who lived several centuries ago.

Such discoveries have become possible thanks to digital archives that combine billions of records of births, marriages, population censuses and migration. Such databases allow us to trace the origin of a person back dozens of generations and find connections that were previously almost inaccessible even to professional historians.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard III: the actor who played his own ancestor

One of the most famous such stories is Benedict Cumberbatch's relationship with the English King Richard III. In 2015, scientists at the University of Leicester, who studied the remains of the monarch, confirmed that the actor was indeed a distant relative of his. According to experts, they are separated by 16 generations.

The family connection goes through Joan Beaufort, the granddaughter of King Edward III of England. It is from her that two different branches of the family originate: one leads to Richard III, the other to the Cumberbatch family. Genealogists at the University of Leicester were able to reconstruct both lines of origin in detail during extensive work on the identification of the remains of the king, found in 2012 under a car park in Leicester.

The story became particularly famous also because, shortly after the confirmation of the relationship, it was Cumberbatch who read the poem at the ceremony of the reburial of Richard III's remains in Leicester Cathedral. Later, the actor also played the role of the English monarch in the historical cycle "The Empty Crown".

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Kit Harington and Robert Catesby: descendant of the mastermind of the Gunpowder Plot

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington also found himself linked to one of the famous figures in English history. His ancestor was Robert Catesby, a nobleman who went down in history as the organizer of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot. Together with a group of like-minded people, he planned to blow up the House of Lords during the opening of parliament and kill King James I, but the plot was discovered and its participants executed.

The actor learned about the unusual origin during the filming of the historical drama "Gunpowder", in which he played the role of Catesby himself. A study of the family tree has shown that Harington is indeed a direct descendant of the conspirator on his mother's side. According to the actor, before starting work on the series, he knew almost nothing about his famous ancestor.

According to the Findmypast service, Harington's family tree is closely linked to British history. His ancestors include representatives of old English aristocratic families, and the surname "Harington" has been mentioned in documents since the Norman conquest of England. Thanks to this, the researchers were able to trace the actor's family tree back more than nine centuries.

Robert Pattinson and Vlad Tepes: the connection to the prototype of Count Dracula

Robert Pattinson, who became famous for his role as the vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight film series, unexpectedly found himself associated with the man who inspired writer Bram Stoker to create the image of Count Dracula. In 2010, Ancestry service specialists stated that the actor was a distant relative of Wallachian Prince Vlad III Tepes, who lived in the 15th century.

Genealogists have concluded that the family connection runs through the British royal family. Some of Vlad Tepes' descendants are considered to be Princes William and Harry, and Pattinson belongs to the same branch through common European aristocratic lines. The researchers emphasized that this is an extremely distant relationship, but from the point of view of genealogy, it is confirmed by historical documents.

The story caused a great resonance in the media due to an unusual coincidence: the actor who played one of the most famous vampires of modern cinema turned out to be a relative of the man who is considered to be the prototype of Dracula. As noted by Reuters, the study was published against the backdrop of the worldwide success of the Twilight franchise, which only increased public interest in this finding.

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Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson: the relationship of two outstanding authors

In the spring of 2024, Ancestry announced another unexpected discovery. It turned out that American singer Taylor Swift and one of the most famous poets of the 19th century, Emily Dickinson, are six cousins of each other with a difference of three generations. Both come from the English immigrant Jonathan Gillett, who settled in Windsor, Connecticut, in the 17th century.

The researchers note that Gillett's descendants lived in Connecticut for several generations, but then the family lines split. Dickinson's ancestors remained in Massachusetts, where the future poet spent almost her entire life, and the branch of the Swift family later moved to Pennsylvania. Despite this, after almost four centuries, genealogists have managed to trace the connection between two women who had a huge impact on American culture.

The news received a wide response also because fans of the singer have long found references to Dickinson in her work. Swift has repeatedly mentioned the poet among the authors who influenced her, and many fans associated the name of the album The Tortured Poets Department with Dickinson's work. After the publication of the research results, many found this coincidence even more symbolic.

Hilary Duff and Elizabeth II: America's most "royal" celebrities

No less famous is the story of actress and singer Hilary Duff. Back in 2008, American genealogists named her the closest relative of the British royal family among celebrities from the United States. According to the study, Duff is Queen Elizabeth II's eighteenth cousin through the English officer and colonial administrator Alexander Spotswood.

FindMyPast specialists studied the pedigrees of several Hollywood actors and musicians and came to the conclusion that it is the Duff line that is most closely associated with the British monarchy. According to experts, many American celebrities do have European aristocratic roots, but it was the actress' family tree that turned out to be the closest to the royal family.