Surprising Celeb Relatives, A knack for being a great performer sometimes runs in the family -- and in turn, so does fame. Find out who stars like Tom Cruise, Blake Lively and Gwyneth Paltrow claim as famous relatives.
"Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively gets a lot of attention nowadays, but she's not the only actor on the family. In fact, everyone in her family is an actor, but her older sister made a name for herself playing an '80s-tastic witch and a "Twin Peaks" seductress.
Of course, anyone who's ever picked up a copy of Entertainment Weekly knows that Gwyneth Paltrow is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director Bruce Paltrow. But two of Gwyneth's cousins are famous too.
Macaulay Culkin has been famous for most of his life, but he -- and, by extension, all the other assorted Culkins -- have a famous aunt who helped him get into showbiz.
Melissa McCarthy wasn't always the funny one in her family. About a decade before her rise to fame, her funny cousin had all the glory. In fact, the cousin helped Melissa get started in Hollywood to begin with.
They're not first cousins, but Brooke Shields and another well-known actress are closely enough related that you'd expect their relationship to be better known. Both of them rose to fame around the same time and still act today...
They're not first cousins, but Brooke Shields and another well-known actress are closely enough related that you'd expect their relationship to be better known. Both of them rose to fame around the same time and still act today...
Sitcoms aren't the only form of TV that the Schwimmer family has taken over. While David Schwimmer made his name on "Friends," his cousin made hers on a certain competitive reality show about 10 years later.
Tom Cruise has one of the most famous faces in Hollywood. But you might not realize that he has an actor cousin who bears a certain resemblance. You've probably seen this guy -- especially if you were a "Lost" fan -- but once you notice the resemblance, you can't un-see it.
If you watched her in "Saturday Night Live," then you'd know that Maya Rudolph has a great singing voice. But what late '70s chanteuse was Rudolph's mother?
Nicolas Cage might have changed his last name, but he's still related to one of the most powerful families in showbiz. And as result of this fact, two of his cousins are also A-list celebrities.
Norah Jones has become a household name and a radio regular as a result of her work as a singer-songwriter. She also happens to have a father who is a veritable music legend -- and was one of the major influences on The Beatles -- but whom she saw seldom while she was growing up.
The story of Christian Bale's stepmother is a bit of a tearjerker. A famous feminist, she didn't marry until she found the right guy -- at age 66. Unfortunately, this gentleman, environmental activist Bale, died just three years later.
Kyra Sedgwick also comes from a talented family with knack for getting its name in the news. But of all her relatives, one stands out most. In fact, this '60s icon was played by Sienna Miller in a movie about her life.
A lanky, red-headed Irish comedian? Conan O'Brien has to be the only one, right? Nope -- there's another famous Irish funnyman out there who's also well-known. And he happens to O'Brien's cousin through marriage.
No longer "that girl from 'The Goonies,'" Martha Plimpton has found a second career cracking jokes on the sitcom "Raising Hope." But Plimpton had a powerful Hollywood family to fall back on. And perhaps most famous among her relations is a certain late uncle with a talent for martial arts.
From "Wings" to "Private Practice," Tim Daly has maintained a presence on TV for years. But he's not the first in his family to do so. His aunt became famous years earlier playing a TV detective.
Sissy Spacek has been a Hollywood star for years, but even if you followed her work from the get-go, you might not know that she has a cousin with an equally long-lived career. He counts everything from "Men in Black" to "30 Rock" among his credits.
Moby has parlayed his DJ work into status as one of Hollywood's smarter, artsier celebs. But it very well might be that he inherited his creativity from his famous ancestor. Hint: Moby's name is a clue.
Long after "Happy Days" ended its run, Henry Winkler is still strongly identified as The Fonz. But Winkler has a cousin who's perhaps just as strongly identified with a single TV character. In fact, he's played the character on nine different TV shows.
George W. Bush was the 43rd president of the United States. But what's his tie to Hollywood -- you know, aside from presiding over the country where Hollywood is located? It's a good one, and you have to wonder what liberal-leaning celebs would have made of it.
Posted in: Celebrities
3:11 AM
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