Entertainment & Music Famous People You Didn't Know Were Related

emuboy

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There are lots of famous people such as actors, TV presenters, musicians, politicians, sportspeople who have famous relatives who are also in the public domain. In a lot of cases you know that they are related. For example, I always knew that actor Richard Attenborough and nature documentary film-maker David Attenborough were brothers, that Henry Fonda was the father of Jane and Peter Fonda and the grandfather of Bridget Fonda (Peter's daughter) and that Kylie and Danni Minogue were sisters.

However, which famous people had you been aware of for some time but only much later found out were related? These are some of mine:

Kirk and Candice Cameron (brother & sister) - If you grew up in the late 1980s - early 1990s, you no doubt watched or at least were aware of sitcoms Growing Pains and Full House, which starred young actors Kirk Cameron in Growing Pains as Mike Seaver, and Candice Cameron in Full House as DJ Tanner. But it wasn't until many years later after both shows were long cancelled that I learned Kirk and Candice Cameron were brother and sister.

Jerry and Gary Lewis (father and son) - The late Jerry Lewis was a famous actor, comedian, writer, director and TV presenter for years, and I always liked 1960s pop group Gary Lewis and the Playboys, who produced catchy hits such as 'Everybody Loves a Clown', 'This Diamond Ring' and 'She's Just My Style'. However, it was some time before I found out that Gary Lewis is the son of Jerry Lewis.

Clive and David Swift (brothers) - In the 1990s I would always despair for the long-suffering Richard Bucket, the hen-pecked husband of Hyacinth in British sitcom 'Keeping Up Appearances', the role of Richard so well played by Clive Swift. I also used to enjoy the satirical English sitcom 'Drop the Dead Donkey', which starred David Swift as a womanizing newsreader/journalist Henry Davenport. Perhaps because they played such different characters, it was only recently when Clive Swift died that I found out that David Swift (who died a number of years ago) was his brother.

Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine (sisters) - I had no idea that these two Hollywood actresses both of whom enjoyed long and successful careers were actually sisters. Longevity certainly seems to run in the family. Joan died in 2013 at the age of 96, while older sister Olivia is still alive today at age 103.

Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson (mother and daughter) - I saw plenty of Goldie Hawn films in the 1980s, but had no idea for some time that she was mother to actress Kate Hudson, who rose to stardom in the early 2000s.
 

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Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola and is Francis Ford Coppola's nephew. Cage changed his surname to avoid the appearance of nepotism. Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) is also a nephew of Francis.


You only have to sit through half of Cage's acting to realise that it was nepotism.
 
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Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola and is Francis Ford Coppola's nephew. Cage changed his surname to avoid the appearance of nepotism. Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) is also a nephew of Francis.

Also, Adrian (Talia Shire) from Rocky is in the family, Francis Ford's sister.
 
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Mariska Hargitay, of Law and Order SVU fame, is Jayne Mansfield's daughter.

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Warren Beatty /Shirley McLaine brother sister
That's the big one for me. I managed to become a big fan of both of them respectively as a young adult, and when I eventually found out they were brother and sister I basically did an Elaine "get out!" shove. Shirley is weird like that: lived with Andrei Konchalovsky, had the husband and child living in Japan, the Andrew Peacock relationship, meeting Deng Xiaoping, etc.
 

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Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher was one I consistently forgot

Oh, and Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli and Boy from Oz Peter Allen
 
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