It comes as no surprise that a lot of celebrities are connected to or even related to one another. But the celeb world is even smaller than it seems when you start to discover some of the lesser-known celebrity relatives. Here are several of them:
1. Phil Collins and Lily Collins
Rock musician Phil Collins was married to Jill Travelman from 1984 to 1996, and the couple had their daughter Lily Collins, star of Emily in Paris, in 1989. Lily and Phil have had a complicated relationship following Phil and Jill's divorce, and in her memoir, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, Lily wrote about how her how her dad was often not around and a lot of her insecurities came from her messy relationship with him. However, their relationship seems to have improved, and this year, Lily took to Instagram to wish her dad a happy birthday.
“Thank you for being a constant inspiration, constant laugh, and constant legend," she wrote. "I love you so much and am celebrating you big time today!" Many fans responded, surprised to find out that Phil was Lily's dad.
2. Christian Bale and Gloria Steinem
Actor Christian Bale is Gloria Steinem’s stepson. His father, David Bale, married Gloria Steinem in 2000, three years before he died. As a feminist activist, Gloria once took a stance against marriage, but when asked if she changed her views, she said she did not; instead, marriage changed.
"We spent 30 years in the United States changing the marriage laws. If I had married when I was supposed to get married, I would have lost my name, my legal residence, my credit rating, many of my civil rights. That's not true anymore. It's possible to make an equal marriage," she said.
Her stepson, Christian Bale, told The Guardian he believes in gender equality.
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3. Keith Morrison and Matthew Perry
Award-winning journalist Keith Morrison married Matthew Perry's mom, Suzanne Perry, in 1981. Keith told People in 2020 that Matthew is a "good guy" who was always the center of attention as a kid.
"On the hockey team, I used to take him off to his hockey games on Saturday mornings. It was like Matthew and the hockey team. He was the one who scored all the goals. He was the guy. The same on the tennis court. He was extremely, extremely good on the tennis court and very intense. He's an intense, talented, focused character. He's very bright. That was always the case as he was growing up," Keith said of his stepson, who is most famous for playing Chandler Bing on Friends.
4. Ashlee Simpson and Diana Ross
Ashlee Simpson married Diana Ross's son, Evan Ross, in 2014. In January 2023, Ashlee spoke about her relationship with her MIL on The Jennifer Hudson Show. She described Diana as a "wonderful mother-in-law."
"It's nerve-wracking at first playing music for anyone when it's new," Ashlee said. "But definitely [Diana Ross]! You're like, 'Oh please like it.' Definitely butterflies — but she's such a wonderful mother-in-law."
Ashlee said Diana even married them, and then sang for them.
5. Cory Booker and RuPaul
US Senator Cory Booker was not the first politician to make an appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race, but some viewers were surprised to find out that Cory Booker and RuPaul are actually cousins.
"Now, to explain the rules of the Lip Sync Smackdown, please welcome United States Senator — and my cousin — Cory Booker," RuPaul said.
People seemed skeptical, and RuPaul said, "No, really, we are related."
The cousins found out they were related in 2020 after RuPaul took part in the PBS series Finding Your Roots.
6. Halle Berry and Sarah Palin
In 2012, Halle Berry revealed to Extra that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is her distant relative. "You want to know who I'm related to?" Halle said at the time, "Sarah Palin!" When asked "How?" Halle said, "Some twisted way."
In 2020, the Daily Blast Live tweeted about their relationship, and Halle tweeted back.
“She may be on the tree but she ‘AINT invited to the cookout," Halle joked.
7. Kate Middleton and the Fanning Sisters
The relationship may be distant, but actors Dakota and Elle Fanning are related to Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. It turns out they're distant cousins, which was discovered by historians from Ancestry.com.
"It's so weird," Elle told E! News. "I saw it the other day. My cousins called me up and they were like, 'Look online!' I looked online and like King Edward III is my great-great-great-grandfather. I was like, 'Is this real?'"
8. Rob Schneider and Elle King
Musician Elle King is the daughter of comedian Rob Schneider and former model London King, but she said she wanted to be her own person and didn't want to be known as Rob Schneider's daughter.
"Growing up as somebody who was chubby, awkward, funny, has OCD and is weird and quirky and awkward but super sensitive, I had to really fight to be OK as myself. So I didn't want to be known as someone's kid," she told People.
When Elle released her EP, her dad wasn't part of her life and they didn't have a good relationship, but now, she speaks highly of him.
"My father and I have a beautiful and really wonderful, great loving relationship with awesome boundaries," she said.
9. Gabrielle Union and Saweetie
In 2018, a fan asked on Twitter if Gabrielle Union and Saweetie were cousins. Gabrielle wrote back: "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."
The actress and rapper have shown support for each other's projects on social media, but Saweetie wanted to accomplish her goals on her own when she was just starting out as an artist and didn't want help from her family.
