Scarlett Johansson and Michael Douglas? Surprising celebrities you didn't know were related

Proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, here’s a list of other stars you didn’t know share a bloodline
Tina Campbell6 April 2024
The Weekender

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Michael Douglas was recently stunned to discover that he is related to Marvel co-star Scarlett Johansson, but they are not the only surprising celebs who share a family connection.

Appearing on an episode of US genealogy series Finding Your Roots, the veteran actor, who is the son of three-time Oscar nominee Kirk Douglas, was told of his link to the Black Widow star.

“Your DNA cousin is the actress Scarlett Johansson,” host Louis Gates JR explained to Douglas.

Adding: “Michael and Scarlett share identical stretches of DNA on four different chromosomes, all of which appear on Scarlett’s maternal lines, which stretch back to Jewish communities in eastern Europe.”

Proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, here’s a list of other stars you didn’t know share a bloodline.

Ant and Dec

Ant and Dec consider each other like brothers but are in fact, cousins
PA Wire

They’ve been best friends for decades since first meeting when they were just 13 years old on the set of children's drama Byker Grove and while they consider each other like brothers, a DNA test carried out in 2019 revealed they are in fact cousins.

Appearing on ITV’s Ant and Dec’s DNA Journey, it was revealed that they both share the same DNA as the skeleton of a Viking, who was believed to have died in Dublin in 790AD. The Geordie duo are both descendants of the Viking, through their father's bloodlines, which means they are distant cousins.

Kate Middleton and Elle and Dakota Fanning

Kate Middleton and Elle and Dakota Fanning are distant cousins
Getty

According to an Ancestry.com historian, US actresses Dakota and Elle Fanning's lineage can be traced back to King Edward III from the 14th century. Catherine, the Prince of Wales’ mother, Carole Middleton, is a direct descendant of the king, making Kate and the two Hollywood sisters distant cousins.

Justin Bieber, Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne

Justin Bieber, Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne have more in common than just all being Canadian
Getty

Aside from all being Canadian, it turns out that the talented trio also share a blood line.

Singer Bieber described it as “the best day of my life” when he discovered the link and shared a breakdown of their family tree online.

A 2012 article by Ancestry.com was able to trace Bieber's ancestral generations, going back all the way to his 11th great grandparents Marthurin Roy and Marguerite Bire. According to the site, Roy and Bire were born in the early 1600s in France and later immigrated to Quebec.

His connection to fellow singer Lavigne and actor Gosling is thanks to Bire and Roy’s daughter Marguerite Roy, who is Bieber’s 10th great grand aunt. As a result, it turns out that Gosling is actually Bieber’s eleventh cousin once removed, while Lavigne is his twelfth cousin.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

Actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are not only best friends, they are cousins
Frazer Harrison/Getty

Best friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have not only graced the screen together before, genealogists have discovered a deeper connection.

In addition to both descending from an Ipswich, Massachusetts, bricklayer named William Knowlton Jr. (making them 10th cousins, once-removed), Affleck is also related to Princess Diana and 16 US presidents, including Barack Obama, who is his 11th cousin. Damon meanwhile is related to 11 former presidents. 

Brad Pitt and Barack Obama

Barack Obama and Brad Pitt are ninth cousins
Getty

Speaking of Barack Obama, it turns out that he and Brad Pitt are also distant cousins. Ninth cousins to be precise.

The Oscar-winning actor and former US president share a common ancestor.

The link is Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769. Obama is a direct descendant of Hickman's son James through the president's white Kansas-born mother, Ann Dunham Sutoro.

Hickman's other son, Edwin Jr, James's brother, is head of the line leading to William Bradley Pitt, known these days as Brad.

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