Royal Family: The Queen’s 12 distant relatives who are all Hollywood stars
The Royal Family holds some huge family names and boasts very extensive bloodlines that span a host of generations through history. As a result, there are a number of famous faces scattered across the globe which you almost certainly didn’t know were distant relatives of different royals.
Some of the famous folks below you would never have expected to be related to The Queen in a million years. After all, they’re all Hollywood actors. And while the Royal Family are often considered celebrities in their own right, its quite surprising to see just how many mainstream celebrities have interesting royal connections.
From movie stars to singers and child actors, there are plenty of people who hold some connection to the crown, albeit often very distant ones, according to Insider. Here is a list the 12 most famous people who are related to Her Majesty. Some of these will blow your mind.
READ MORE: Royal Family: The very weird food the Queen loves to have on toast
(Image: PA)
Paris Hilton
According to reports, the 41-year-old heiress and DJ is a 20th cousin of The Queen through King Henry II who ruled from 1154 to 1189. In her own life t he Hollywood actor and socialite has starred in roles in 8 simple rules, and Scooby Doo.
Hilton told Cosmopolitan in 2020 that “psychics” had said she related to Marilyn Monroe before her mum performed a 23andMe DNA kit that showed she was related to both Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth.
(Image: Getty)
Hilary Duff
You may know Hillary Duff her from her hit single ‘So Yesterday’ and her iconic role in Lizzie Maguire. But, on top of this, a genealogy study showed that she is an 18th cousin of Queen Elizabeth, according to CBS News.
It claimed she is related to Alexander Spotswood, the 10th great-grandson of Edward III. Spotswood was an officer in the British Army and the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
(Image: 2022 Getty Images)
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes is a prolific blockbuster actor, well know for his role as Harry Potter’s arch nemesis Lord Voldemort and other films including Schindler’s List, The King’s Man and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
You might not know however, that is is reportedly a distant cousin of Prince Charles. The Financial Times claims he and Queen Elizabeth II are eighth cousins.
(Image: Hannes Magerstaedt/Getty Images)
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields an American actor featured in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon. But she is also the Queen’s 18th cousin, once removed, according to the FindMyPast.com study.
She is supposedly a descendant of King Henry IV of France, who was assassinated in 1610. The common ancestor she shares with the Queen is John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and son of England’s Edward III.
(Image: 2022 Bravo Media LLC)
Jake Gyllenhaal
American heartthrob Jake Gyllenhaal, who is well known for his roles in Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko and The Day After Tomorrow, has a lineage that traces back to King Edward III, who ruled from 1327 to 1377, according to CBS News.
(Image: Shared Content Unit)
Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas, who is now aged 77, has acted in a host of iconic Hollywood films and is particularly famous for his roles in the controversial thrillers Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction. Aside from that he’s been in pretty much everything including Jewel of the Nile.
The producer’s ancestor is reported to be King Edward III.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Ellen DeGeneres
The legendary chat show host who’s been on American TV for donkey’s years is the Queen’s 19th cousin, twice removed, through King Edward III.
She is also 15th cousins with the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton through Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife, Agnes Gascoigne according to the New England Genealogical Society.
(Image: Getty)
Laura Dern
Laura Dern, who is perhaps best known for her role in Jurassic Park in 1993, but has also had roles in Little Fockers, Little Women and Marriage Story. Her apparent claim to royalty is being Her Majesty’s cousin three times removed. She is also related to Edward III.
(Image: Getty)
Johnny Depp
The man who played Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean may be the Queen’s 20th cousin. Dr Nick Barratt, a genealogist with “Who Do You Think You Are?,” established the possible connection.
He said in 2012: “When I examined Johnny’s history I discovered a likely connection to the royal family. I’ve since established the family tree that demonstrates how. You have to go back more than 500 years to reach the point where his ancestors become royal.”
(Image: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for ZFF)
Hugh Grant
You may think of him as being related to the Prime Minister, being well loved by fans for his role as the PM in Christmas flick Love Actually. But Hugh can trace his lineage back to King Henry VII of England and King James IV of Scotland, according to the Radio Times.
(Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Beyoncé
Everyone knows the Texas-born singer, Beyoncé, rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child and is married to rapper and producer Jay-Z.
However, few might know that she is reported to be the Queen’s 25th cousin once removed. According to FindMyPast.com, the common ancestor she shares is King Henry II, who was Queen Elizabeth’s 24th great-grandfather.
(Image: Getty)
Allison Janney
Actor Allison Janney and The Queen are supposedly related through Edward I, who was England’s king between 1272 and 1307, according to the FindMyPast.com study.
(Image: Getty)
Want more articles like this straight to your inbox? Subscribe to MyLondon’s FREE newsletters here.
Here at MyLondon, we love Croydon. From the very first Croydon Advertiser in 1869 to the present, we love hearing about what the South London borough has to offer.
That’s why we’re launching a very special newsletter dedicated to all things Croydon and to build a community that cares about this place as much as we do.
Every weekday, Croydon Central will bring you the latest news, stories of residents and feature the many brilliant businesses that give the borough its unique character. It’s a place that’s bursting with life just waiting to be covered. What’s more, it will be sent straight to your inbox for FREE.
Let us know what you’d like to see – and look out for our first newsletter in your inbox very soon, which you can sign up for here by ticking Croydon Central from the list and saving it before adding in your email. In the meantime, you can take a look at Reach’s privacy policy.
Related Article
'Lioness' star admits Hollywood success requires 'painful' sacrifices – Yahoo News
How A Star of ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Took Broadway and Hollywood by Storm – Rolling Stone