Families are something confusing when it comes to bloodlines. It is true that gene is one of the characteristics that switch a normal person into a celeb. From athletic skill to musical ability, these things can run in families but it is amazing that some other kind of greatness happens in some families. We couldn't help but wonder about that when we started learning how many current
celebrities whose ancestors made history. It turns out that in the
Entertainment industry, many celebrities are descendants of historical figures.
From the descendants of Abraham Lincoln and Ernest Hemingway to the distant cousin of Hugh Hefner, some have super fascinating family trees. Keep scrolling down to discover who they are.
You can find more interesting articles
here and
here.
#1 King Phillip II of France - Angelina Jolie
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Angelina Jolie has lineage from King Phillip II of France who ruled from 1180 to 1223 and brought financial stability to his country. The actress once played Queen Olympias in the 2004 movie “Alexander”, opposite Val Kilmer’s Phillip II.
#2 King Henry II of England - Brad Pitt
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Brad Pitt is a descendant of King Henry II of England, who ruled from 1154 to 1189. The actor is also Queen Elizabeth's distant relative (25th cousin).
#3 Jane Austen is Anna Chancellor’s great-aunt
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Anna Chancellor is best known as Caroline Bingley in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice BBC Miniseries. But, it’s a surprise that the highly venerated author is an 8-time great aunt to Chancellor.
#4 H.H. Asquith - Helena Bonham Carter
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Herbert Henry Asquith, the Prime Minister of the UK from 1908 to 1916, was Bonham Carter’s paternal great-grandfather.
#5 Charles Dickens - Harry Lloyd
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Many might not know that Harry Lloyd’s mother is the descendant of the seventh child of Dickens. Therefore, Harry Lloyd is the great-great-great-grandson of the mighty author.
#6 King Richard III - Benedict Cumberbatch
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Doctor Strange Benedict Cumberbatch is the 16
th cousin to king Richard III, who ruled England from 1452 to 1485. This is the last English king to have died during a battle.
#7 King Henry I - Sigourney Weaver
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Actress Sigourney Weaver is a descendant of Henry I, who ruled from 1100 to his death in 1135.
#8 King Edward III - Jake Gyllenhaal
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Known as a king who pursued warfare, King Edward III showed great clemency. He ruled the English from 1312 to 1377 and his bloodlines spread far and wide. Jake Gyllenhaal is one of his descendants.
#9 William Shakespeare - Meghan Markle
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We know Meghan Markle is related to the British Royal Family after she got married to Prince Harry. But many might not know that she is cousins with the great playwright William Shakespeare.
#10 Ozzy Osbourne is related to Tsar Nicholas II
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The singer is not just a descendant of the Neanderthal man, but also a relative of outlaw Jesse James. But his claim to royal fame is with the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, whose entire family was wiped out in the revolution.
#11 John Elwes - Cary Elwes
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Actor Cary Elwes is related to John Elwes, who was Charles Dickens’s inspiration behind the miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge in the classic “A Christmas Carol”.
#12 The Deschanel sisters are related to Louis IV of France
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Zooey and Emily Deschanel can lay claim to royal French blood, all the way back to King Louis IV of France, who ruled from 936 to 954.
#13 Anderson Cooper is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s great-grandson
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Anderson Cooper’s mother is the granddaughter of Cornelius, the shipping and railroad magnate. So the host is his great-grandson.
#14 Robert Pattinson is a descendant of Vlad the Impaler
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Robert Pattinson who played the love-sick vampire has a real-life blood connection to “Dracula”. It turns out the actor is related to Vlad the Impaler, via the British royal family.
#15 Beyoncé Knowles is the 25th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II
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Beyoncé Knowles is the 25th cousin to Queen Elizabeth, once removed since they both share King Henry II as a common ancestor.