Hollywood is a small town, filled with beautiful days, gorgeous people and, of course, nepotism! There have been Hollywood families since film was created: the Barrymores, the Coppolas, the Warner Brothers — it’s in their name, they’re not even trying to deny it! But there are celebrities you had no idea were related out there in Tinseltown.
Don’t expect to see Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen on this list, or Cole and Dylan Sprouse. That would be too easy.
Some celebrity relations are obvious. Take Tom Hanks and son Colin Hanks for example: they have a similar look, the same way of delivering lines and the same type of kind charm that woos an audience. But Tom’s other son, Chet Hanks? It’s hard to see the resemblance.
Celebrity family members even sometimes opt to do projects together, which could either be an amazing bonding experience or end up like family night when the board game of choice is Monopoly.
Of course, you also have celebrity kin who change their last name in an attempt to separate themselves from the family name, either in an effort to make it on their own or to look like their parents didn’t help them get a job.
Meryl Streep, considered to be one of the greatest actors of our time, acted beside her daughter Mamie Gummer in Ricki and the Flash, a movie about a rock ‘n’ roll mom and a troubled daughter.
“I am among four other people on the planet that would not be actually intimidated by my mom, the others being the other people that I’m related to,” Mamie said at the Summer of Sony event in 2015. “It was a really wonderful experience. Honestly it was, it was really profound and one that I will treasure.”
Ever heard of the man named Nicolas Kim Coppola, the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola? Here’s a hint: he successfully stole the Declaration of Independence once. Instead of going by his government name, the actor goes by Nicolas Cage professionally.
“I had to reinvent myself. I am still legally Nicolas Coppola, but I am Nicolas Cage,” Nicolas told The Talks. I love my family and all of their accomplishments, but as a young actor going into casting offices, I couldn’t get that off of me. I had to focus on the character and the audition and there was pressure because of my name.”
“As soon as I went into the casting office under a new name and they didn’t know that there was a connection and I got the part, I was like, ‘I can really do this,'” he added. “I felt liberated. It gave me the freedom to become what I wanted to be in my dreams.”
They may change their last names but they can’t hide. Keep scrolling to see the celebrities you didn’t know were related!