Hollywood and royal palaces may seem worlds apart. Yet genealogists keep uncovering jaw-dropping connections between your favorite stars and history’s most powerful monarchs. The results are as surprising as they are fascinating.
These links extend for centuries through complex European bloodlines. DNA testing and popular television programs, such as Who Do You Think You Are?, have played significant roles in uncovering these fascinating ancestral connections.
Beyoncé is a real-life queen
Queen Bey has always worn her crown proudly on stage. Now genealogists confirm she actually deserves one. She and the late Queen Elizabeth II are 25th cousins once removed through their shared ancestor, King Henry II.
Henry II ruled England in the 12th century. Beyoncé’s royal roots trace back through her Louisiana Creole heritage. Her nickname “Queen Bey” turns out to be more than just a catchy title.
Taylor Swift has a French royal connection
Taylor Swift toured Paris during her Eras Tour in May 2024. Around the same time, MyHeritage dropped a bombshell discovery. Researchers confirmed that Swift is the eighth cousin 11 times removed of King Louis XIV of France.
Louis XIV ruled France for 72 years and built the Palace of Versailles. Their shared ancestor is Michael de la Pole, the second Earl of Suffolk. Even Swift’s royal connection has a musical twist since Louis XIV was famously passionate about music.
Johnny Depp shares blood with Queen Elizabeth II
Johnny Depp may have played a pirate, but royalty runs in his veins. A genealogist traced his family tree back over 500 years and found a stunning royal link. Depp and Queen Elizabeth II are 20th cousins through their shared ancestor, King Edward III.
Edward III ruled England during the medieval period in the 14th century. The discovery was revealed on the TV show Who Do You Think You Are? Depp reportedly once crossed paths with the Queen briefly on a film set in the 1990s.
Ellen DeGeneres is Kate Middleton’s cousin
Ellen DeGeneres received a letter from the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 2011. The letter revealed a connection she never saw coming. She and Katherine, Princess of Wales, are 15th cousins through their common ancestor Sir Thomas Fairfax.
Sir Thomas Fairfax was a prominent general during the English Civil Wars. Their shared lineage dates back to the early 1500s in Yorkshire, England. Ellen joked on her show that the news meant she was practically royalty herself.
Robert Pattinson is cousins with Prince William
Robert Pattinson played a vampire in Twilight on screen. Off-screen, his royal bloodline is just as dramatic. Ancestry.com confirmed that Pattinson is a distant cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry through the Pickering family of Yorkshire.
The Pickering family connection dates back to the early 1500s. Through his ties to the British royal family, Pattinson is also linked to Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was the 15th-century ruler who inspired Bram Stoker’s legendary novel Dracula.
Hilary Duff is America’s most royal celebrity
Genealogy site FindMyPast.com once ranked Hilary Duff as America’s most royal celebrity. That is a bold title, but her family tree backs it up. She is the 18th cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II through her descent from King Edward III.
Her royal connection came through her “gateway ancestor,” Alexander Spotswood. Spotswood was a British Army officer and Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He was the 10th great-grandson of Edward III, cementing Duff’s surprisingly close royal tie.
Angelina Jolie has French royal blood
Angelina Jolie is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and also a distant royal. Genealogists connected her lineage to European royalty through her mother’s side of the family. She is the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 26th cousin through King Philip II of France.
Philip II ruled France in the 12th century. Jolie’s link to royalty runs deep in her maternal ancestry. In 2014, she received an honorary damehood from Queen Elizabeth II herself, making the connection feel almost poetic.
Benedict Cumberbatch is related to King Richard III
Benedict Cumberbatch is known for playing brilliant and complex characters on screen. His family history is equally complex and surprising. He is the 16th cousin of King Richard III, one of England’s last rulers to die in battle.
Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Cumberbatch once recited a poem at the king’s reburial ceremony in Leicester Cathedral in 2015. That ceremony followed the discovery of Richard III’s remains under a parking lot in 2012.
Jake Gyllenhaal descends from King Edward III
Jake Gyllenhaal and his sister Maggie are both acclaimed Hollywood actors. They also share a royal bloodline that stretches back to medieval England. The siblings are 19th cousins of the late Queen Elizabeth II through King Edward III.
Their connection comes through a Swedish noble family on their father’s side. King Edward III ruled England from 1327 to 1377 and is the ancestor of many celebrities. He appears repeatedly in celebrity genealogy as a crucial link between Hollywood and royalty.
Ozzy Osbourne is related to two royal lines
Ozzy Osbourne is the undisputed Prince of Darkness in rock music. However, scientists discovered he also has some legitimate royal blood in his DNA. When his genome was sequenced, it revealed connections to both Nicholas II of Russia and King George I of Britain.
Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia. King George I ruled Britain from 1714 to 1727. When told about the finding, Osbourne reportedly quipped that he was sure the royal family would be thrilled with the news.
Featured Image: Photo by Dick Thomas Johnson on Wikimedia Commons
