Watch: Sydney Sweeney Has a Surprising Family Connection to This Hollywood Icon
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend. But Marilyn Monroe and Sydney Sweeney? It turns out they’re actually cousins.
Ninth cousins, once removed, to be exact, according to MyHeritage.com.
“People have always drawn parallels between Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe, but seeing their paths align on a deeper level inspired us to look for a real bond in the MyHeritage archives,” Roi Mandel, director of research for the genealogy site, stated in a recent press release. “Uncovering their shared branch was incredible, it’s a powerful reminder that humanity is one vast family tree, and when we dig deep, we uncover how remarkably interconnected we all are.”
While Sweeney has yet to publicly comment on the family connection, she has channeled Monroe in the past.
In February, for instance, the Euphoria actress walked the red carpet at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in an off-the-shoulder, cream Ceil Chapman gown—a dupe of the frock the late Hollywood icon wore on the cover of LIFE Magazine in 1952. And when Sweeney attended the L.A. premiere for her film adaptation of The Housemaid in December, she wore a white halter gown by Galia Lahav that brought back memories of the famous William Travilla dress Monroe wore in her 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch.
However, The White Lotus alum isn’t the only one with ties to the Some Like It Hot star. Dakota Johnson—who actually played Monroe in the recent short film Flesh Impact—is her ninth cousin, three times removed, per the same website.
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As for other big names that share a familiar link, The Devil Wears Prada’s Meryl Streep is the sixth cousin of Vogue’s Anna Wintour, according to Ancestry.com.
“Well THAT explains EVERYTHING,” the Oscar winner told Entertainment Weekly in April about the truly groundbreaking discovery. “As our ancestors would say, I am chuffed!”
But if you were thinking, “That’s all,” you’d be wrong. Eva Longoria found out on a 2010 episode of Faces of America With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. that she and Streep are also distant cousins.
And while the Desperate Housewives alum was excited about the association, she had no intention of bringing it up when she ran into the Julie & Julia star at the Golden Globes several years back. However, Streep beat her to it.
“As I’m like, ‘No, I’m not going to do it,’ I hear, ‘Cousin! Cousin!'” Longoria recalled on a 2025 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “So cool.”
And if it feels like learning about more stars’ familial connections is in your blood, read on.
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