Celebrities you didn't know were related

About some celebrities, you always knew they were related, but others can really surprise you. Whether distant or close, the following celebs are actually relatives. Find out how…

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are inseparable in the professional department. They have worked together as actors, writers, and directors… However, it turns out they are connected personally as well! The two are distant cousins.

These two famous actresses are second cousins! Meryl Streep's dad and Brooke Shields' mother have common German ancestors. What's more, Meryl Streep has another famous cousin in the Hollywood scene: Glenn Close.

Cameron Diaz is married to Benji Madden, who is none other than the twin brother of Nicole Richie's husband, Joel Madden. So they are sisters-in-law.

These brothers-in-law met each other by acting in the movies 'Jarhead' (2005) and 'Rendition' (2007). Sarsgaard is married to Jake Gyllenhaal's sister, the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Brad Pitt is the ninth cousin of ex-president Barack Obama. At the same time, his family has a distant connection to Winston Churchill.

This may not be as surprising as some of the other names: the actresses are mother and daughter. Kate Hudson was born when Goldie Hawn was married to the musician and actor Bill Hudson.

These actors were cousins through Ferrer's mother, Rosemary Cooney, the sister of Georges Clooney's dad. When Miguel Ferrer passed away in 2017, Clooney said some beautiful words about his cousin: "He came in like a comet, he rocketed through life, and he got out."

Jason Sudeikis' uncle is another actor, George Wendt. He became famous for his role as Norm Peterson in the show 'Cheers'. So he must be proud of his talented nephew.

Actress Ariel Winter - known for her role as Alex Dunphy in 'Modern Family'- is the sister of Jimmy Workman. He played Pugsley in 'The Adams Family' in 1993. Both actors along with the actress Shanelle Gray are the children of Chrisoula and Glenn Workman.

Stanley Tucci's wife is the literary agent Felicity Blunt. And as you may have guessed, Felicity is the sister of the actress, Emily Blunt. So the actors are brother and sister-in-law.

The actress, writer, and director shares the same hair color, skin, and, of course, last name as her father, the director Ron Howard. She's following her father's footsteps in Hollywood.

When the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS) published a study about the genealogical trees of the candidates for the US presidency in 2008, they found out that Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie were distant cousins (ninth cousins to be precise). Their link is a man named Jean Cusson de St. Sulpice from Quebec who died in 1718.

The famous presenter and actor Al Roker is the second uncle to Lenny Kravitz. He is the second cousin of Roxie Roker, the mother of the New York musician and composer.

Shirley MacLean Beaty is the full name of the iconic American actress. If you knew that, you might have also known that she's the elder sister of Warren Beatty. They were both born in Richmond, Virginia, and belong to a middle-class family where they acquired their passion for acting. They both changed something in their names.

The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, is the fourth cousin of film director Guy Ritchie. According to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS), their common ancestor is a man named David Martineau.

This family connection is relatively well-known. Nicolas Cage's father is the brother of director Francis Ford Coppola. That makes the American actor the nephew of the actress Talia Shire, the cousin of directors Roman and Sofia Coppola, the producer Gian-Carlo Coppola, and the actors Robert Carmine and Jason Schwartzman. To avoid accusations of nepotism, Nicolas changed his last name to Cage, partially inspired by the Marvel superhero, Luke Cage.

Mariah Carey revealed that she was a distant cousin of the soccer player Ashley Cole. "It's fascinating," she said, cited by The Sun. "My grandmother's last name was Cole before she got married and comes from the same Alabama area where Ashley's ancestors are from."

Maybe their last names confuse you, but they are father and daughter. The singer, composer, and actress Elle King has taken the name of her mother, the former model London King.

Another pair of famous actresses that most people know are related, are Liza May Minnelli and Judy Garland. The singer has her father's last name, Vicente Minnelli, but her mother is the iconic actress who played the role of Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939).

Jessica Capshaw, who played Arizona Robbins in 'Grey's Anatomy', is the daughter-in-law of Steven Spielberg. Her mother, Kate Capshaw, married the famous American director after they met on the set of 'Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom'.

R&B singer Brandy Norwood — who is also an actress and music producer — is the cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg.

It's obvious that Charlie Sheen is the son of Martin Sheen, but some people forget that Emilio Estevez is also his son. Emilio was the only one who kept his original name when his father (Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estevez) and his brother (Carlos Irwin Estevez) decided to change them.

The actress and model Dakota Johnson is the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Antonio Banderas was married to Melanie Griffith for nearly two decades, which meant he was Dakota Johnson's stepfather for quite a while.

The actor William Mapother ('Lost', 'Mad Men' and 'Castle') is Tom Cruise's cousin. They have worked together in movies like 'Born on the Fourth of July' (1989), 'Mission: Impossible II' (2000), and 'Minority Report' (2002).

Zoe Kravitz is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, but when they separated and Lisa married Jason Momoa, he became Zoe's stepfather. Even though Momoa and Bonet have now split up, the connection between 'stepdad' and 'stepchild' remains.

The actress Beanie Feldstein ('Ladybird,' 'American Crime Story') is the sister of actor Jonah Hill. In fact, Jonah's full name is Jonah Hill Feldstein. Beanie and Jonah are the children of Sharon Lyn and Richard Feldstein.

Their last names could make you think they are sisters, but the two actresses are actually just cousins. Jenny, who is younger than Melissa, published a photo of them on her Instagram in 2015 with the title: "Me, my sister and my cousin Melissa."

The protagonist of the series 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel', Rachel Brosnahan, was the niece of the designer Kate Spade. When Spade passed away, Rachel Brosnaham shared these words about her aunt: "She shed a light that is difficult to describe with words, but it touched everyone who met her."

The British actor Toby Stephens, known for his role as Gustav Graves in 'Die Another Day' and as Captain James Flint in the TV series 'Black Sails', is the son of the iconic actress Maggie Smith, the unforgettable Minerva McGonagall in the 'Harry Potter' films.

The young actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster who we have seen as Jojen Reed in 'Games of Thrones' and as Benny Watts in 'The Queen's Gambit' is the second cousin of Hugh Grant.

They share their last name, look alike, and are indeed brothers. Owen and Luke are the sons of the advertising executive Robert Andrew Wilson and the photographer Laura Cunningham Wilson.

Bianca Lawson is the daughter of Richard Lawson, the man who married Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles. That is how the actress and the singer became stepsisters.

Dionne Warwick is the sister of singer Dee Dee Warwick. She is also the niece of the soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney Houston, which makes her Whitney's second cousin.

Rashida Jones is the daughter of the musician and producer, Quincy Jones, and the actress, Peggy Lipton.

The same thing happens with the Cusacks. These two famous Hollywood actors share the same last name and that's because John and Joan are siblings. They have worked together once in the movie 'High Fidelity' (2000).

This case is also a no-brainer but maybe you've never realized this: Eric Roberts is the oldest brother of actresses Julia Robert and Lisa Roberts Gillan. He is also the father of actress Emma Roberts.

Lastly, the resemblance between the young actress Hallie Eisenberg and her brother, Jesse Eisenberg ('The Social Network') is undeniable. Obviously, they are brother and sister.