Question of the Week: Do you have any actors in your family tree?

+29 votes
2.8k views

Who took time to watch the Oscars?

Do you have any actors or performers in your branches?

in The Tree House by Julie Ricketts G2G6 Pilot (481k points)
My fathers cousins son is an actor who has been nominated for a Genie award as well as several others, his mother is a singer in L.A. and is the one who introduced my parents to each other.
My mother, by adoption (my maternal aunt by blood) is Sally Kellerman, 1970: Hot Lips Houlihan in M*A*S*H, Robert Altman's film. She got an Academy Award Nomination for that, and her first love is singing. She is 80 now, with 2nd stage Dementia, sad. But, she can still put on a full face of make up, dress up with her usual impeccable style of skinny jeans, and sing a full concert, but have no idea who brought her or where she sang the next day. Life!
Not a creative bone in my family of which I'm aware, so no actors.  My wife is related to Aussie actors Danny Adcock (2nd cousin once rem), Dennis Grosvenor (2nd cousin once rem, by marriage)and Rel Hunt (2nd cousin).
Yes, I am an actress.  I am an extra in the current movie "M. Pearls A.A.L".  I am also in YouTube videos as "Sally Mae" in "Bubba's Alley". Great fun!

Funny this should pop up in my emails moments ago.  Earlier on this morning I received this email from an American cousin -

"Hi Malcolm,

 I have some big Berry news!!!!!

Ernest  Berry(Emily brother) born married  Agnes Teale and had one son Harold Teale Berry Harold Teale married Jullian "Julia" Crawford  in 1935, Julia was married to William Terrance McQueen  2nd of 4 husbands and had Terrance Steven McQueen the famous Hollywood Actor. So Ernest was his step grandfather and Harold Berry was his step father."

   

      This makes me 9 degrees from Steve McQueen which is much closer than all the others so far found, apart that is from my cousin Nicola who has had quite a few bit parts in UK tv including Downtown Abbey.

Hi, Henry Fonda is my 11th.
Many distant cousins..

Seven Bacon, 8th cousin, Tallulah Bankhead 9th for all you older people out there, John Wayne 14th, Matthew Perry 12th, James Spader 12th, Robert Duvall 12th, Alec Baldwin 13th, Jane Fonda 12th,  Laura Linny 12th, Joan Crawford 13th, Elizabeth Shue 13th, Jimmy Stewart 15th, Elizabeth Montgomery 11th, Myra Sedgwick 12th, Lee Rimick 11th, and many more, but none of these are close . Even the ones I listed are very distant....lol
relativefinder.org found them for me based on Family Search trees. I also have an app calle We're Related that is based on Ancestry.com.
How do you get the app of ancestry.com We're related? I use ancestry.

Thanks
I've got it on my phone, which is fun, but you can get it free from the App Store. The name of the App is "We're Related".

60 Answers

+16 votes
Cate Blanchett is my 5th cousin 1x removed

Stockard Channing is my 7th cousin 1x removed

And many more after that! :)

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Charlotte_Shockey's_Notable_Relations
by Charlotte Shockey G2G6 Pilot (979k points)
edited by Charlotte Shockey
Does my Grandson count? He performs at our Community Theater..  His last role was Ralphie in "A Christmas story".
I'd count him! :-)
That's so cool! Cate Blanchett is also my 5th  cousin 1x removed through my Moseley and Fuller side.
+16 votes
I haven't added him to wikitree yet but Perry Fenwick "Billy Mitchell" Is my father's 2nd cousin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Fenwick
by Michelle Wilkes G2G6 Pilot (168k points)
Awesome! :-)
I remember Perry Fenwick when I watched EastEnders many years ago. He played the role of a kind of  'rough neck'.
+14 votes

Well, my daughters do some drama as a hobby; does that count?

More seriously, Zita Hanrot is my sister-in-law's second cousin once removed (the daughter of her first cousin).

by Isabelle Martin G2G6 Pilot (561k points)
+17 votes

Carol (Eberts-93) Veazie, wife of Rev Henry P Veazie, was a stage, screen and film actress. A later role was as the mother of Rob Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke show.

I haven't gotten him added to wikitree yet, but actor Boothe Howard (nee Harold H Boothby) was a grandson of Jonathan Boothby and Grace Veazie. He played small parts in films, mostly westerns - e.g. Oh Susannah! starring Gene Autrey.

by Bruce Veazie G2G6 Mach 6 (61.6k points)
Loved Dick Van Dyke's show!!
+16 votes
by Natalie Trott G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
+16 votes

I have many but I mostly am fond of the historic actors/actresses, mainly my 3rd cousin, Maud Durbin who was a theater stage actress married to stage actor, Otis Skinner. Their daughter, Cornelia Otis Skinner,  is my 4th cousin and she was also an actress and playwright.  

Steve McQueen is  my 7th cousin through my 7th great grandfather, Dugal McQueen

Through the Borden line I'm related to silver screen actress, Olive Borden, Lana Turner, and Marilyn Monroe (it is assumed her real father was Stanley Gifford).

by James Stratman G2G6 Pilot (102k points)
edited by James Stratman
+12 votes

I did some stage work way back and my sisters both sang in public and actually are on a record that was recorded and sold locally, One sister manages a Sam Ash store, I also found a distant relationship to Glen Campbell, Campbell-23699.

by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
edited by Dale Byers
Just made the connection to Actress Louise Fletcher yesterday
+16 votes
I have many cousins who are connected through the global tree primarily through some sort of marriage connection, but I'm glad to report that I do have a blood relative (we share a many great-grandfather somewhere) named Humphrey Bogart. I always thought that was very cool to have one of the great actors of our time as a direct relative.
by Scott Fulkerson G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
+11 votes
Great Question! The first thing that came to my mind is that my 5 1/2 year old granddaughter wants me to act with her every time we are together! I am Doc Hudson and she is Lightning McQueen from the movie "Cars." She so wants to be an actress someday and I hope she gets her dream!!
by Debbie Parsons G2G6 Pilot (150k points)
Put her into a Theater camp, then join your local Community Theater.  Ours uses the younger children in small , few lines, parts  in the youth series of plays,but they get experience and love being on stage.
Great idea! Will look into it!
+14 votes
My great grandmother, [[Smith-143250|May Catherine Smith]] while not a famous actress, was a protege of Madame Helena Modjeska, and knew her in her final years. She traveled the country with Modjeska on her farewell tour- 1906-1907.

May acted for a few years until she married in 1911.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18020758/may_smith_called_upon_by_madame_modjeska/
by Patti Duro G2G2 (2.2k points)
+13 votes
The main celebrity sort-of actor I have in my tree is Tennessee Ernie Ford. I say sort-of actor because he did do some guest star roles in various shows. At the very least, he is my 4th cousin 1x removed through his father and my paternal grandmother. The family story that I cannot prove other than the physical resemblance and things we have been told is that he was also my 1st cousin 1x removed. Supposedly, his mother and my paternal grandmother were half sisters - having the same biological father. I remember as a child, visiting his mother with my grandmother and her referring to him as her nephew. When we were older, she would only say she was more closely related through his mother than his father but refused to elaborate. My grandmother was part of the "family choir" in the album "Hymns at Home" he recorded at his home church, Anderson Street UMC, in Bristol, Tennessee.

I have also proven the connection to Marlon Brando as a 6th cousin 3x removed.
by Emily Holmberg G2G6 Pilot (153k points)
+16 votes
Clark Gable is my third cousin (twice removed). I'm kind of torn about my feelings over that. On one hand, how awesome to have such a megastar in the family. On the other hand... it doesn't feel right to be drooling over your own cousin in a movie. I haven't been able to look at him quite the same since I found out.
by Amber Brosius G2G6 Mach 2 (25.0k points)
LoL!!! Hey there's a little space there to drool away! ;) LOL
Just put on “It Happened One Night” and drool with the rest of us!
I gotta admit... I still drool a little.
+10 votes
Yes, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Kevin Bacon,  Robert Duvall, Matthew Perry, Tallulah Bankhead, Elizabeth Montgomery, Laura Linny, Alex Baldwin, Elizabeth Shue, James Spader, Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Myra Sedgwick, Joan Crawford, Burgess Meredith, Bill Paxton, Lee Remick, Meryl Streep, Patrick Swayze, and a few others. And none of them know me.....lol
by E J Gooden G2G6 Mach 1 (12.8k points)
+11 votes

​I have a few Actors related to me through blood (DNA), and my Family Tree. Lucille Ball is my 6th Cousin 2x Removed, Robin Williams is my 8th Cousin 2x Removed, Kristen Bell is my 8th Cousin, Katharine Hepburn is my 8th Cousin, Josh Hutcherson is my 7th Cousin, Ron Howard is my 8th Cousin, Johnny Depp is my 8th Cousin, and Matt Damon is my 8th Cousin. I have seen where The Baldwin Brothers, Humphrey Bogart, and Clint Eastwood are my Cousins also. I am a want to be Actor, but a small time stage not known.

by Keith Mann Spencer G2G6 Mach 3 (30.5k points)
I wonder if we share DNA. We have some of the same star relatives.!
+11 votes

Gladys Vera Peters, born Feb 26, 1895 in London is listed in the 1911 Census as an Actress. I can't find any information on her. She was my second cousin, daughter of my Great Aunt Nell (Rose Ellen Wheeler) and James Robert Peters. I'd love to know what kind of actress she was, if she was locally famous, etc. - even her death date!

by Linda Hockley G2G6 Mach 1 (14.5k points)
+8 votes
I have the Fondas in my line. Henry, Peter, & Jane.
by Richard Hayes G2G6 (7.5k points)
+9 votes
My second cousin once-removed was Patrica Beth Reid.  Her stage name was Kim Stanley.  She was the voice of the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird and was in a number of guest roles on TV.  Kim Stanley won several Emmys.  I only discovered her about 2 years ago.  She had a child by William Clift (Montgomery Clift's older brother).
by Julie Taber G2G Crew (960 points)
+8 votes
My 1st cousin twice removed was Edward Van Sloun. He acted major parts in many of the old horror movies.
by Phillip Jares G2G6 Mach 3 (36.1k points)
+9 votes
My grandfather, John Charles Costello (AKA John Charles on stage) 1859-1938 was an initially an amateur stage actor and lawyer, then a movie actor with Brooklyn's Vitagraph studios, and lastly a New York stage actor again. Researching his life and locating any acting information was the reason for my starting my genealogical tree. My Aunt and Grandmother had bit acting roles in the early 1900's too.
by
+10 votes
My 4th cousin 3x removed was Johnny Weissmuller AKA "Tarzan."
by

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