“My wife is a distant relative of Tom Hanks.
It doesn’t affect her at all.
It affects me because she reminds me of it every time he is mentioned on the TV.”
It’s always interesting to find out when a ~regular~ person is related to a celebrity.
“Related toKeanu Reeves.
We have a Reeves ohana gathering every year in Hawai’i, and he never comes.
Which, I don’t blame him at all, his dad was not a good father.
My dad sometimes mentions Keanu when the reunions happen, about how he doesn’t visit.
It’s not in a bitter way or anything, just sometimes the little cousins ask.
Other than that, my cousins look up to him and get excited when he’s in a movie.
“My wife is a distant relative ofTom Hanks.
It doesn’t affect her at all.
It affects me because she reminds me of it every time he is mentioned on the TV.”
“Matt McConaughey is my second cousin.
Though he does always bring the best booze to the parties.”
“Okay, technically not a relative, but my wife was childhood friends with family ofViggo Mortensen.
She got to hang out with him after he shotLord of the Ringsbut before it was released.
Said he was a very cool guy, extremely laidback, and fun to have a beer with.
“Megan Foxis my first cousin once removed (her mother and my grandfather are brother and sister).
She then got into movies and, as you know, made it rather big.
The last time she was in town to visit was about 12 years ago.
The headshots thing was just a tad comical.”
“I had an aunt that had a bit role in a commercial.
She was a scream and must have done that line a thousand times during our family dinners.
“Spouse is related toDavid Tennant.
I did not know this until after we were married (my spouse was born in America).
Has not impacted my life at all except I got to meet him during my first trip to London.
Spouse had a brief chat about mutual acquaintances in the family, and then we left.”
“My uncle is Sinbad (the comedian/actor).
We go on vacations with them every summer and have for the past six or so years.
He just says, ‘Sorry, I’m with my family’ now.
The coolest thing was going to Disney/Universal with him.
We got the VIP treatment and skipped every line.”
“My third cousin on my mom’s side is Rob Bourdon, drummer of Linkin Park.
Either people whisper about her from afar or go up and have a conversation with her.
The biggest reaction I ever get is when someone finds out I’m related to her haha!”
“Related to Kings of Leon through marriage, pretty cool group of guys.
We have a family reunion every May and hang out and play horseshoes etc., just like everyone else.
“My grandfather was Charles Schulz, the creator ofPeanuts(Charlie Brown).
“My aunt is Xena the Warrior Princess (Lucy Lawless) and absolutely nothing at family gatherings.
She is just our aunt.
We got stopped a couple times in New Orleans by people who recognized her.
She’s one of the nicest people to talk to and never acts like a celebrity.
I’ll let you guess which one of us it is if you’re out there!”
“I’m related (distantly) to Elvis Presley.
Went to the Presley family reunion years back.
It was fucking stupid.
Tried to get me to pay $20 for a plate of food.
At a family reunion!
“I’m a relative of Richard Gere.
He was pretty much just a normal dude eating a burger.”
“Not a relative, but we used to live beside Conor McGregor and his parents for YEARS.
He’s very humble, charitable, and is NOTHING like the asshole he portrays himself to be.”
We stayed at his house a few years ago, and I had never heard of him.
He was just lovely, like a grandpa you would love to have.
Very humble and normal house.
Ex’s mum kept bigging him up, but Seamus and his wife were just normal people.
“My uncle is Dr. Demento.
He’s a really cool guy.
Insanely knowledgeable about music and music history.
He is totally cool at family gatherings.”
“My cousin is Rowan Atkinson.
I forget how we are related, but I think my dad is either his uncle or grand-uncle.
I only really met him when I was a baby…
I wish it could be more exciting than it is ha!”
“My uncle is Steve Smith, aka Red Green, the Canadian handyman comedy show from the ’90s.
We used to all gather in the ’90s and ’00s when our generation had wedding season.
He was always the life of the party without ever trying.
Never tried, he was just a natural and would never interrupt anyone else.
He’s a very kind and wonderful guy.”
He came up at EVERY single family gathering big or small.
They would talk about him for hours.
Same stories, same reactions.
As the years went by, he slowly started to disappear from the conversations.
Then he goes and makes national news when he dies.
It still comes up every time I come across any of them.
Can’t tell if it’s pride or sorrow.”
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
