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Which actor/actress were you surprised to discover is hugely connected?

458 replies

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:00

Kate Hudson - my god i had no idea her mum is Goldie Hawn

Just finished season 2 of Running Point (really good)

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Empress13 · 07/05/2026 06:18

TamarindCottage · 06/05/2026 16:20

Claudia Winkleman’s mother is Eve Pollard, Sophie Winkleman’s dad is Barry Winkleman, EP’s first husband: ie, Claudia and Sophie are half sisters through their father

And Sophie is married to Royalty

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 06/05/2026 17:31

TunnocksOrDeath · 06/05/2026 16:50

Thousands of people all over the world follow their parents into the family trade. At least with actors and musicians they still have to prove themselves. Several people I know have literally been gifted their parents' business after spending a couple of decades earning very nicely from internal roles that were never even advertised to anyone else while they were 'learning the ropes' before their folks retired. I don't think this is inherently immoral by the way, we all want to do the best for our kids; I just think it's odd the way people criticise celebrities for getting an introduction, but applaud the local butcher for 'carrying on a family tradition'.

Absolutely standard for farmers (caveat: all my farming knowledge comes from The Archers).

desperatemum1234 · 06/05/2026 17:30

Jennifer Aniston. Daughter of a major soap actor in America, John Aniston

Gwenhwyfar · 06/05/2026 17:18

Download it and enlarge it and look at it in parts. There's a lot of info so it has to be like that I suppose.

UnctuousUnicorns · 06/05/2026 17:06

Gwenhwyfar · 06/05/2026 17:02

Image from X/Twitter

Might help if that image were a bit more than one sixteenth of a nanobyte in size. 😅

Gwenhwyfar · 06/05/2026 17:02

Image from X/Twitter

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Which actor/actress were you surprised to discover is hugely connected?
Gwenhwyfar · 06/05/2026 16:54

MrsShawnHatosy · 06/05/2026 07:48

Neither are the Welsh ones, Burton, Hopkins, Ioan Gruffudd, Matthew Rhys and more.

Jonathan Price the same.
I will say that Burton, Hopkins and Sheen come from the same town/area so maybe there's something in the water there.

TunnocksOrDeath · 06/05/2026 16:50

Thousands of people all over the world follow their parents into the family trade. At least with actors and musicians they still have to prove themselves. Several people I know have literally been gifted their parents' business after spending a couple of decades earning very nicely from internal roles that were never even advertised to anyone else while they were 'learning the ropes' before their folks retired. I don't think this is inherently immoral by the way, we all want to do the best for our kids; I just think it's odd the way people criticise celebrities for getting an introduction, but applaud the local butcher for 'carrying on a family tradition'.

TamarindCottage · 06/05/2026 16:20

asdbaybeeee · 04/05/2026 21:50

Claudia winkleman and actress Sophie Winkleman are sisters

Claudia Winkleman’s mother is Eve Pollard, Sophie Winkleman’s dad is Barry Winkleman, EP’s first husband: ie, Claudia and Sophie are half sisters through their father

Snakebite61 · 06/05/2026 16:11

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:00

Kate Hudson - my god i had no idea her mum is Goldie Hawn

Just finished season 2 of Running Point (really good)

I've known this since Kate Hudson first appeared.

pompomtiddly · 06/05/2026 14:11

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 06/05/2026 08:16

Alan was lovely. His children - not so much.

Neither of them have their Dad’s eaeasy going charm.

VCM’s ‘jokes’ on OC…man alive, they’re bad. 😬

We always fast forward through VCM’s introduction and switch off before her closing remarks on only Connect, they really are dire!

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 06/05/2026 10:35

I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, but she can’t act for toffee.

YesTonightJosephine · 06/05/2026 10:33

Laila Morse on Woman's Hour.

Laila Morse when asked if she was not working as an actor what would she be doing now ...

'I'd probably still be working in betting shops and driving around"!

Woman's Hour - Laila Morse on being Gary Oldman's sister - BBC Sounds

Laila Morse has played wheeler-dealer Mo Harris in EastEnders for the past 12 years. She might not have graced our TV screens if it wasn’t for her brother, the actor Gary Oldman who pushed her into acting at the age of 50. He cast her in his award winning film Nil by Mouth, a story about a family in South London burdened by violence and addiction. Laila tells Jenni Murray if she hadn't been cast in Nil By Mouth, she'd probably still be "working in betting shops and driving around".

Woman's Hour - Laila Morse on being Gary Oldman's sister - BBC Sounds

Laila Morse explains how her brother Gary Oldman helped her become an actress at 50.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p014rfmc

Ginmonkeyagain · 06/05/2026 08:36

Not read the whole thread but Olivia Wilde is insanely well connected. Among many fsmous relatives, her step grandmother is Jean Ross, the inspiration for Sally Bowles in Caberet.

ConnieHeart · 06/05/2026 08:23

How about Rita Simons being the niece of Alan Sugar?!

Also pretty obviously Barney Walsh who's been in Casualty is the son of Bradley

Clawdy · 06/05/2026 08:20

Ruby Ashbourne Serkis
Phoebe Dynevor
Ruby Bentall

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 06/05/2026 08:16

pompomtiddly · 06/05/2026 03:05

Ànd Victoria Coren Mitchell’s dad was Alan Coren–a țeam captain on Call My Bluff…

Alan was lovely. His children - not so much.

Neither of them have their Dad’s eaeasy going charm.

VCM’s ‘jokes’ on OC…man alive, they’re bad. 😬

anon666 · 06/05/2026 08:11

Darrara · 04/05/2026 15:06

Well, look up Gwyneth Paltrow, Maya Hawke, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicolas Cage, Sofia Coppola etc.

No way!! Had no idea Nicholas Cage was related to the Coppolas. Or the size of that dynasty. I presumed the Coppola clan were Italian.

anon666 · 06/05/2026 08:08

DisplayPurposesOnly · 04/05/2026 15:01

You must be young 😂

Look up Drew Barrymore.

No way!!! Such a huge dynasty. Had no idea.

MrsShawnHatosy · 06/05/2026 07:48

Spanglemum02 · 04/05/2026 15:41

A lot of the Irish actors aren't from dynasties, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott etc

Neither are the Welsh ones, Burton, Hopkins, Ioan Gruffudd, Matthew Rhys and more.

Donsyb · 06/05/2026 07:15

WaryHiker · 06/05/2026 01:17

Was Annette Bening already famous when she married Warren Beatty?

Yes she was, they got together when they started in a film together

FrippEnos · 06/05/2026 05:30

mumofoneAloneandwell · 04/05/2026 15:22

Oh i knew that one - love her

Also the mother and daughter who died close to eachother - Debbie something 🥺

Debbie Reynolds daughter Carrie fisher, married to Bryan Lourd, Daughter Billie Lourd

asdbaybeeee · 06/05/2026 04:06

CollaterlieSistersSister · 05/05/2026 11:57

I recall reading somewhere that, when he is involved in casting, Stephen Graham tries to make sure that as much of the cast as possible are non-nepo and from non-privileged backgrounds.

Edited

Love Stephen Graham. He helped Jodie Comer climb the ladder

MarmaladeorJam · 06/05/2026 03:45

Daisy Goodwin (producer Victoria) daughter of Richard Goodwin (A passage to India etc).

Saoirse Ronan - both parents working actors.

Gyllenhaal's - father is a TV producer - Twin Peaks. Mother is a script writer who has Oscar nominated actions for her work.

Stellen Skarsgard and his son, Alexander.

It is not just the front of house people, by that I mean the famous ones. It is also producers, directors, casting agents and so on.

It used to be frowned upon in polite society - being in the entertainment business. Now though, the money is so big it is very attractive for people who have been raised rich. It is a way for them to earn their own rich! I'm thinking in particular of the disproportionate representation of Eton types.