Despite the benefits of being a celebrity, navigating the tricky world of fame is neither fun nor forgiving.
Fortunately, some famous people were born with already-famous families — making the transition from normalcy to stardom a much less confusing one.
Some celebrity offspring are so good at their jobs, that few people know who their very-famous-families even are, which makes joining the dots even more fun.
For example, did you know that Fifty Shades of Grey‘s Dakota Johnson is the daughter of both Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, and that her grandmother is iconic ’60s silver screen star Tippi Hedren?
If you didn’t know the above fact, and are interested in expanding your knowledge of the complex, weirdly intertwined world that is Hollywood, scroll down for 11 celebrities who have very famous families you mightn’t have known about.
Dakota Johnson
Though she’s made a name for herself as a major actress, Dakota Johnson is surrounded by Hollywood royalty on all sides. Her father is Miami Vice actor Don Johnson, her mother is Working Girl star Melanie Griffith, and her grandmother is Tippi Hedren, Hitchcock muse and star of the iconic thriller film The Birds.
In a 2020 interview on The Graham Norton Show, Johnson revealed that Hedren (pictured above), a wildlife conservationist, currently lives in California with around 14 lions and tigers. “There used to be 60 cats and now there are just a couple,” she said.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Before she became a world-famous actress of her own accord, Gwyneth Paltrow was introduced to the entertainment industry by her parents — renowned producer Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, who you probably remember from Meet The Parents.
Billie Lourd
Known and renowned for her roles in Scream Queens and American Horror Story, actress Billie Lourd also hails from one of Hollywood’s most famous families. Her mother is Star Wars actress and comedian Carrie Fisher, and her grandmother is legendary silver screen actress Debbie Reynolds. Both Fisher and Reynolds unfortunately passed away in December 2016.
Zoë Kravitz
Many people know that Zoë Kravitz’s father is rock musician Lenny Kravitz, but her lookalike mother is none other than Lisa Bonet, who’s widely-known for her role on The Cosby Show. Though Bonet and Kravitz have divorced, Bonet is now married to Game of Thrones‘ Jason Momoa, and they share two children together.
Lenny Kravitz was briefly engaged to Nicole Kidman in the mid-2000s, and in 2018, he spoke briefly about how much he enjoyed seeing his daughter and ex-fiancée reconnect on the set of the HBO series Big Little Lies. Speaking to Watch What Happens Live!‘s Andy Cohen, he said: “Zoë hadn’t seen Nicole since she was younger, and so it was beautiful that they got to know each other as adults and make this great show together.”
Speaking of his engagement to Kidman, he said: “Some things just don’t work, but the wonderful thing is that we’re all friends.”
Camila Morrone
Morrone is one of Hollywood’s most promising up-and-coming young actors, and received acclaim for her performance in the 2019 independent film Mickey & The Bear. She’s also known for her under-the-radar romance with Leonardo DiCaprio, but her stepfather-figure is none other than Scarface and The Godfather actor, Al Pacino.
Pacino used to date Morrone’s mother, actress Lucila Solá, and the 22-year-old has said she occasionally consults Pacino for acting advice.
Maya Hawke
If you watched (and loved) Maya Hawke in the third season of Stranger Things, it’s likely because she hails from a family of acting heroes.
Her mother is Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill star Uma Thurman (pictured above), and her father is Before Sunrise actor Ethan Hawke. Though they’re no longer together, the two stars met on the set of the 1997 sci-fi film Gattaca, and Maya is the eldest of their two children together.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has garnered a reputation for her work in the horror genre following her role in the Halloween film franchise, but her mother, Psycho star Janet Leigh, was arguably the original ‘Scream Queen’. Curtis’s father, Tony Curtis, famously starred alongside Marilyn Monroe in the 1959 classic Some Like It Hot.
Margaret Qualley
Qualley proved herself as a captivating screen presence in 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but few people know she’s also the daughter of Andie MacDowell, of Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral fame.
Emma Roberts
Most people are somewhat acquainted with this connection, but Scream Queens star Emma Roberts is the niece of none other than Julia Roberts.
Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner
Now, bear with us on this one — the families of model best friends Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner were once, weirdly enough, related by marriage (give or take a few marriages).
In a 2015 interview with Vanity Fair, Hadid explained the connection by saying: “My mum married David [Foster], who was married to Linda Jenner [Linda Thompson], who is [Caitlyn] Jenner’s ex-wife. We’re related through divorced marriages.”
Laura Dern
Dern grew up as the only child of actor Bruce Dern and Oscar-nominated actress Diane Ladd (pictured above). When Dern won her Academy Award in 2020 for her performance in Marriage Story, she sat next to Ladd for the ceremony, and said during her speech: “Some say you never meet your heroes, but I say if you’re really blessed you get them as your parents.”
Tracee Ellis Ross
We know and love Tracee Ellis Ross for her role on Black-ish, and for being one of the world’s best-dressed stars. What some forget, however, is that she’s also the daughter of legendary performer Diana Ross.
In a 2020 interview before the release of her new film, The High Note, Ellis Ross said that she always felt afraid to sing because of her mother’s talent, telling People: “It was my childhood dream to sing, but terrifying when your mother is who my mother is. The idea of comparison; that’s in a child’s mind or an adult’s mind. I could be taken down or obliterated.”
