Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Related

Ciara and Derek Jeter are DNA cousins, the “That’s How We Roll” singer learned on a recent episode of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Ciara shared a clip from the PBS show on her Instagram, with the caption, “The moment I learned @DerekJeter was my cousin! Crazy! Thank you @drhenrylouisgates for such an incredible experience! This was a dream come true to learn about my family genealogy!” According to the teaser, Ciara and Derek Jeter share a “long identical stretch of DNA on their 14th chromosome DNA.” A voiceover explains that Jeter inherits his 14th chromosome from his mother. Unbeknownst to Ciara and her husband Russell Wilson, they posed with Derek Jeter for a photo at the 2015 ESPYs.

Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Related

Did you know Gabrielle Union and Saweetie are related? Saweetie revealed she and the February 2023 cover star are second cousins. She tweeted, “Her father and I are 1st cousins. Her grandma is my aunt Joanne Glass who I based Eva from Deliver Us From Eva on.”

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What about Al Roker and Lenny Kravitz? There are many celebrity cousins in Hollywood. Ciara was just as shocked as we were to learn she shares a family tree with Derek Jeter. But they aren’t the only shocking celeb family duos. Keep scrolling for more celebrities you didn’t know were related.

1. Yara Shahidi and Nas

Actress Yara Shahidi and rapper Nas are cousins. Yara gave us a glimpse at her and Nas’s close familial relationship on an episode of her Facebook Watch show “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off.”  She captioned the 14-minute clip, “Got to sit down with my cuzzo Nasir, AKA NAS, the living legend and multi-platinum recording artist, his daughter Destiny, and my brother Sayeed for some family fun!”

 

“Got to sit down with my cuzzo Nasir, AKA NAS, the living legend and multi-platinum recording artist, his daughter Destiny, and my brother Sayeed for some family fun!

2. Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick are cousins. Whitney’s mother Cissy and Dionne’s mother were sisters. In an interview with People, Dionne opened up about Whitney’s “preordained” voice that she honed in the church choir. “Whitney came up exactly the way we all did, in the church choir. It was just preordained, she was going to sing. Her destiny was as was the rest of the family. As if God pointed a finger at us and said ‘Let them vocal cords do what they got to do.'”

3. Dame Dash and Stacey Dash

The last name gave it away but before this duo confirmed they were cousins. While Dame Dash and Stacey Dash no longer speak (per reports), Stacey appeared in Dame’s early Rocafella Films films like Paper Soldiers. 

4. Brandy and Snoop Dogg

Brandy and Snoop Dogg are also cousins, the “Gin and Juice” rapper revealed to MTV in 2006.  “Brandy’s my first cousin… That’s my family,” Snoop said according to Essence. 

5. Al Roker and Lenny Kravitz

Al Roker and Lenny Kravitz are second cousins. According to BET, the famous NBC weatherman and journalist is related to Lenny’s mother Roxie Roker, who starred in the sitcom The Jeffersons.