When it comes to these celebrities, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
While many stars struggled to get their big break in Hollywood, some celebs managed to get a leg-up with their famous family heritage of actors, singers and showbiz performers.
Though they might have been given a head start to stardom Drew Barrymore, George Clooney and Gwyneth Paltrow have all proved they’ve got the acting chops to make it all on their own and they aren’t the only ones.
Here are some surprising family ties floating around Hollywood.
Gwyneth Paltrow was certainly destined for fame with both her parents on the Hollywood A-list. Her mother is actress Blythe Danner and her late father was film director and producer, Bruce Paltrow.
When your godparents are Steven Spielberg and Sophia Loren your parents must have some powerful Hollywood pull. While it’s no secret that that Drew Barrymore is the daughter of John and Jaid Barrymore, she actually comes from a long lineage of actors going back to her great-grandparents.
Ben Stiller may just have funny genes. The Zoolander actor is the son of comedians Anne Meara and Seinfeld’s Jerry Stiller. Ben’s wife, Christine Taylor is also an actress and comedian and has featured in several movies with the actor.
Child actress Carrie Fisher is the daughter of screen legend Debbie Reynolds and American entertainer Eddie Fisher.
George Clooney is the son of Nick Clooney, a former news anchorman and TV host. Clooney’s aunt was American singer and actress, Rosemary Clooney and her husband was legendary actor and Academy Award winner Jose Ferrer.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is the daughter of actor Tony Curtis – who played opposite Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot – and Psycho actress Janet Leigh.
Kate Hudson has inherited her mother Goldie Hawn’s comic timing to carve out a successful Hollywood career of her own. Hudson’s stepfather, who raised the actress from when she was young, is action star Kurt Russell.
It’s not so surprising that Laura Dern grew up to become an actress. She spent her childhood hanging out on movie set while her mother, actress Diane Ladd, had roles in classics such as Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Chinatown.
It’s a little known fact that Lenny Kravitz’s mother, Roxie Roker, was the actress who played Helen Willis on CBS American sitcom, “The Jeffersons”.
Legendary entertainer Liza Minnelli inherited her showbiz talents from her mother, screen legend Judy Garland and father, director Vincente Minnelli.
Law and Order SVU actress Mariska Hargitay is the daughter of iconic American actress, Jane Mansfield.
Melanie Griffith’s mother, former model Tippi Hedren, was one of Alfred Hitchcock’s muses and starred in his 1963 classic, The Birds. As a child Griffiths admitted to being very creeped out by Hitchcock who presented her with a doll resembling her mother in a coffin one Christmas. “He was a very weird guy,” says Melanie.
Comedian and actress Rashida Jones is the daughter of actress Peggy Lipton and music mogul Quincy Jones.
Swedish hunk Alexander Skarsgard gets acting chops from his father, Stellan Skarsgard, who’s been starring in blockbuster hits like Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Thor.
The Judd women are a force in showbiz. Matriach Naomi led the way for daughter Wynonna in the country-singing sphere while Ashley Judd went on to become an actress.
Christian Bale has an interesting parent that few people know about. His stepmother is women’s liberation feminist and political activist Gloria Steinem.
