Sure, you probably know some of the obvious Hollywood families. Kate Hudson is the daughter of Goldie Hawn, Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez are the sons Martin Sheen, and up-and-coming rapper and actor Jaden Smith is the son of Jada Pinkett and Will Smith.
But there are some other famous faces out there whose parents you may be surprised to recognize. Here are 15 more celebrities you may not have known have famous parents.
1. Allison Williams
You probably know the “Girls” actress, who also starred in “Get Out” and NBC’s “Peter Pan Live!” as Peter.
She’s also daughter of MSNBC news anchor Brian Williams. But Allison Williams prides herself on making a name for herself, separate from her father.
“It took years, and a lot of diligence on my part,” she told the LA Times. “But I’ve formed my own thing, and now I get people who are surprised to find out he’s my dad. I dreamed that would happen, and it has: I’m no longer introduced to people as Brian Williams’ daughter.”
Speaking of fame, Tom Hanks officiated Allison’s wedding to Ricky Van Veen, the co-founder of CollegeHumor. (Hanks’ wife, Rita Wilson, played the mom of Marnie, who was Allison Williams’ character on “Girls.”) Whoa, that’s a whole lot of famous connections.
Cooper’s mother is famed fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt, who came from one of the richest families in America. (In fact, she was at the center of a high-profile child custody trial in the 1930s, and had a $5 million trust fund). As an adult, though, Vanderbilt launched her own line of fashion and perfumes.
“My brother and I had a game that throughout the day, we would try to count how many women we saw with our mom’s names on their jeans,” Cooper told People.
The actress and model is well-known in her own right, having been nominated for a Golden Globe her role in “The Girlfriend Experience” miniseries and having appeared in films such as “Magic Mike,” “Logan Lucky,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “American Honey.”
Keough comes from a very famous family. She’s the daughter of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley and musician Danny Keough; and she’s the granddaughter Elvis and Priscilla Presley.
Can you see her resemblance to the King of rock ‘n’ roll?
Chances are you know Blake Lively from her roles in the “Gossip Girl” TV show and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” movies. You probably know her as Ryan Reynolds’ wife (and hopefully you enjoy the way she and Reynolds humorously troll one another online as much as we do).
Blake’s dad, Ernie Lively, starred alongside Blake in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” He also had a role in “Passenger 57” and appeared in “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Also, Eric Lively—the brother of Blake Lively—is an actor who has appeared in “The L Word” on Showtime and “The Butterfly Effect 2.” These days, her parents are making great nannies, she’s said. As an aside, one of our favorite sideshows has been watching Blake Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds.
Chris Pine’s role as James T. Kirk in the “Star Trek” reboot in 2009 landed him on the Hollywood A-list, and he’s since gone on to star in “Unstoppable,” “Horrible Bosses 2,” “Into the Woods,” “Star Trek: Beyond” and “Wonder Woman.”
It was in the stars for Chris Pine to be an actor. His dad, Robert Pine, starred in the TV series “CHiPs.” His mother, Gwynne Gilford—best known for her role in the sci-fi film “Masters of the Universe”—made a six-episode appearance on the show as Robert’s on-air wife. Pine’s mother went on to become a psychiatrist. His maternal grandmother, Anne Gwynne, was also an actress and pin-up model.
Hargitay’s mother was Jayne Mansfield, and 3-year-old Hargitay was actually in the car during the tragic accident that took her mother’s life in 1967. Recently, on the 50th anniversary of her mother’s death, Hargitay opened up about it, saying it’s the “scar on my soul.” Hargitay’s father Mickey Hargitay was a Hungarian-born actor and once won the Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition.
This singer-songwriter’s given name was Tanner Elle Schneider. King is the daughter of comedian and former-Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider. She dropped her dad’s last name so that she could truly make a name for herself.
As she told ABC News: “It’s not that I wanted to be a famous person. I wanted to be a performer,” she said. “But I worked really hard and I did everything myself and I took a name that … is my mother’s name … I took that name because I wanted to be myself.” Her inspiration for music she said came from her stepfather, Justin Tesa.
One of Riperton’s most famous songs is “Lovin’ You.” It seems that Maya Rudolph got some of her mother’s singing skills, as she’s crooned during a few SNL impersonations, including those of Beyonce and Prince. Sadly, Riperton died after battling cancer when Rudolph was just 6 year old.
You may know Rashida Jones best as Ann Perkins on the NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation,” or for her roles in “I Love You, Man,” “The Social Network” and “The Muppets.” She also co-wrote the upcoming “Toy Story 4.”
Rashida’s the daughter of producer and musician Quincy Jones. Her mother, actress and model Peggy Lipton, starred in “Twin Peaks” and “The Mod Squad.” Quincy Jones has won 27 Grammy Awards, The Grammy Living Legend Award and has been nominated for a total of 79 Grammy nominations.
The Swedish actor won an Emmy for his role in the HBO miniseries “Big Little Lies.” Before that, though, he played vampire Eric Northman in the HBO series “True Blood,” and starred in “Zoolander” and “The Legend of Tarzan.”
Alexander is one of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård’s eight children. Stellan is best-known for his roles as Captain Tupolev in “The Hunt for Red October” and Professor Gerald Lambeau in “Good Will Hunting,” and has appeared in “Thor” and “Avenger” movies. Another one of Stellan’s sons, Bill Skarsgård, was just on the big screen, too, playing Pennywise the clown in “It.”
Dakota Johnson is probably best known for her role as Anastasia Steele in the steamy romantic drama “Fifty Shades of Grey,” and her subsequent role in “Fifty Shades Darker.” (She’ll also be in the upcoming “Fifty Shades Freed” set for 2018.) Johnson has also starred in the rom-com “How to Be Single,” alongside Rebel Wilson, as well as the films “The Social Network,” “21 Jump Street” and “Need for Speed.”
She’s The Daughter Of Melanie Griffith And Don Johnson
Dakota Johnson’s screen debut was alongside her mother Melanie Griffith in the 1999 comedy “Crazy in Alabama.” Fame runs deep in this family, as Griffith’s mother is Tippi Hendren, known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” Dakota Johnson’s father Don Johnson had long-standing roles in “Miami Vice” and “Nash Bridges.”
You may recognize her from her recent appearances on hit shows like “New Girl” and “The Mindy Project.” She’s also appeared in “Californication,” “Saved!” “The Lie Before Her Eyes” and “Dead Man Walking.”
Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon has a long-established career with memorable roles in “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Bull Durham,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Dead Man Walking” and “The Witches of Eastwick.” Amurri’s father is Italian director Franco Amurri.
Sarandon and Eva guest-starred together on an episode of “Friends” back in 2001.
The actress starred in “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” played Snow White in the movie “Mirror Mirror” and nabbed a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role in “Rules Don’t Apply.”
Lily is the daughter of Genesis frontman Phil Collins and his second wife, Jill Tavelman. Lily may have caught the acting bug from her dad, who dabbled in acting in his younger years.
Lily Allen is an English pop star, whose first mainstream single “Smile” catapulted her to fame and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2006. Her debut record was “Alright, Still” and she released “Sheezus” in 2014. In North America, she toured with Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz Tour in 2014.
Her Parents Are Actors (And Her Brother’s Famous Too)
Father Keith Allen is an actor who starred in the “Robin Hood” TV series, “Trainspotting” and “Eddie the Eagle.”
Her mother is film producer Alison Owen, who is known for “Elizabeth” and “Saving Mr. Banks.” She also has a famous brother: Alfie Allen plays Theon Greyjoy in “Game of Thrones.”
The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member did celebrity impressions of everyone from Angelina Jolie to Meryl Streep. She left SNL after four seasons in 2012 and has made guest appearances on hit television shows like “How I Met Your Mother” and “Inside Amy Schumer.” She recently co-starred in Bravo’s “Odd Mom Out.”
Funny bones run in the family. Chris Elliott was an SNL cast member during season 20, which ran 1994-95. You also many know him from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “There’s Something about Mary” and “Schitt’s Creek.”
Hi, I'm Brittany Anas (pronounced like the spice, anise ... see, that wasn't too embarrassing to say, now was it?) My professional writing career started when I was in elementary school and my grandma paid me $1 for each story I wrote for her. I'm a former newspaper reporter, with more than a decade of experience Hula-hooping at planning meetings and covering just about every beat from higher-education to crime to science for the Boulder Daily Camera and The Denver Post. Now, I'm a freelance writer, specializing in travel, health, food and adventure.
I've contributed to publications including Men's Journal, Forbes, Women's Health, American Way, TripSavvy, Eat This, Not That!, Apartment Therapy, Denver Life Magazine, 5280, Livability, The Denver Post, Simplemost, USA Today Travel Tips, Make it Better, AAA publications, Reader's Digest, Discover Life and more.
