13 Celebrities with Ridiculous Ties to History
![13 Celebrities with Ridiculous Ties to History](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/3/4/903934_320x180.jpg)
If this doesn’t make you want to spit in a cup and mail it to some dude, we don’t know what will. We just got back from the mailbox ourselves. We’re not exactly sure how it all works but, like a message in a bottle, we just hope our Starbucks cup of spit will one day find someone who can help. Unlocking the identifying power of DNA has been a game-changer. It’s not only the reason the show Cold Case Files exists, it’s now a direct link to our lineage. And seriously, Cold Case Files, how many times can you tell the same old “this person was murdered in the 80s but now we can match DNA, so we found the killer” story?!
Sorry, back to the only other use for DNA matching. Sites like ancestry.com are incredibly useful for anyone looking to delve deeper into their family’s story. It’s just straight-up interesting. And what’s more interesting than a famous person’s link to another famous person?! Nothing. Here are 13 celebrities with ridiculous ties to history.
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Norton then boned up on his family story with a rewatching of the Disney flick.
![CRACKED EDWARD NORTON IS A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF POCAHONTAS. Pocahontas and John Rolfe were his 12th great-grandparents. The ancestry was traced via the couple's 1614 marriage certificate. Norton said, It just makes you realize what a small piece of the whole human story you are.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/1/0/903310.jpg)
The one family member who actually out-did Tom Hanks.
![CRACKED ТОМ HANKS IS RELATED TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Through Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Tom is Abe's third cousin, four times removed.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/9/903309.jpg)
She makes a much different kind of art, but creativity definitely runs in the family.
![CRACKED TINA FEY'S ANCESTOR HAS ART IN THE MET. Her 5th great-grandfather John Hewson was a master quilt-maker whose work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. To this day, textile historians study his work. au ESTD H 19 ork stage IW W](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/1/903301.jpg)
Some big shoes to fill.
![CRACKED OLYMPIC ROWER MATTHEW PINSENT IS A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF GOD. The 4x gold medalist traced his lineage to King Edward I. That medieval scroll showed that the royals linked themselves to the divine, because the lineage kept going back to Jesus, Adam & Eve, then God at the tippy top. 000S](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/4/903304.jpg)
Some deeply unconscious inspiration.
![CRACKED DAME JUDI DENCH'S CONNECTION TO SHAKESPEARE. As a Shakespearean actor, her first ever role was as Ophelia in Hamlet. The play is set in Denmark's Elsinore castle (where Ophelia lived), and Dench's 10x great-aunt was a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Denmark in that very castle. BFI LON FESTIVA](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/8/903308.jpg)
Okay, spin-off show idea… Sister, Sister, 13th Great-Grandfather.
![CRACKED TIA AND TAMARA MOWRY'S ANCESTOR WAS AT THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. Their 13th great-grandparents William and Mary Bruster were on the Mayflower. William was the ruling elder, who led the prayer at the first Thanksgiving with the indigenous people. IMAGE AWA S НЕ 43RD NAACP MAGE AWARDS THE 43P MA NA](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/5/903305.jpg)
Dear Diary…
![CRACKED MATT LUCAS' CONNECTION TO ANNE FRANK. His grandmother's cousin Werner Goldschmidt lived with Anne Frank's family, and is even mentioned in her famous diary. Lucas read the diary years earlier, never realizing this Mr. Goldschmidt was his relative.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/3/903303.jpg)
Rob Lowe’s ancestor had a change of heart.
![CRACKED ROB LOWE'S ANCESTOR WAS HIRED TO KILL GEORGE WASHINGTON. His 5th great-grandfather Christoph Oste was a German soldier hired by the British, and in a direct battle with Washington, his regiment was captured. Не survived and later became a tax-paying American.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/2/903302.jpg)
Born in the Louvre?!
![CRACKED BROOKE SHIELDS HAS FRENCH ROYAL ANCESTRY. She is a direct descendant of Henry IV, the King of France from 1589 to 1610. His daughter Christine Marie de France was born in the Louvre in 1606.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/7/903307.jpg)
Survivin’ and thrivin’.
![CRACKED JOHN LITHGOW'S ANCESTOR WAS ON THE MAYFLOWER. His 9th great-grandfather William Bradford's name was found in the passenger log of the Mayflower. Не was the Governor of this new colony, and he's also an ancestor of the Baldwins, Clint Eastwood, and Sally Field.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/6/903306.jpg)
With a rebel yell. Sorry, that was another ‘80s singer’s tune.
![CRACKED CYNDI LAUPER'S 7TH GREAT-GRANDAD LED THE FIRST-EVER SWISS REBELLION. In the 1650s, Christen Lauper gathered rebels to fight the oppressive government. It was the first time that Switzerland had ever faced action against the peasants. There are monuments in Switzerland honoring the rebel cause.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/9/903299.jpg)
No, no, but your career is cool too, er whatever.
![CRACKED HILARY DUFF'S ANCESTOR DEFEATED BLACKBEARD THE PIRATE. As Governor of Virginia, her ancestor Alexander Spotswood sent Lieutenant Robert Maynard and his men to North Carolina to capture or kill Blackbeard. They were successful, and Maynard killed Blackbeard on November 22, 1718. hul LO](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/0/0/903300.jpg)
Well, time to lead the troops into the FIRST WORLD WAR!
![CRACKED HELENA BONHAM CARTER'S POWERFUL GREAT-GRANDDADDY. Her greatfather Herbert Henry Asquith was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the first World War.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/9/8/903298.jpg)