Show business is a smaller place than you may think, and sometimes making it in Hollywood is all about who you know — or better yet, who you’re related to.
Dakota Johnson.
Dakota has not one, but two parents in the entertainment industry, as well as a famous grandmother.
Her father is Don Johnson, her mother is Melanie Griffith, and her grandmother is Tippi Hedren.
It’s clear that talent runs in this family
Emilio Estevez.
Unlike his famous brother and father , Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen, Emilio decided against using the made-up stage name “Sheen” and instead, stuck with his given name.
Fun fact, Martin Sheen’s real name is Ramón Estévez.
Maya Rudolph.
Maya’s mother — famous singer, Minnie Riperton — was known as the “Queen of the whistle register,” long before Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande came along.
She had two children with music producer, Richard Rudolph, one of whom was Maya.
Maya Hawke.
You probably recognize Maya from the latest season of Stranger Things . What may surprise you is that her parents are both big players in Hollywood.
Her mother is Uma Thurman and her father is Ethan Hawke!
Billie Lourd.
Billie, who has starred in shows like Scream Queens and American Horror Story , just so happens to be the daughter of the late, great Carrie Fisher. Billie and her mom were actually able to act one scene together in Star Wars: The Last Jedi before Carrie’s untimely death.
“I’m a big believer in things happening for a reason, and I think I ended up in that movie for a reason,” Billie said in an interview with Ellen Degeneres .
Carrie Fisher.
Carrie Fisher also had a famous mother: Debbie Reynolds .
Debbie was known for playing Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain . She also starred in Will & Grace and Halloweentown , before eventually hosting her own show, The Debbie Reynolds Show .
Kate Hudson.
Kate has a famous mom, dad, and brother!
She and her brother, Oliver Hudson, share Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn as parents .
On top of that, their step-father is actor Kurt Russell.
Kate once called her mom “the woman that I’ve learned the most from, and who I look up to, who has conducted her life in a way that I can look up to” in an interview with MTV.
Angelina Jolie.
Angelina and her father, Jon Voight, are both Oscar winning actors.
Their relationship has been notoriously been rocky over the years, but they seem to have finally patched things up.
“Jon and I have gotten to know each other—through grandchildren now,” Angelina revealed.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter in 2017, she opened up about their growing relationship, “We’re finding a new relationship…We’ve had some difficulties, [but] through art we’ve been able to talk. It’s the common language.”
O’Shea Jackson Jr.
It’s kinda hard not to be able to tell who O’Shea’s father is just by looking at him — their resemblance is uncanny. But , ICYMI, his dad is famous NWA rapper, Ice Cube.
O’Shea even got to play his own father in the NWA biopic, Straight Outta Compton .
Eva Amurri.
Eva has worked with her mom, Susan Sarandon, plenty of times. They both starred in Dead Man Walking , The Banger Sisters , and an episode of Friends in 2001.
“I think the biggest lesson there was just the permission to want a lot for yourself, career-wise, as a woman,” she said in an interview about her mother.
“I think that was extremely valuable to me,” Eva continued . “I think [my mother] really unapologetically … went after what she needed to be fulfilled. So it was nice to just have that example.”
Riley Keough.
Riley Keough was bound to end up in the entertainment industry one way or another, considering her mother is Lisa Marie Presley, and her grandparents are Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley.
Mariska Hargitay.
Law & Order SVU star Mariska Hargitay’s mother, Jayne Mansfield, was a famous Hollywood actress and sex-symbol back in the 1950s and 1960s. Mariska’s father is former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay.
Sadly, Jayne Mansfield was tragically killed in a car crash when Mariska was only three-years-old.
“She was just so ahead of her time,” she told People about her late mother. “She was an inspiration, she had this appetite for life, and I think I share that with her.”
Rashida Jones.
Many know that Rashida’s father is famous music producer, Quincy Jones. But her mother, actress Peggy Lipton, has also made a name for herself in Hollywood before unfortunately passing away of cancer in May.
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Jennifer Aniston.
Jennifer’s father, John Aniston was best known for his longstanding role as Victor Kiriakis on the NBC daytime soap opera series, Days of Our Lives .
Gwyneth Paltrow.
With parents like Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth was destined for greatness.
“I think you came into the world with a very strong self-image,” Blythe said to Gwyneth during a 2018 episode of The Goop podcast. “You had a strength and you knew who you were.”
Alison Williams.
Best known for her role in the HBO show Girls and 2017’s blockbuster film Get Out , Alison got candid about growing up with a famous father, news anchor Brian Williams.
“It took years, and a lot of diligence on my part [to get out of his shadow],” she told the Los Angeles 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.”
Do you have a famous relative?
Let us know if you’ve got celebrity parents in the comments!
