19 Unexpected Celebrity Connections That Will Surprise You

1. Jon Hamm was Ellie Kemper's high school drama instructor back in Missouri. Later on, Ellie put together a solo performance in Los Angeles. "By then, he was already well-known for his role in Mad Men," she recalled. "I reached out to him via email, using our high school directory. I told him about the show I was doing, saying I understood how busy he was, but I would love for him to attend. And he showed up."

2. Steph and Ayesha Curry are the proud godparents of Lindsay Lohan's son, Luai. It turns out that Lindsay's husband, Bader Shammas, shares a strong friendship with celebrity chef Michael Mina. He introduced Lindsay and Ayesha, believing they would connect, and it turned out he was absolutely right!

3. Antonio Banderas is Dakota Johnson's former stepfather (he was married to her mother, Melanie Griffith, from 1996 to 2015). Despite their past marriage, they appear to have kept a strong relationship, as shown by a selfie they took together last year. Antonio and Melanie also share a daughter, Stella, who is Dakota's younger sister.

4. Thanks to the PBS program Find Your Roots, RuPaul and Senator Cory Booker uncovered that they are actually cousins. Both were thrilled by the discovery, and Cory later made an appearance on an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race.

5. Rebel Wilson was the final one out of 16 students to study acting in the US, thanks to a scholarship from Nicole Kidman at the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney. "We’ve talked about it since," Rebel recalled. "I really thanked her, and I even donated the money back to the college two years ago, so they could use it for current projects and aspiring actors."

6. Lady Gaga is the godmother of Elton John and David Furnish's two children. When Elton was asked if he ever sang to the boys when they were younger, he confirmed he did — but he wasn't the only one. "Gaga, their godmother, would come over to bathe them and sing them to sleep," he shared.

7. John Boyega and Letitia Wright first crossed paths at London's Identity School of Acting, often meeting at McDonald's afterward. "After class, we’d get together to talk about life, the future, and inspire one another," she remembered. He added, "You haven’t changed. We always have conversations that change our lives."

8. Mara Wilson (you may recognize her from roles like the young girl in Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda) and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro are actually cousins. In a 2019 tweet, she opened up about cutting certain relatives "out of your life without any regret," leading many to assume she was referring to Ben.

9. Jamie Dornan and Eddie Redmayne shared an apartment before becoming famous. The two often spent time with Andrew Garfield and Robert Pattinson, supporting each other with auditions and tapes. Andrew recalled, "We were the kind of guys who'd go to the Standard Hotel on Sunset Boulevard to play ping-pong and share one cocktail between us because we couldn’t afford more."

10. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Matt Damon once ran lines together during a drama class at Harvard. "He’s probably forgotten this moment," she recalled. "The reason I remember it is that he was already quite well-known both on and off campus, so it was pretty exciting to be paired with him in a class scene."

11. Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Hugh Grant are cousins. Though their great-grandmothers were sisters, they only met for the first time on the set of Love Actually.

12. Keanu Reeves was acquainted with Dolly Parton when he was a young boy, thanks to his mother, Patricia Taylor, who worked as a costume designer. "She did a lot of sewing for me; she made many of my outfits," Dolly shared. "But I remember Keanu when he was just a little boy. She would bring him over to my house during fittings, or when I’d visit the shop where she worked." Keanu’s mother designed Dolly’s famous Playboy bunny costume, which Keanu later wore as a Halloween costume.

13. Brandy and Snoop Dogg are cousins, which also makes Ray J, Brandy's younger brother, Snoop's cousin as well.

14. Tia and Tamera Mowry once babysat Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on the set of Full House. "My brother, who played Teddy, and I would frequently visit the set," Tia explained. "We even babysat the Olsen twins... The producers on set used to say, 'These girls are so cute.' We eventually made a guest appearance on Full House, which was a significant moment for our careers."

15. Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson shared an apartment while attending UT Austin. They initially crossed paths in a playwriting class, where Wes was fascinated by Owen's habit of reading the newspaper during lectures.

16. While studying at Howard University, Chadwick Boseman was among the nine students selected for a summer exchange program at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. Phylicia Rashad, one of his professors, reached out to her affluent friends to fund the trip, with Denzel Washington serving as Chadwick's sponsor. Chadwick recalled, "The funny thing is, he showed up at the New York premiere of Black Panther and I said, 'It's great to meet you. I'm a huge fan. Just wanted to thank you for funding my trip to Oxford.' He responded, 'Oh, you owe me money!'"

17. Pedro Pascal and Sarah Paulson were close long before they gained recognition in Hollywood. Reflecting on the night they met, Pedro recalled, "We were holding 40s, some people started talking smack, and you were the first one to stand up and fight on 10th Street. You didn’t even know me, but you were ready to dive into the chaos." Sarah agreed, saying, "That sounds about right."

18. Debbie Allen, known for her roles in Grey's Anatomy and Fame, is the younger sister of Phylicia Rashad.

19. Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale actually crossed paths long before their High School Musical roles. "We first worked together in a Sears commercial a year before we were cast in the movie," Ashley recalled.