Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe may share more than comparisons to classic Hollywood glamour. A genealogy study from MyHeritage says the two actresses are distant relatives, connected through a common ancestor who lived in Massachusetts in the 1600s.
According to the research, Sweeney and Monroe are ninth cousins once removed. The reported family link runs through Sweeney’s father, Steven Sweeney, and Monroe’s biological father, Charles Stanley Gifford.
The shared ancestor behind the connection
MyHeritage traced the actresses’ family trees back to Ezra Perry, an early resident of Sandwich, Massachusetts. The relationship is extremely distant, spanning centuries and many generations, but the genealogical paths reportedly converge at that ancestor.
The finding is notable because Sweeney has often been compared visually and stylistically with stars from Hollywood’s golden age. She has also worn looks that commentators have described as reminiscent of Monroe, making the newly reported family link an especially eye-catching coincidence.
What ninth cousins once removed means
A ninth-cousin relationship reflects a very remote shared ancestry. The ‘once removed’ designation means the two people are separated by one generation within that cousin relationship. It does not imply a close family connection or that the actresses’ families knew one another.
Genealogy discoveries of this kind have become increasingly common as digitized historical records and large family-tree databases make it easier to trace distant connections across centuries.
A Hollywood coincidence with historical roots
Monroe remains one of the most recognizable figures in American film history, while Sweeney has become one of the most prominent actresses of her generation. That makes the discovery an appealing intersection of entertainment and family history.
The connection comes from MyHeritage’s research rather than a previously known relationship between the families, so it is best understood as a genealogical finding based on the company’s family-tree analysis.
Sources: MyHeritage research as reported by Entertainment Weekly and E! News.