Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe share a surprising family connection

Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe are distant relatives, with genealogy research finding that the actresses are ninth cousins, once removed.

The connection was identified by family-history platform MyHeritage, which traced the actresses’ family trees through their fathers. Sweeney’s father, Steven Sweeney, and Monroe’s biological father, Charles Stanley Gifford, both reportedly descend from Ezra Perry, a 17th-century settler in Sandwich, Massachusetts, who lived from around 1625 to 1689.

Roi Mandel, MyHeritage’s director of research, said the company decided to investigate a possible family connection after years of comparisons between Sweeney and Monroe.

Sweeney has frequently been compared with the late Hollywood icon because of her vintage-inspired appearances and styling. Earlier this year, she accepted a Virtuosos Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival wearing a vintage Ceil Chapman gown that closely resembled the dress Monroe wore on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952. Sweeney’s stylist, Molly Dickson, later confirmed that the look was intentionally inspired by Monroe.

The Euphoria star also channelled Monroe at the Los Angeles premiere of The Housemaid, where she wore a white Galia Lahav gown with a feathered skirt. The look echoed Monroe’s famous costume from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch.

The genealogy discovery adds another connection between Sweeney and Monroe beyond their visual similarities and shared association with classic Hollywood style.

MyHeritage has previously uncovered celebrity family connections, including a reported distant relationship between Friends stars Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox.