‘The Housemaid’ Star Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe Are Actually Related, Genealogy Research Reveals
For years, Sydney Sweeney has drawn comparisons to Marilyn Monroe. Fans often call the ‘Euphoria’ star a modern-day Marilyn, pointing to her blonde bombshell image and love of Old Hollywood glamour.
Sweeney has leaned into the resemblance. At the Los Angeles premiere of ‘The Housemaid’ in December, she wore a custom white Galia Lahav gown with a feathered hem that echoed Monroe’s famous dress from 1955’s ‘The Seven Year Itch’.
It turns out the connection goes deeper than fashion. On October 7, family-history platform MyHeritage released research showing that Sweeney and Monroe are actually ninth cousins, once removed.
MyHeritage traced the link through both women’s paternal lines. Sweeney’s connection runs through her father, Steven Sweeney, while Monroe’s comes through her biological father, Charles Stanley Gifford.
Both men descend from Ezra Perry, an early settler in Sandwich, Massachusetts, who lived from around 1625 to 1689. Sweeney’s branch passes through Benjamin Perry, while Monroe’s runs through Deborah Pope.
The relationship is very distant. Their shared ancestor sits roughly 10 generations back, a level that represents more than 2,000 ancestor slots in a family tree. According to the company, the constant comparisons inspired the research.
Roi Mandel, MyHeritage’s director of research, said in a statement that seeing the two actresses’ paths align encouraged the team to search its archives for a real family bond. The result gives fans a fun twist on a comparison that has followed Sweeney throughout her rise to fame.
Sweeney’s red carpet choices have helped fuel the comparisons. In February, she accepted the Virtuosos Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in a vintage Cecil Chapman gown that closely mirrored the dress Monroe wore on her first Life magazine cover in April 1952.
The gown was 73 years old, and Sweeney’s stylist, Molly Dickson, later confirmed the look was intentionally inspired by that famous image. Together with her ‘Housemaid’ premiere look, it cemented her reputation as one of Hollywood’s biggest fans of Monroe’s style
Sweeney isn’t the first celebrity to discover a surprising famous relative. Tom Hanks has been identified as a distant relative of Abraham Lincoln, while Benedict Cumberbatch is related to King Richard III.
Monroe has also appeared in other celebrity genealogy stories, including connections involving Paris Hilton. Sweeney’s discovery stands out because it lines up so neatly with the cultural comparisons fans had already been making.
Monroe remains one of the most iconic figures in film history, despite her death at just 36 in 1962. Her image continues to influence fashion, film, and pop culture decades later. For Sweeney, the news adds another layer to her connection with the Hollywood legend.
It also gives fans a fresh reason to revisit the many side-by-side comparisons that have circulated online for years. The news spread quickly on social media, where many fans said the connection made perfect sense.
Others joked that it finally explained the uncanny resemblance they had noticed all along. Whether distant or not, the link has given Sweeney’s Old Hollywood looks a new backstory. Fans may be watching even more closely the next time she channels Monroe on the red carpet.
What do you think of Sydney Sweeney being related to Marilyn Monroe?
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