Celebrities With Famous Grandparents

Many people follow in their parent's footsteps regarding their careers. There's no better example of this than in Hollywood. It's quite amazing to see talent handed down from a parent to their kid, whether singing, acting, or even modeling. For example, there's Dennis Quaid's son, Jack Quaid, who not only looks like his famous father but has his acting chops, too! Have you seen him in "The Boys?" In the music department, country star Billy Ray Cyrus helped his daughter Miley Cyrus rise to fame. And let's not forget about model Kaia Gerber, who inherited her good looks thanks to her supermodel mom, Cindy Crawford. 

However, what's more impressive is a celebrity whose talents not only mimic that of their parents, but also their grandparents. It's really cool to see that a celeb has a long family history in the business and that they are continuing that legacy. These stars below have grandfathers and grandmothers who were top-tier actors during Hollywood's Golden Age or were creating music that shook up American culture. Meanwhile, the grandsons and granddaughters of these stars have not only showcased similar talents, but if you look closely, you might see a striking resemblance to their famous grandparents.  

Let's take a look at the stars who are thanking their grandpa and grandma for giving them a leg up in their careers. 

From his big brown eyes to his smile, there is no denying that Ethan Peck highly resembles his legendary grandfather, actor Gregory Peck. One of the most famous movie stars of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Gregory is most known for his role as Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird," which won him the acclaimed Oscar for best actor. However, he's worked with dozens of brilliant actors, including Ava Gardner in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday."

Ethan, who is most recognized for his role as Spock in the television series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," knows how influential his grandfather was to the acting world. However, the actor has been blazing his own path in Hollywood. We've seen him in tv shows like "10 Things I Hate About You," and he's worked alongside George Clooney in the film "The Midnight Sky." 

"I'm doing what he did, and we share the same name. But it feels like my own," Ethan told the New York Post about setting himself apart from his grandfather. "I knew him at the end of his life, and he was Grandpa — and also an icon. It's still hard for me to fathom the level at which he was appreciated on an international scale," he added. Hopefully, one day, Ethan will also nab an Oscar like his grandpa.

Charlie Chaplin was an icon in the film industry, having been known for his work in the silent-film era. However, what some people may not know about Chaplin is that he had many love interests and affairs with his co-stars. The actor was married four times and fathered eleven children. His fourth and final wife was Oona O'Neill, with whom he had eight of those children. One of those kids would be actor Geraldine Chaplin, whose daughter, Oona Chaplin, named after her grandmother, would also go into acting.

In an interview with Remezcla, Oona revealed that she wasn't interested in an acting career, despite coming from a family with a history in the industry. "At first, I firmly fought against it because it seemed to me that it was a frivolous profession with little substance," she shared. However, she changed her perspective after being involved in a school play. Oona's most recognized work includes portraying Talisa Stark on "Game of Thrones" and starring alongside her mother in "Anchor and Hope."

If you look closely, Oona shares a resemblance to her famous grandfather. Though she never met him, she told the Independent that she still can't believe she is related to him. "There are moments, even now, when I sort of go, 'Whoa ... my blood has some of that in it?' It's amazing, but it kind of freaks me out sometimes," she reflected.

Most people know that Zoë Kravitz comes from entertainment royalty. Her father is music legend Lenny Kravitz, and her mother is actor Lisa Bonet. The "Kimi" actor followed in her mother's footsteps, scoring roles like Catwoman in 2022's "The Batman" and starring opposite A-list stars like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in the television series "Big Little Lies." And let's not forget that Zoë has taken a seat in the director's chair for the first time for her upcoming film "Pussy Island." However, not only was her mom in the business but so was her grandmother, Lenny's mother, Roxie Roker. 

Roker was making history when she starred as Helen Willis, a Black woman in an interracial marriage on "The Jeffersons." Like her real life, Roker was in an interracial marriage when she married Sy Kravitz, Lenny's father, in 1962. During an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Zoë spoke about how her grandmother's role in the sitcom was monumental back then. "When I was educated about what the world was like, I was like, 'This is a huge deal.' It was brave of her to go there. I don't think her intention was to shake things up. It was actually her truth: She was married to a white man.'" Like her grandmother, the "Divergent" star hopes to see more people of color represented in Hollywood.

During an interview with NBC News (via Today), Lenny touchingly compared his daughter to his famous mother, sharing, "Just the essence. Yeah, it's beautiful to watch."  

Riley Keough has been popping up everywhere thanks to her role in the Prime Video series "Daisy Jones and The Six." In the series, Keough, who stars as Daisy Jones, the lead member of a 1970s rock group, auditioned with no singing experience. But, taking the part seriously, she took singing lessons and nabbed the role. The actor sang each song on the "Aurora" soundtrack, too. So, where could Keough's musical abilities come from? Well, if you weren't aware, she's the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. Her mother, the late Lisa Marie Presley, was also prominent in the music business.

Speaking to ET about her experiences with a newfound love of singing and playing music, Keough shared that she isn't trying to live up to her famous family. Instead, she's carving her own path. "I don't know if there is continuing my grandfather's legacy, it's its own sort of thing to me. But it was a really fun experience for me. I'm not a musician — or I am now, I guess. I've been interested in film my whole life, and so for me, it was more really loving to get to have a relationship with music in that way," she shared.

Besides her work in "Daisy Jones and The Six," Keough has also starred in "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Zola," and "The Lodge."

If you haven't guessed by looking at her last name, Sarah Sutherland is the daughter of "24" actor Keifer Sutherland. However, her grandfather is just as famous, even more so than her dad. He is the famed actor Donald Sutherland, whose career spans over 60 years. He's won two Golden Globes and has starred in films such as the "Hunger Games" film series, "Ad Astra" and "The Leisure Seeker." 

Sarah has chosen to set herself apart from her famous family. During an interview on "Live with Kelly and Ryan," Keifer revealed that he didn't even know his daughter's agent's name. On top of that, Sarah chose not to star in two of her father's films, one of which also starred her grandfather, "because she didn't want the association." Sarah has chosen not to use her father and grandfather to get a leg up in her career. She told The Cut, "I was very adamant that I wanted to arrive at navigating the industry in my own right without help from them."

Sarah has undoubtedly navigated Hollywood well. She starred as Julia Louis-Dreyfus' daughter for seven seasons on HBO's tv series "Veep" and showcased a more serious side in the 2020 film "Like a House on Fire."

Micheál Richardson might not be too recognizable in Hollywood, but he's already starred with big names like Liam Neeson, who just so happens to be his dad. Richardson starred alongside his famous father in 2019's "Cold Pursuit" and again in 2020's "Made in Italy," which had Richardson in a much more prominent role. Micheál's mom, Natasha Richardson, was also an actor who starred in films like "The Parent Trap" and "Maid in Manhattan." Sadly, Natasha died in 2009 following a head injury after falling while skiing. Micheál was 13. 

Micheál's grandmother, Natasha's mother, Vanessa Redgrave, is a name you might recognize. Redgrave has worked in the acting business for over six decades and won an Oscar for best supporting actress for the 1977 film "Julia." Her other memorable roles include starring opposite Amanda Seyfried in "Letters to Juliet" and Keira Knightly in "Atonement." 

In 2018, Redgrave told Daily Mail that her grandson ditched his famous father's last name for his mothers. Plus, with Neeson already a top name in Hollywood, it's touching to see Micheál carry on his mother's legacy with her last name. "That wasn't because he wanted to avoid his father's fame, which is enormous. He wanted to hold his mother close to him — because she was a remarkable actress," Redgrave shared. Hopefully, we'll see more of Micheál Richardson as he follows in his famous family's footsteps.

Actor Katie Cassidy barely knew her father, 70s teen idol and "The Partridge Family" star David Cassidy. "I feel like there's this preconceived notion that I come from a family of wealth and celebrity, the Cassidys, so I think people have this misconception of myself when the reality is that I actually didn't grow up with my biological father. I didn't know him until I was in fourth grade, and then he became a good friend of mine," she told People. However, what Katie did know was that she also wanted to pursue acting like her famous father and just as famous grandparents. 

Though the "Arrow" star may not have met her grandfather, David's father, Jack Cassidy (who died in 1976 at 49), he was also a big name in the entertainment business. Jack was most known for his work on Broadway and was nominated for several Tony Awards. In addition, he starred in several television shows, including "Hawaii Five-O" and "Gunsmoke." Meanwhile, her grandmother, Evelyn Ward, was also acting on Broadway. 

Katie's relationships with the famous men in her life may have been minimal (David Cassidy died in 2017), but there is no doubt that acting runs through her veins. "Since I was out of the womb, I've been in this business ... I always say it was in the gene pool, I just woke up like this," she told Horror Geek Life.

Sean Flynn is best known for his role as Chase Matthews, the awkward, sometimes clumsy student at Pacific Coast Academy in the beloved 2005 Nickelodeon tv series "Zoey 101." It was announced earlier in 2023 that the original cast, including the show's lead, Jamie Lynn Spears, were reprising their roles in the Paramount + film "Zoey 102."

Though Flynn hasn't done much since his role as Spears' character's love interest in the show, he comes from a family with a history in the movie business. In fact, when Flynn was cast for the role of Matthews, the show creator, Dan Schneider, told Today that he had no idea he was the grandson of acting legend Errol Flynn. For those unfamiliar with his grandfather, Errol was best known for his role as Robin Hood in the 1938 classic "The Adventures of Robin Hood." However, he was also known as a notorious womanizer, and though Sean never met his grandfather, he knew of his reputation for being a ladies' man. "But I can tell you if I ever go to a tennis club or an old-age home or someplace where older people are, I'll definitely get recognized ... If it's a woman, they'll say, 'I was so in love with him.' If it's a guy, they'll say, 'My wife was so in love with him,'" Sean told Today.

Sean actually had a minor role in the 2013 film "The Last of Robin Hood," a film about his grandfather.

Jason Ritter has been strongly associated with his father, the late actor John Ritter, in his looks and acting abilities. His father, who died suddenly in 2003 of an aortic dissection, was best known for his role in the sitcom "Three's Company" and "8 Simple Rules." Jason would follow in his father's footsteps, nabbing his first role in the horror flick "Freddy vs. Jason" in 2003. He's since played memorable characters in "Joan of Arcadia" and "Parenthood," and lent his voice in Disney's "Gravity Falls" and "Frozen 2." However, upon looking at Jason more closely, not only does he resemble his father, but his grandfather, Tex Ritter, too.

Tex was labeled a singing cowboy, having one of the most successful country music careers in the 40s, and continued to perform well into the 60s. He was the first artist to be signed with Capitol Records and recorded hits like "Jealous Heart" and "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You." In 1964, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Jason's grandmother, John's mother, Dorothy Fey, was an actor known for her work in Western films. 

Jason looks very much like his famous grandpa, but he is always connected to his late father. "I have kind of just accepted the fact that people are going to compare me to my dad. No one has compared me to Tex yet," Jason told CMT in 2005. Still, he feels he must "honor [both] their talent and their abilities." 

Sophie Dahl started her career as a plus-sized model in her late teens and helped pave the way for women of all sizes to feel included. She landed campaigns with Alexander McQueen, Versace, and Gap and posed on the covers of both British and Italian Vogue. However, the model switched careers entirely when she became a published author, following in her grandfather, famed children's author Roald Dahl's footsteps.

For those who don't recognize the Dahl last name, Sophie's grandfather's most popular books include "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Matilda," "James and the Giant Peach," and countless others. During an interview with Today in 2008, Sophie explained that it was much easier for her to find herself immersed in writing because of her family background, which includes her mother, Tessa Dahl, who is also an author. However, she told the news outlet that she wouldn't compare her writing to her grandfather's. "I couldn't take that sort of comparison or criticism on board ... He was a genius, beloved pretty universally, a great children's writer and adult fiction writer. I am just at the beginning of my career," Sophie shared.

Sophie published her first book, "The Man With the Dancing Eyes," in 2003. It was followed by "Playing with the Grown-ups" in 2007. Sophie also wrote two cookbooks and followed her grandfather by writing two children's books: "Madame Badobedah" and "The Worst Sleepover in the World."

Loretta Lynn was country music royalty. Her career spanned six decades, with several hits in the 60s and 70s. She sang songs that people could relate to with some of her most famous numbers, including "Don't Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin” On Your Mind)," "Coal Miner's Daughter," and "Woman Of The World (Leave My World Alone)." However, Loretta Lynn won't ever be forgotten as her granddaughter, Tayla Lynn, has carried on her grandmother's legacy by becoming a country artist. 

In 2007, Tayla was signed to Skyville Records with her group Stealing Angels. In 2016, she released her first solo EP, "The Ranch." Her first full-length album was released in 2021 and was a tribute to her late grandmother, titled "Tayla Lynn Sings Loretta Lynn." Tayla sings some of her grandmother's biggest hits on the album, including "You Ain't Woman Enough" and "Fist City." 

Tayla was extremely close to her famous grandma before she died in October 2022. Calling her grandmother Memaw, Tayla talked to The Ties that Bind Us about growing up with the country star. "I would crawl in the back of the bus with her and spend day after day with her, snuggling and sharing a bed, so I've always felt connected and close to Memaw. I don't know that there was ever a point that I didn't understand she was famous," Tayla said. 

You're not a true fan of Westerns if you haven't watched anything starring legendary actor John Wayne. The actor was known for his cowboy roles in films like "Stagecoach," "The Searchers," and "The Alamo." His acting career spanned 50 years, with his last film being 1976's "The Shootist," in which he portrayed a gunfighter dying of cancer. In real life, Wayne was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died two years later at 72.

However, his legacy still lives on in his grandson, Brendan Wayne, who has been in a few Westerns himself, including the sci-fi "Cowboys & Aliens" and took part in a reboot of his late grandfather's film "Angel and the Badman." During an interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine, the actor reflected on his grandfather's exceptional career and his life with him, including being on the set of "The Shootist" when he was a kid. Brendan expressed his pride in having the late actor as his grandfather. "I was talking to someone about it recently. I said, 'You know, he was larger than life but wasn't so large that you didn't identify with him.' That duality ... I don't know who would do that, but he did. He did it better than anybody before or since, so far as I'm concerned. I'm completely biased, but I look at his work and think that certain people could have done it, but nobody did it the way he did,'" Brendan shared. 

It's hard not to see the resemblance between Billie Lourd and her late grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, whose acting career spanned almost 70 years. Looking at Reynolds during her younger years, the pair share the same hair color, eye shape, and smile. Lourd came from a family of movie stars with her mother, Carrie Fisher, known for her role as Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" films. 

It was saddening to learn that both Fisher and Reynolds died one day apart in December 2016. During a 2017 interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Lourd talked about how difficult it was to lose both women so quickly. "If I say that I'm doing good, I'm too happy. If I say that I'm not doing good, then I'm a mess. So it's really hard to know what to say about it because it is just so surreal and impossible to deal with," she shared. However, before her mom's death, she did reveal to DeGeneres that Fisher encouraged her to go into acting after seeing how comfortable her daughter was on set. Her first role was in J.J. Abrams' 2015 film "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens," which is pretty cool seeing that her mother was so loved as Princess Leia. 

Lourd's acting resume continued to grow after her role as Lieutenant Connix in Abrams' film. She reprised her role in 2017's "Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi" and again in 2019's "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker." Fans have also seen Lourd as Chanel #3 in "Scream Queens" and in "American Horror Story."

No pop stars partied harder than the electronic music duo LMFAO. The group consisted of members Redfoo and Sky Blu, with every club on the planet playing the songs "Party Rock Anthem," "Shots," and "Sexy and I Know It." However, when it was rumored that LMFAO was breaking up in 2012, Sky Blu shared that they were taking a hiatus. In an interview with MTV News, he shared, "Well, you know, first of all, we're not breaking up. I know that's for sure. We're family and stuff, so it's always love." Still, as of 2023, fans haven't heard any new music from the duo.

It doesn't appear that there was any love lost between the two men. In fact, most fans probably had no idea that Redfoo is Sky Blu's uncle, with the duo coming from a very famous family. Though they went by their stage names, Redfoo's real name is Stefan Gordy, the son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. Sky Blu, whose real name is Skyler Gordy, is Berry Gordy's grandson.

Before the duo took their "hiatus," Berry, who put stars like the Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder on the map, told The Hollywood Reporter how proud he was of LMFAO. "Their goal is to make people happy. At a time now, people need what they give – love, happiness, a party – and they're doing it better than anybody I've ever seen in a long time ... They're making the world a better place," the Motown founder said.