Debra Messing (left); Melanie Lynskey (right).Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Corey Nickols/Getty
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Corey Nickols/Getty
Debra MessingandMelanie Lynskey’s family trees just expanded to include some surprising familiar faces.
On the Feb. 25 episode ofFinding Your Roots, the two actresses learned that they each have distant famous cousins, who had previously appeared on the show withHenry Louis Gates Jr.
Lynksey learned she is related toQuestlove, who Gates informed her is “18% European.”
“He’s your DNA cousin,” he told theYellowjacketsstar. “Your father and Questlove, as well as Questlove’s mother, share a long identical segment of DNA on your 15th chromosome.”
Melanie Lynskey; Questlove.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
“I am very excited,” Lynskey said, before asking Gates, “How surprised were you when this was the outcome?” Gates said he “couldn’t believe it,” and Lynskey called it “so amazing.”
“He’s such a sweet guy,” she said of Questlove. “That’s incredible.”
Messing also learned of a surprising relative of her own to close out the episode:Bernie Sanders.
“What! Are you kidding me? Bernie Sanders?” she said after learning the Vermont senator is her DNA cousin. “No way! Oh my gosh… That is mind-blowing.”
Debra Messing; Bernie Sanders.Arturo Holmes/Getty; Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Arturo Holmes/Getty; Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Some other standout distant relatives includeMichael Douglas and Scarlett Johansson,Bob Odenkirk and King Charles,Ciara and Derek JeterandLena Dunham and Larry David.
Meryl StreepandEva Longoriaalso learned of their connection from Gates in his 2010 docuseriesFaces of America, which revealed that they are distant cousins.
Now,the actresses often refer to each other as “cousin,” Longoria said, which can cause some confusion. At the table read forseason 4 ofOnly Murders in the Building, for example, when Streep introduced the actress as her cousin, everyone was “so confused.”
“Because I’m the most Latina person in the industry and she’s Meryl Streep,” Longoria toldDuJour.
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Finding Your Rootsairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
source: people.com
