Barack Obama shares a surprising family link with a famous actor\u2014one many internet users probably didn\u2019t know. Exploring family trees can uncover some unexpected ties, proving the world is smaller than we think.<\/p>\n
In Hollywood, bizarre family connections aren\u2019t rare. For example, Madonna and Pope Leo XIII share ancestry, much to Madonna\u2019s surprise. Even Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick\u2019s relationship has an interesting backstory. Similarly, Obama has his own unexpected relative in the entertainment world.<\/p>\n
Back in 2008, before the presidential election, Obama appeared on\u00a0The View<\/em>\u00a0where Joy Behar asked him about his famous relative. The answer? Brad Pitt, the star of\u00a0Fight Club<\/em>.<\/p>\n Obama replied, \u201cI guess we\u2019re ninth cousins, something removed\u2014or something,\u201d and joked, \u201cI think he got the better-looking side of the gene pool.\u201d This isn\u2019t just a joke\u2014both men descend from Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769, making them ninth cousins.<\/p>\n Genealogist Christopher Child explained to\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0that shared ancestors are more common when families come from the same region\u2014in this case, the South.<\/p>\n Obama isn\u2019t alone. Hillary Clinton and Angelina Jolie (who was married to Brad Pitt until their recent divorce) are also ninth cousins. Researchers at The New England Historic Genealogical Society traced both to Jean Cusson, who d**d in Quebec in 1718.<\/p>\n Clinton\u2019s French-Canadian roots connect her distantly to singers Madonna, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morissette.<\/p>\n Child noted, \u201cIt shows lots of different people can be related\u2014people you wouldn\u2019t necessarily expect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More Political-Hollywood Family Links<\/h3>\n