Sydney Sweeney And Marilyn Monroe Are Officially Related — And The Family Tree Goes Back To The 1600s

Plot twist nobody asked for but everybody needed: the internet's favorite "she gives Marilyn" comparison now has actual genealogical backing. Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe are family. Yes, really.

The Tea ☕

• A new study from genealogy site MyHeritage says Sweeney and Monroe are ninth cousins, once removed.
• They're connected through their dads and a shared 1600s ancestor.
• Sweeney hasn't commented yet, but she's been channeling Marilyn on red carpets for months.

So How Are They Related?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two actresses share a mutual ancestor: Ezra Perry (c. 1625-1689), an early English settler in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

Page Six reports the link runs through the fathers' sides: Sweeney's dad, Steven Sweeney, and Monroe's biological father, Charles Stanley Gifford, both descend from Perry.

Yes, that's a LOT of generations. But a cousin is a cousin, and we're counting it.

Why MyHeritage Went Digging

Fans have been putting these two in the same sentence for years, and MyHeritage says that's exactly what inspired the research. Per E! News, the company's director of research, Roi Mandel, said people have "always drawn parallels" between the pair, so the team went looking for "a real bond" in its archives.

His takeaway? Humanity is "one vast family tree." Beautiful. Poetic. Also a very good PR moment for a genealogy company, but we'll allow it.

The Marilyn Moments That Set This Up

Sweeney has leaned into the comparison more than once, and the receipts are stacking up:

• February 2026: She wore a vintage Ceil Chapman gown to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that resembled the one Monroe wore on the April 1952 LIFE magazine cover.
• December 2025: At The Housemaid premiere, she wore a custom Galia Lahav white halter dress that many saw as a nod to Monroe's Seven Year Itch look.
• November 2025: A soft-wave bob at the Governors Awards had people thinking Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Page Six also reports that a source said her boyfriend, Scooter Braun, thinks she's "the modern Marilyn Monroe." Sweet, though that's one insider's claim, not a confirmed quote on the record.

The Dakota Johnson Bonus Round

Here's the part that made us sit up. THR notes MyHeritage ALSO found that Dakota Johnson is related to Monroe, as a ninth cousin, three times removed.

That's a fun detail given Johnson recently played a version of the Hollywood legend in Maggie Gyllenhaal's short film Flesh Impact. MyHeritage researcher Naama Lanski said the discovery "turns the casting into a real-life family story."

The Fine Print

Let's keep it real: ninth cousins share a tiny sliver of DNA, if any. This is a family-tree connection from a genealogy company's research, not a surprise Thanksgiving invite. Sweeney hasn't responded publicly, and the sources we read don't include any comment from her camp.

Still, the group chat is going to have a field day.

Your Turn

Does a ninth-cousin link make the Marilyn comparison more fun, or is it a bit of a stretch? And if your own family tree went back to the 1600s, who do you hope you're secretly related to? Sound off below.

Sources: E! News | The Hollywood Reporter | Page Six