People Are Sharing Stories About The Famous People They're Related To And How They Act Around Family

    From Keanu Reeves to Tom Hanks.

    Amanda Edelman
    by Amanda Edelman

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    We've all heard stories about how fame can change people.

    MTV / Giphy / Via giphy.com

    So when Reddit user u/joeygreco1985 posed the question, "People who are related to celebrities, how has their fame affected family gatherings and events?" those related to celebs came together to reminisce about the odd occasions.

    Here are some of the best:

    1. Keanu Reeves:

    Photo of Keanu Reeves in a classic three-piece suit and bow-tie
    Steve Granitz / WireImage

    "I'm related to Keanu Reeves. We have a Reeves Ohana gathering every year in Hawaii, and he never comes. Which I don't blame him at all — his dad was not a good father, so I assume, besides being a busy actor, he doesn't come because that burned the bridges with our family. My dad sometimes mentions Keanu when the reunions happen, about how he doesn't visit. It's not in a bitter way or anything, just sometimes the little cousins ask. I haven't met all my family in Hawaii yet 'cause I live in the mainland, but I do know at least a few people are salty about it. Other than that, my cousins look up to him and get excited when he's in a movie. Even if the kids aren't allowed to watch 'cause of violence, they see a movie poster and look all awestruck. So cute." —u/Aeksel

    2. Megan Fox:

    Photo of Megan Fox in a lace dress at a movie premiere
    Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images

    "Megan Fox is my first cousin once removed (her mother and my grandfather are brother and sister). She's six years older than I am, so there are plenty of pictures of us playing together while growing up, but once she got to the point of puberty, she quickly shifted into modeling and moved from Tennessee to Florida to pursue it. She then got into movies and, as you know, made it rather big.

    "The last time she was in town to visit was about 12 years ago. She came for Christmas, and everything seemed normal until she whipped out the stack of headshots she had brought to sign for us to take back to our friends and such.

    "She did make it a point to call my grandfather when he had his heart attack back in 2014, so not all is lost in fame. The headshots thing was just a tad comical." —[deleted]

    3. Matthew McConaughey:

    Photo of Matthew McConaughey in a suit with slicked back hair
    Mondadori Portfolio / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images

    "Matt McConaughey is my second cousin. He acts normal with us, but the bastard has yet to deliver me a Buick for the bully I beat up for him 38 years ago...though he does always bring the best booze to the parties." —u/drycheck

    4. Edith Fore:

    Still of Edith Fore from Life Call commercial
    Life Call / Via youtube.com

    "I had an aunt who had a bit role in a commercial. It was for Lifetouch; she was the old lady lying on the ground who said, 'I've fallen and I can't get up!' She was a scream and must have done that line a thousand times during our family dinners. Even though everybody in North America has seen that commercial dozens of times, she only got recognized a couple of times. She was once recognized in a mall and laid down on the floor and said the line — people were cheering and clapping." —u/doingthehumptydance

    5. David Adkins, aka Sinbad:

    Photo of comedian Sinbad in a pin-striped jacket and black glasses
    Mike Windle

    "My uncle is Sinbad (the comedian/actor). He is married to my biological aunt on my dad's side, so I am not his blood relation, but his kids and wife are blood-related to me. We go on vacations with them every summer, and have for the past six or so years. We didn't for a while when he and my aunt were separated, but since they got back together, we see that family at least once a year. 

    "Just got back from a vacation with them, actually. At first it was a little annoying having to stop every couple of minutes because someone asked for a picture, but eventually he stopped posing for pictures while with us. He just says, 'Sorry, I'm with my family' now. 

    "Nothing terribly exciting, but he has been famous since I was born, so I didn't get a before-and-after experience. The coolest thing was definitely going to Disney/Universal with him. We got the VIP treatment and skipped every line. We rode Dueling Dragons probably five to seven times back-to-back. Three of us barfed; it was great." —u/WhatIsThisAccountFor

    6. Charlie Brown creator Charles Schulz:

    Black-and-white photo of Charles Schulz at a table drawing a sketch of Peanuts character Charlie Brown
    CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images

    "My grandfather was Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts (Charlie Brown). I don't really know how it affected my family gatherings because my family hasn't been together for a long time, for other reasons. But I do know that for a few members of the family, the comics are really important to them, and they really pride themselves on their involvement with them." —u/psylnced

    7. Tom Hanks:

    Photo of Tom Hanks in a dressy suit and bow-tie
    Kurt Krieger — Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images

    "My wife is a distant relative of Tom Hanks. It doesn't affect her at all. It affects me because she reminds me of it every time he is mentioned on the TV." —u/MulletOnFire

    8. Mr. Bigglesworth from Austin Powers:

    Mike Myers as Dr. Evil in Austin Powers holding a hairless cat
    Courtesy Everett Collection

    "My sister-in-law's cat is related to the cat from Austin Powers. They're from the same litter." —u/remembersarah18

    9. Lucy Lawless:

    Lucy Lawless in a red dress and red lipstick at a premiere event
    Taylor Hill / FilmMagic

    "My aunt is Xena the Warrior Princess and absolutely nothing at family gatherings. She is just our aunt. We got stopped a couple of times in New Orleans by people who recognized her. Back in New Zealand, when her show was going on, some little girls would come up and want to take pics.

    "She's one of the nicest people to talk to and never acts like a celebrity. I have gotten to do some very cool stuff in my life, which I'll never take for granted, because of her kindness! Hey, Lucy! I'll let you guess which one of us it is, if you're out there!" —u/KnuckleCurve01

    10. Richard Ramirez

    Black-and-white photo of Richard Ramirez in LA County jail
    Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

    "My ex-wife is related to Richard Ramirez — yes, the Night Stalker. He comes up at EVERY single family gathering, big or small. They would talk about him for hours. Same stories, same reactions. As the years went by, he slowly started to disappear from the conversations. Then he went and made national news when he died. We were already divorced when it happened, but that did not stop her family from reaching out to me and telling me, in detail, all about his life and death. It still comes up every time I come across any of them. Can't tell if it's pride or sorrow." —[deleted]

    11. Members of Cage the Elephant:

    Photo of Cage the Elephant band members at a red carpet event
    Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images for The Recording Academy

    "My cousins are in the band Cage the Elephant. They are so down-to-earth that their fame doesn't really affect our family. We are all so close (even though we live so far away), and they invite us to their concerts when they're in town. I will say, when we plan family reunions, everyone's first question is, 'Will the boys be on tour then?' Of course this is because everyone wants all the family there, and my cousins are usually the busiest out of everyone, with schedules that are pretty finite. Overall, it has brought us all closer having such successful people who worked hard in our family." —u/Pcinfamily

    12. Steve Smith:

    Steve Smith aka Red Green holding red duct tape
    ZUMA Press / Alamy Stock Photo

    "My uncle is Steve Smith, aka Red Green, from the '90s Canadian handyman comedy show. We used to all gather in the '90s and '00s, when our generation had wedding season. He was always the life of the party without ever trying. If there was a lull in the conversation, he'd pipe in with something hysterical and have the whole table laughing. Never tried; he was just a natural and would never interrupt anyone else. He's a very kind and wonderful guy.

    "We'd go to tapings of the show and would howl, not only at the show but at the 'countrified' studio audience. It was all in good fun. I think the only effect it had at gatherings was on our very excited significant others who were meeting him for the first time. We only gather once in a while now, as he's winding down a bit — he's in his seventies now and enjoying semiretirement (still doing shows). The fam tells me we bear a strong resemblance, which is nice." —u/snakelord

    13. David Tennant:

    Photo of David Tennant in a white suit
    Mike Marsland / Mike Marsland / WireImage

    "My spouse is related to David Tennant. I did not know this until after we were married (spouse was born in America). Not impacted life at all except I got to meet him during my first trip to London. Their family scored us tickets to Much Ado About Nothing, and we saw David and Catherine Tate after the show. Nothing bad to say about either of them; they were both lovely and effusive, and David gave us both a hug, even though neither of us had ever met him before. Spouse had a brief chat about mutual acquaintances in the family, and then we left." —u/LJGHunter

    14. James Roday:

    Photo of James Roday on ABC show A Million Little Things
    Jack Rowand / ABC via Getty Images

    "My first cousin on my father's side is James Roday. He has always been the type of guy, even as a kid, we all knew was going to be famous. He's just always had that 'it' factor, so when he became famous, those of us in the immediate family just saw it as an end to the means. 

    "The only uncomfortable thing to happen at a family function was at my grandmother's funeral. It was obviously a very emotional time, but my brother's wife at the time didn't see it as such and was taking any opportunity to snap as many selfies and candid 'Look at me with Sean from Psych' photos as possible. He was very tactful about it, though, and graciously granted her as much as he could handle, until my brother made her chill the fuck out. Jamie is a good dude, man. Definitely one of the people in my life who I am most proud of, because he earned every bit of fame and fortune he has received, all the while staying an incredibly humble guy." —u/mase_in_mass

    15. Andrew Carnegie:

    Black-and-white photo of Andrew Carnegie sitting in a chair
    Universal History Archive / Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    "My great-great-grandfather is Andrew Carnegie; I'm named after his daughter. My mother spent her summers as a child at his castle, Skibo, in Scotland. I've visited a couple of times as well, but the castle isn't in our family anymore (my great-grandmother ended up selling it partly because her son, my grandfather, passed away very young).

    "As most people know, Andrew was a philanthropist. He gave away most of his money and built a bunch of libraries around the world and started many foundations. Education was very important to him. That being said, my family has never been CRAZY rich, but comfortable. I grew up in the suburbs in a small town in a modest house. Started working in high school and am now a nurse. Andrew did leave all of his descendants a trust fund (mine being the last generation to receive it) specifically for educational purposes. My siblings and I have used that for some of our tuition fees, but now I am paying for my own school. I feel honored to be a Carnegie and am pursuing a career in nursing and public health in hopes of starting my own nonprofit one day." —u/margarreed

    16. J.K. Rowling:

    Photo of J.K. Rowling reading a book
    David Cheskin / Pool / AFP via Getty Images

    "I'm relatively closely related to J.K. Rowling, and to be honest, it doesn't affect family gatherings at all. Either people whisper about her from afar or go up and have a conversation with her. Most people don't make a big deal of it, and she does the same and just chats to anyone who speaks to her. The biggest reaction I ever get is when someone finds out I'm related to her, haha!" —u/jack_hughez

    17. Dr. Demento:

    Photo of Dr. Demento in a classic suit and top hat
    Amanda Edwards / Getty Images

    "My uncle is Dr. Demento. He's a really cool guy. Insanely knowledgeable about music and music history. He is totally cool at family gatherings." —u/CopyCenterPhil

    18. Abe Lincoln AND a Hall of Fame porn actor:

    Black-and-white portrait of Abraham Lincoln
    Alexander Gardner / Getty Images

    "My uncle is a retired Hall of Fame porn actor. He'd come to Ohio for Christmas every year, and my mom would give him AND his sexy porn star girlfriends my room, since it was the biggest. One Christmas morning, my mom had me go in to wake him up, and LO AND BEHOLD, his girlfriend was completely naked on my bed. I stared for a minute, then woke them up. I was 12. My voice changed three octaves that year.

    "Also, I am distantly related to Abraham Lincoln, but that doesn't affect me as much." —u/corxcore

    Are you related to anyone famous? Let us know in the comments!

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.