13 Celebrities Who Found Out Some Pretty Major Life And Interesting Info Through DNA Tests

    Not included: Lizzo's test which revealed she's 100% that bitch.

    Jemima Skelley
    by Jemima Skelley

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    After taking a DNA test recently, Chrissy Teigen was shocked to be presented with the results that she had a long-lost twin.

    Chrissy Teigen speaking in a video with a green screen background showing a family tree
    @chrissyteigen instagram.com

    She shared a video on Instagram announcing the news, saying that she started "spiraling," texted her doctor, and called her dad — who denied it. 

    Before long, she realized that this was the second DNA test she'd done, but the first was with a fake name in preparation for a documentary. “My identical twin was myself,” she said. “I was matching myself.”

    Chrissy Teigen speaking into her phone camera with her bedroom in the background
    @chrissyteigen instagram.com

    Though it wasn't the dramatic reveal she may have expected, there have been plenty of celebrities who have been blindsided by shocking information after doing DNA tests. Read on to find out more.

    1. Julia Roberts found out that her surname isn't actually "Roberts".

    A screenshot from an interview with Julia Roberts, wearing glasses and a collared shirt, looking surprised
    PBS / Via youtube.com

    In early 2023, the Oscar-winner appeared on an Ancestry-sponsored Finding Your Roots segment to learn a little more about her heritage. It turns out that the surname she's used for her whole life isn't actually her name — she's a "Mitchell." 

    In the same episode, host Henry Gates, Jr. also determined that the Pretty Woman star is distantly related to fellow actor, Edward Norton. 

    2. Sean Astin used DNA to solve a real-life Mamma Mia! situation.

    A shot of Sean Astin on a panel speaking into a microphone
    Chelsea Guglielmino / WireImage

    When Sean Astin was born, it was reported that actor Desi Arnaz Jr. was his biological father. At the time, his mom was also sleeping with a writer named Michael Tell, and in a relationship with actor John Astin.

    Sean grew up thinking John was his dad, but at the age of 14 was told that Desi Arnaz Jr. was his biological father. Then in his mid-20s, Sean had a chance encounter with Tell's niece, who suggested they may be related.

    Utterly confused, he turned to DNA tests. The results showed that his bio father was Michael Tell, but the actor has maintained close relationships with all three men. 

    3. Larry David discovered a familial link with Bernie Sanders.

    A screenshot of Larry David laughing and looking surprised
    PBS / Via pbs.org

    Larry David played Bernie Sanders in multiple SNL skits, and it turns out there's a good reason why he nailed the part so well: they're related. 

    On an episode of Finding Your Roots, it was revealed that the two share significantly long sequences of identical DNA. The politician is David's sixth cousin once removed.

    Sanders was thrilled to hear it. “I say, ‘He does a better Bernie Sanders than I do.’ Oh my god!”

    4. George Clooney found out that he's distantly related to a president.

    A red carpet shot of George Clooney wearing a grey suit and smiling
    Joshua Sammer / Getty Images

    According to a DNA test, it turns out that our fave charismatic star is related to President Abraham Lincoln. 

    To be specific: his maternal great-great-great-great-grandmother was the half-sister of Lincoln's mother, making them half-first cousins five times removed.

    5. Tiffany Haddish reconnected with her Jewish faith.

    A red carpet image of Tiffany Haddish dressed in black and posing for the camera
    Rich Fury / FilmMagic

    Tiffany Haddish's father was an Eritrean Jewish refugee. They became estranged when she was three years old, but then reconnected when the comedian was in her 20s. 

    After taking a DNA test that confirmed her Jewish ancestry, the star began reconnecting with Judaism in earnest, having a bat mitzvah on her 40th birthday. In 2022, she told Time that she spends “at least 30 minutes every single day reading and learning. I have Shabbat dinners on Fridays. I hang out with my rabbi. I’m always asking questions.”

    6. Benedict Cumberbatch unearthed his royal connection.

    A screenshot of Benedict Cumberbatch portraying King Richard III, dressed in a suit of armor on a horse
    BBC / Via youtube.com

    Benedict Cumberbatch has always seemed pretty upper-crust and regal, but perhaps that's just a side effect of his being British. Turns out, though, that he's King Richard III’s third cousin, 16 times removed.  

    When the link was discovered, Cumberbatch was already in the midst of filming a miniseries in which he played the king himself. 

    7. Andy Samberg got in touch with long-lost relatives.

    A screenshot of Andy Samberg in an interview
    PBS / Via youtube.com

    The comedian knew that his mother was adopted, but it wasn't until appearing on an episode of Finding Your Roots that he was able to track down any of his mom's bio family.

    She'd been searching for them for years, even hiring a private investigator, but had no luck. Through Henry Gates Jr.'s investigations, they were able to find long-lost blood relatives — who by total chance were living nearby. 

    8. Queen Latifah found the woman who changed her family's trajectory.

    A screenshot of Queen Latifah in an interview looking amazed
    PBS

    On an episode of Finding Your Roots, a DNA test helped Henry Gates, Jr. track down Queen Latifah's ancestors. In doing so, he presented her with an emancipation document, from 1782, for her fifth great-grandmother —  the moment that her family became free from slavery. 

    "The fact that a piece of paper should hold that much weight on a human life is ridiculous," Queen said after reading the document. "One person made a difference to my whole entire family line."

    9. Oprah traced her heritage back to a surprising place.

    Oprah sitting on a stage in a chair, wearing a grey suit, speaking into a microphone
    Ethan Miller / Getty Images

    For a long time, Oprah thought that she was descended from the Zulu people, going so far as to announce it at a seminar in South Africa.

    But when took a DNA test for the show African American Lives, it linked her with three exact matches: the Kpelle people, who lived in Western Africa in what’s now Liberia; the Bamileke people in Cameroon; and a Bantu-speaking tribe in Zambia.

    Gates Jr. revealed that zero slaves came from South Africa, meaning that Oprah could only be Zulu in a "spiritual" sense. 

    10. Steven Tyler discovered a musical legacy.

    A screenshot of Steven and Liv Tyler standing in a graveyard, bending over and looking at a headstone
    TLC

    Rock legend Steven Tyler might just have inherited his musical prowess from his distant relatives. When he appeared on the show, Who Do You Think You Are, with his daughter, Liv Tyler, they found out that they're descended from Robert Elliot, who was a drummer boy during the War of 1812. His son, George Elliot, was also a drummer during the Civil War. 

    11. Snooki went looking for answers about her heritage.

    A screenshot of Snooki sitting on a couch and looking into the camera while talking
    MTV / Via youtube.com

    The Jersey Shore star was born in Chile and was adopted and raised by Italian-American parents. She's done two DNA tests to find out about her background, finding out, ultimately, that she's a mix of native Chilean and European descent. 

    12. Eva Longoria learned how her family ended up in the US — and identified a famous relative.

    Eva Longoria, wearing a white linen suit, sitting on a boat and holding a cutie teeny bag
    Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

    Research done by Henry Gates, Jr. found that Longoria's ninth great-grandfather was a Spanish colonizer and that her family was given land in Mexico in the 1760s along the Rio Grande. After the US-Mexican war, the land ended up on the American side of the border.

    A DNA test found that she's also anciently related to cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

    13. And lastly, Samuel L. Jackson gained citizenship to a new country.

    Samuel L. Jackson, dressed all in white, emerges from palm fronds holding a burning stick
    Discovery / Via youtube.com

    After taking DNA tests, the legendary actor discovered he had roots to the Bantu tribe in the African nation of Gabon. He traveled to the country where he met with the president, and received citizenship in 2019.

    The following year, a documentary series, Enslaved, followed the actor's journey through Gabon, where he was welcomed as a lost son by the Benga people.