9 Other
Actors You Didn’t Know Had Famous
Parents
John David Washington has some serious
talent in his DNA that you might not be aware of, as do these other
stars.
BY PHILIP ETEMESI
stars don’t quite manage to reach the same heights as their
parents. However, a couple of Hollywood actors are proving to be
the exception. While some have gone on to achieve even greater
success than their parents, others are on their way to realizing
the same achievements that their parents had.What’s even better is
that most of these stars don’t ride on the names of their parents.
They prefer to be recognized for their own efforts rather than who
they are related to. As a result, many fans aren’t aware of their
family trees. Tenet star John David Washington
happens to be among the actors in this category, and here are a few
other noteworthy ones.
10Angelina Jolie
Despite both the actress and her father enjoying plenty of
Hollywood success, many aren’t aware that Jolie’s father is none
other than John Voight. The two have largely been
estranged since Voight’s separation from Jolie’s mother many
years ago, though there have been a few periods of reconciliation
over the years.
Voight, who is mostly known for his villainous roles, is an
Oscar winner who was also awarded the National Medal of Arts in
2019.
9Tracee Ellis Ross
Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross has
established herself as one of
the funniest African-American actresses on TV. She
has received four Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series” for her role on the acclaimed
sitcom.
Most viewers aren’t aware that Tracee is the daughter of
legendary singer Diana Ross. The former Motown recording artist is
the only female singer to ever have number one Billboard singles
as a solo artist, as part of a duo, and as part of a
group.
8Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller may be one of the most recognizable comedic actors
in the world, but his father Jerry was a comedy icon too and
remained prolific even during the heights of Ben’s fame. Jerry
first rose to fame in the ’60s as part of the comedy duo Stiller &
Meara— which also featured Ben’s mom, Anne Meara.
Modern audiences best know Jerry as George Costanza’s dad
Frank on Seinfeld, in addition to numerous film and
TV roles over the last few decades. He passed away earlier this
year.
7Charlie Sheen
Though he appeared in hit movies throughout the ’80s and ’90s,
Charlie Sheen saw a major career resurgence in the 2000s with his
starring role on the massively popular sitcom Two & A Half Men
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its run.
Charlie’s father, Martin Sheen, has also enjoyed major success
in both Hollywood and on television. His breakthrough performance
was in the war thriller Apocalypse Now and, like
Charlie, he made a late-career move to television when he starred
in The West Wing.
6Scott Eastwood
Scott Eastwood played supporting characters in a number of
blockbusters in the last decade. Keen viewers might have
noticed he looks a little familiar— and that’s because he bares an
uncanny resemblance to his famous father, actor/writer/director
Clint Eastwood, in Clint’s younger years.
Clint Eastwood rose to fame in the ’60s by playing gunslingers
in Spaghetti westerns but would later showcase his
skills in many other genres. In recent years, he has focused more
on being a director, with his movies frequently earning rave
reviews and Oscar noms.
5Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston became a megastar after her decade of playing
Rachel Green on the sitcom Friends. Ever since
the show went off the air, she has gone on to star in plenty of
other major movies and TV shows.
Her father, John Aniston, is a television legend in his own
right— he’s been playing the character Victor Kiriakis on the
NBC daytime soap opera Days Of Our
Lives for 35 years now. In total, John has
appeared in over 2,600 episodes of the show.
4Rashida Jones
Rashida rose to prominence for her portrayals of Karen
Filippelli on The Office and Ann
Perkins Parks And Recreation, both acclaimed
workplace sitcoms on NBC. Apart from acting, she is
also a screenwriter, director, and producer with credits that
include Black Mirror, Hot Girls Wanted,
and Toy Story 4.
Rashida’s parents are TV actress Peggy Lipton (TV’s The
Mod Squad) and iconic record producer and songwriter
Quincy Jones. Rashida was one of the producers of
Netflix’s Quincy, a documentary about the life and
career of her famous father.
3Dakota Johnson
After amassing some supporting roles in various high-profile
movies, Dakota Johnson was propelled to superstardom after
portraying Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades Of
Grey film series.
Her father is actor Don Johnson, best known for playing stylish
police detective Sonny Crockett in the popular ’80s
procedural Miami Vice. In addition, Dakota’s
mother is actress Melanie Griffith, and Antonio Banderas was
her step father for nearly 20 years while he was married to
Griffith.
2Chris Pine
Chris Pine needs no introduction. Over the last decade, he
became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars thanks to roles in
major movies like Wonder Woman and as Captain
Kirk in the rebooted Star Trek film
franchise.
His father Robert Pine has appeared in over 200 movies and TV
shows since the ’60s, including playing Stephen Logan in CBS
daytime soap opera The Bold & The
Beautiful from 1988 to 2001.
1John David Washington
Before Tenet, John David Washington had appeared
in the Dwayne Johnson-led HBO
series Ballers, followed by his
first major film role courtesy of Spike
Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. But it’s his role in
Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster that is poised to make him a
global superstar.
It might come as a surprise to some that John David Washington
is actually the son of Denzel Washington, being the oldest of the
Oscar-winning actor’s four children.