They’re Related? 7 Iconic Stars & Their Famous Children
For some celebs, there’s no mistaking their equally famous kin, be it their faces or maybe a certain swagger. But others quietly take those attributes and make their own way, leading us to exclaim, “What?! They’re related?!”
Jayne Mansfield and Mariska Hargitay
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Put a platinum wig on Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, and the resemblance to her actress/pinup mother Jayne Mansfield would still be remarkable, even 50-plus years after Mansfield’s untimely death. While Mansfield used her lush beauty and oozing sexuality to push Hollywood’s boundaries on the stage and screen, Hargitay — whose dad was former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay — wields her feminine power differently, playing SVU’s savvy top cop and beloved role model Olivia Benson since 1999. Fans of the mother and daughter appreciated a recent sly reference in SVU when actor Bradley Whitford’s character suggested Benson had “a face like Jayne Mansfield.” Small wonder!
Robert Pine from CHiPs and Chris Pine
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CHiPs fans, take a closer look at Robert Pine’s Sgt. Joe Getraer and see if other commanders — one otherworldly — come to mind. Sharing the same strong brow, piercing blue eyes and disarming smile as his dad, Pine’s actor son Chris is best known for bringing Star Trek’s Capt. James T. Kirk and Wonder Woman’s army beau Steve Trevor to a new generation of film fans.
Michael Landon and Jen Landon
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Though his looks were pure Hollywood, Michael Landon’s career path suggests the ruggedly handsome actor was more at home on the range. Landon gained fame playing “Little Joe” Cartwright in the long-running Western Bonanza, then cemented his status as a G-rated heartthrob playing Charles “Pa” Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie and undercover angel Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven. Years later, Michael’s youngest daughter, Jen, an Emmy-winning As the World Turns veteran, traded soap opera stardom for stirrups and steers to play Yellowstone’s sexy, spunky, marble-mouthed ranch hand Teeter, whose fiery temper and buckaroo skills would have made Little Joe proud.
Patty Duke, John Astin and Sean Astin
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Patty Duke played everyone from Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker to tormented showgirl Neely O’Hara in Valley of the Dolls, stretching her career across six decades. But her love life really made headlines. Twice married, and involved with a teenage Desi Arnaz Jr., by age 23, Duke gave birth to son Sean out of wedlock in 1971, claiming his father was Addams Family actor John Astin, who she soon married. Duke later said Arnaz fathered Sean, but DNA finally revealed the truth: Sean — best known for playing Rudy Ruettiger in the 1993 classic Rudy, as well as for the Lord of the Rings films — was sired by Duke’s former tenant, to whom she was wed for just 13 days. “If you want to know who I am, John Astin is my father, Michael Tell is my biological father,” Sean said in an interview in 2001. The couple did have one child together, 80’s teen heartthrob Mackenzie.
Quincy Jones, Peggy Lipton and Rashida Jones
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When Mod Squad actress Peggy Lipton married music industry legend Quincy Jones in 1974, the blond beauty put her career on hold until 1988 to raise their daughters Kadida and Rashida Jones away from the spotlight. Preferring fashion over acting, Kadida found her niche as a designer and stylist, while Rashida headed to Harvard intent on studying law. There, she discovered a knack for comedy, finding fame in Parks and Recreation and The Office, and expanding her talents into directing and producing, including the 2018 documentary Quincy about her famous dad.
Meryl Streep and Mamie, Grace and Louisa Gummer
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As acclaimed actor Meryl Streep built her illustrious career, she also privately raised four kids with husband Don Gummer. In a 2008 interview with Good Housekeeping, Streep named her Out of Africa costar Robert Redford as her parenting role model, reminding her that “[kids] are not your props.” While son Henry is a musician whose songs appeared in two of his mother’s films, daughters Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife), Grace Gummer (Mr. Robot) and The Gilded Age’s Louisa — who uses her middle name Jacobson as her surname — all followed their mom into acting.
Lauren Bacall and Sam Robards
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Lauren Bacall was known for her unconventional beauty, throaty voice and the brooding film classics Dark Passage, Key Largo and The Big Sleep costarring Humphrey Bogart, with whom she shared a storied Hollywood romance. But to American Beauty actor Sam Robards, Bacall’s son with her second husband (Oscar winner Jason Robards), and the only actor among her three kids, Bacall was just Mom, the lady who cracked up his friends and let him forge his own path. “Sam enriched my life more than anyone has,” Bacall told Vanity Fair in 2011. “Not intentionally — it’s just the way he was.”
Hollywood Dynasties
May 2023
Moviemaking is definitely in the family business for some of Hollywood’s most notable icons
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