Hollywood is full of familial ties! Michael Douglas never expected to find out that he is related to one of the most popular female movie stars — Scarlett Johansson.
“Are you kidding?” Michael, 79, asked during an episode of Finding Your Roots on Tuesday, April 2. “Oh, that’s amazing. Alright. This is cool. This is so cool.”
The Academy Award winner was told that Scarlett, 39, is his “DNA cousin.” Michael and the Black Widow actress share “identical branches of DNA on four different chromosomes,” according to the show’s host, Henry Louis Gates Jr., who presented research from professional genealogists.
The shared DNA “appear on Scarlett’s maternal lines, which stretch back to Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.” Michael was fascinated by the discovery during the episode.
“That’s incredible,” he said. “Well, I look forward to seeing Scarlett next time!”
Marvel fans recall Michael and Scarlett both starring in the 2019 blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. They’ve both established huge film careers in their own right as well as raising families. Michael has been married to Catherine Zeta-Jones since 2000, and they share kids Dylan and Carys as well as Michael’s son Cameron from his first marriage.
Family has always meant the world to Michael, who celebrated his 23rd wedding anniversary with Catherine, 54, last November.
“If you’re not careful, you don’t really cherish that moment or that time and next thing you wake up and its 50 years later and you go, ‘Whoah what happened?’” he said during an appearance at the Paley Center in September 2019. “I wish I’d kept a diary a little more as a sense of a reminder. But I think you just rush along and when you reach an age where your life slows down it’s too late.”
Scarlett married Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost in 2020. Their son, Cosmo, was born in 2021. She is also a mom to daughter Rose, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Romain Dauriac. Family is equally as important to Scarlett, who has become an expert at navigating Hollywood stardom and parenting.
“I think being a parent is the hardest most rewarding, but … definitely the hardest thing you’ll ever do. I’m reminded of it constantly,” she told Extra in November 2021. “I’ve been very fortunate to enjoy this time with my young, our young son … It’s gift, I feel very lucky.”
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