Did you know: Twilight’s Robert Pattinson is (kind of) related to Vlad Dracula

By Alma Fabiani

Published Mar 31, 2022 at 09:12 AM

Reading time: 2 minutes

29573

When it was first announced that Robert Pattinson—who had so far sent (mostly) teenage girls into an obsessive frenzy as Twilight’s enigmatic and, let’s be honest, super hot Edward Cullen—would be taking on the double-edged role of the Gotham-based superhero in Matt Reeves’ 2022 The Batman, a second round of hysteria surrounding the actor arose. This time however, his already impressive fan base of fan girls tilted more towards a male-dominated audience of film bros.

Though we’ve got nothing but praise for one of the few comic book superheroes to have a feel of ‘reality’ about them, to us, Pattinson will always be the perfect vampire lead. That is if you take the masterpiece that is Good Time out of the equation completely. But we digress.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Praying (@praying)

For those of you out there who agree with us on exactly how perfect the actor was for his role as Bella Swan’s tortured lover, buckle up because we’ve got a pretty mind-blowing fact you might enjoy. As it turns out, Pattinson is a distant kin of Vlad III, who you may know as Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula—we weren’t joking when we said perfect.

As you probably know, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was published in 1897, was the first book to make a connection between Vlad Dracula and vampirism. According to Wikipedia, Stoker had his attention drawn to the blood-sucking vampires of Romanian folklore after reading Emily Gerard’s 1885 article about Transylvanian superstitions. That being said, it is common knowledge that Stoker did not know much about the infamous ruler and that the Irish author based the vampire character on quite a few other people as well.

It should also be noted that, as amazing as it is to learn that Pattinson is somehow related to Vlad the Impaler, the man lived over 550 years ago, meaning a lot of people are in fact related to him. But let’s not dwell on the past too much—let’s delve into exactly how the actor is related (even if distantly) to Dracula.

In 2010, Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at the American genealogy company Ancestry, revealed that Pattinson and the Transylvanian leader are connected through their relationship to the British royal family. In other words, Prince William and Prince Harry are Pattinson’s distant cousins. Making Vlad III their distant uncle.

“Tracing Pattinson’s family back to Vlad was difficult research, but the pieces that unravelled created the perfect accompaniment to the Twilight saga,” said Tyler. “Without any myth or magic, we find royalty and vampires lurking in Pattinson’s life—making his story just as supernatural as the one he’s playing on screen.”

Funnily enough, it was also found that Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight book series, is connected to the two Princes’ lineage—and therefore to Dracula. Oh, and in case you’re more of a Pattinson fan because of his role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you might also be interested in the fact that in 2009, Ancestry genealogists said that actress Emma Watson, who plays teen witch Hermione Granger, is related to a 16th century woman accused of witchcraft. Spooky, right?

Keep On Reading

By Eliza Frost

Why is everyone saying ‘Six-Seven’? The meaning behind the viral phrase

By Alma Fabiani

Amazon Music is giving away 4 months free. Here’s how to claim it

By Charlie Sawyer

Fans express concern after Harry Potter TV series announces the casting of Harry, Ron, and Hermione

By Eliza Frost

Misinformation spread by wellness influencers online is leading to falling contraceptive pill use

By Charlie Sawyer

Lawmakers pressure Trump to provide evidence that Venezuelan asylum seeker Andry Hernández Romero is still alive

By Eliza Frost

Jennifer Aniston to star in Apple TV+ adaptation of Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died

By Charlie Sawyer

How influencer Liv Schmidt promotes toxic eating habits through the Skinni Société 

By Eliza Frost

The Summer I Turned Pretty stars Lola Tung and Gavin Casalegno caught in political drama

By Charlie Sawyer

Michael Cera reveals why he turned down a role in the Harry Potter franchise

By Abby Amoakuh

Campaigners call for gamers who carry out virtual rape in the metaverse to be charged as real-life sex offenders

By Eliza Frost

Couples who meet online are less happy in love, new research finds

By Eliza Frost

Are you in Group 7? Explaining the latest viral TikTok trend

By Charlie Sawyer

Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Marquez killed during TikTok livestream in alleged femicide

By Eliza Frost

The Summer I Turned Pretty is getting a movie. Could it be here in time for Christmas?

By Charlie Sawyer

Transformers director Michael Bay officially confirmed to direct movie about viral Skibidi Toilet meme

By Eliza Frost

Jessie Cave was banned from a Harry Potter fan convention because of her OnlyFans account

By Eliza Frost

Gavin Casalegno calls out Team Jeremiah bullying in The Summer I Turned Pretty fandom

By Eliza Frost

Controversial American Apparel owner just opened LA Apparel in NYC and TikTok girlies are flocking to shop

By Eliza Frost

Glen Powell’s GQ photoshoot is a satiric look at modern day males—and he’s in on the joke 

By Eliza Frost

What is Banksying? Inside the latest toxic dating trend even worse than ghosting