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.
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?
There is a lot of discourse surrounding what people are calling ‘nepotism babies’ online with various arguments on both ends. The term is shrouded with many meanings. For starters, a nepotism baby could be someone with extremely famous (and therefore wealthy) parents, the obvious kind—take the Smith kids, Jaden and Willow, or Lily Rose Depp for example. It could also be used to describe someone who was born to parents with connections or even those with a legacy of entertainers in their family line. That being said, many point out that those with familial ‘connections’ (who aren’t famous themselves) should not be considered nepotism babies. Either way, there have also been cases made as to those nepotism babies who actually have some talent and are ‘worthy’ of their roles in the industry, and those who just aren’t.
Regardless of the angle you find yourself leaning towards, we have compiled a list of celebrities who may fit the bill.
Maude Apatow, who plays our favourite Lexi in Euphoria, is the daughter of Judd Apatow—a well established director, producer, writer and comedian—and actress Leslie Mann, who has starred in movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 17 Again, The Other Woman and This is 40.
The creator of Euphoria is also a nepotism baby. His father Barry Levinson is a film director, producer, actor and writer.
Angelina Jolie is the daughter of actor parents Jon Voight (Oscar winner) and Marcheline Bertrand.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a successful film director and his mother, Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, is a screenwriter. His also-famous older sister is Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Emma Roberts’ connection to Hollywood is well-known, most notably by her relation to one of the most famous actresses in the business: Julia Roberts. The younger Roberts is her niece but her father, Eric Roberts, who starred in Suits, is also a notable actor.
While his father Marc Chalamet is an editor for the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, his entertainment roots can be traced back to his mother’s side of the family. Nicole Flender, who is now a real estate agent, was a Broadway dancer, actor and daughter of writer and filmmaker Harold Flender. Chalamet’s maternal uncle was also a filmmaker while his maternal aunt was a writer and television producer.
Kate Hudson is the daughter of uber-famous celebrity parents. While her mother is Academy Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn, her father is the renowned actor and musician Bill Hudson. Her stepfather is another well-known name in the industry: Kurt Russell.
Dakota Johnson’s family has some history in the entertainment industry. Born to actor parents Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, the actress is third-generation famous with her maternal grandmother—Tippi Hedren—being one of Alfred Hitchcock’s muses. Her former stepfather was also the famous Spanish actor Antonia Banderas.
Star of Emily in Paris—which has previously come under fire for ‘rigging’ its Golden Globes nominations—Lily Collins is the daughter of iconic and legendary drummer, writer and music producer Phil Collins.
Though not uber-famous, Kristen Stewart’s parents were also in the entertainment business. Her mother is a script supervisor and her father a stage manager who worked on a large number of projects including the 2014 Oscar Red Carpet Live.
Blake Lively’s family was also neck-deep in the entertainment industry. Her mother is a talent scout and her father was an actor. They starred alongside each other in The Sisterhood of The Travelling Pants.
Kiera Knightley was also born to actor parents: Will Knightley and Sharman Macdonald.
Another actor with a film legacy in his family, Pine’s maternal grandmother Anne Gwynne was—according to the Los Angeles Times—“a horror [movie] icon at Universal in the 1940s.” His maternal grandfather, on the other hand, Max M. Gilford was president of the Hollywood Bar Association. His parents were also very successful actors.
Stranger Things star Maya Hawke is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
Jennifer Anniston was also born to actor parents and guess what Friends fans? Her father John Anniston was actually an actor on the real-life Days of Our Lives and has also appeared in numerous other projects. Her godfather, a very close friend of her dad, was Telly Savalas, a legendary actor whose career lasted over 40 years from 1950 to the 1990s.