Marilyn Monroe and Sydney Sweeney 20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Marilyn Monroe and Sydney Sweeney are related, according to a new study by MyHeritage.
The actresses are ninth cousins, once removed. They share a mutual ancestor, Ezra Perry (c. 1625–1689), who was an early English settler in Sandwich, Massachusetts.
The Hollywood icon has been previously compared to the Euphoria star, notably when the latter actress wore a white dress at The Housemaid premiere in December 2025 that resembled Monroe’s iconic white skirt blowing look in The Seven Year Itch.
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At the 2026 Santa Barbara Film Festival, Sweeney also wore a vintage Ceil Chapman gown that resembled that of the look Monroe sported on the cover of LIFE magazine in April 1952, furthering tendencies to point out their likeness.
“People have always drawn parallels between Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe, but seeing their paths align on a deeper level inspired us to look for a real bond in the MyHeritage archives,” said Roi Mandel, director of research at MyHeritage, in a statement. “Uncovering their shared branch was incredible, it’s a powerful reminder that humanity is one vast family tree, and when we dig deep, we uncover how remarkably interconnected we all are.”
The Emmy nominee has never portrayed Monroe onscreen, though many actresses have. Among those are Ana de Armas in Blonde and Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn, whom both earned Oscar nominations for their respective performances.
Most recently, Dakota Johnson and Ellen Burstyn portrayed versions of the Hollywood legend in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s short film Flesh Impact. Surprisingly, MyHeritage also revealed in new research that the Verity actress was also related to Monroe; she is Johnson’s ninth cousin, three times removed.
“With a new film bringing Marilyn Monroe back into the spotlight, our research team wanted to see whether there was a deeper family connection. Discovering that Dakota Johnson and Marilyn Monroe are related turns the casting into a real-life family story,” Naama Lanski, researcher at MyHeritage, said in a statement.
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