You can know two actors' work for years before realizing they're related. A different surname hides the connection, or a familiar face turns up in a much older family photograph. Hollywood's family trees stretch across silent films, sitcoms, horror movies and the people working behind the camera.
These 25 families offer a way through that history. Some relatives worked together; others became known for very different kinds of performances. The original archive photographs stay with the gallery, alongside the relationships and screen credits that explain the connections. They capture particular moments, rather than a current portrait of everyone named below.
The Barrymore Family
Drew Barrymore is the little girl in the light-colored dress in this archive photograph. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial made her familiar to movie audiences, and later films such as The Wedding Singer brought her to another generation of viewers.
Her father was actor John Drew Barrymore. His father, John Barrymore, belonged to the celebrated sibling trio with Lionel and Ethel, whose family had already worked in theater. Lionel won the acting Oscar for A Free Soul in 1931 and later played Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. Those older credits lead back well before Drew's childhood screen appearances.
The Carradine Family
John Carradine's long career included character roles in westerns, dramas and horror films. His sons David, Keith and Robert then became familiar in different corners of television and cinema. David played the lead in Kung Fu and appeared in Kill Bill; Keith's credits include Deadwood and Dexter, while Robert starred in Revenge of the Nerds and played the father on Lizzie McGuire.
David died in 2009, and Robert died in February 2026. The family connection continues through performers including Keith's daughter Martha Plimpton. Her films and television work make her recognizable even if the Carradine name doesn't immediately come to mind.
The Bridges Family
Lloyd Bridges gave Sea Hunt its underwater adventures before showing a very different side of himself in Airplane! His sons Beau and Jeff both became established actors, with careers spanning movies and television.
Jeff won an Oscar for Crazy Heart, released in 2009. Beau's television work brought three Primetime Emmys, and the brothers starred together in The Fabulous Baker Boys. That 1989 film cast them as musician brothers, a particularly neat meeting of a real family relationship and the one they played onscreen.
The Arquette Family
Cliff Arquette was known for his comic character Charley Weaver. His son Lewis acted in The Waltons, and another generation brought Rosanna, Patricia, Richmond, Alexis and David into entertainment. There's considerably more to the surname than a single familiar face.
Patricia won an Oscar for Boyhood, while Rosanna's films include Desperately Seeking Susan and Pulp Fiction. David played Dewey in the Scream films and also entered professional wrestling. Alexis, who died in 2016, appeared in films including The Wedding Singer.
The Curtis Family
Jamie Lee Curtis stands beside her parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, in this older photograph. Tony is in a dark suit, Janet has a yellow jacket, and Jamie Lee is wearing red. Their best-known screen appearances weren't usually quite so coordinated.
Leigh played Marion Crane in Psycho. Her daughter became associated with Halloween, then films such as True Lies and Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won a supporting Oscar in 2023. Tony's credits included The Defiant Ones and The Boston Strangler. Three recognizable careers meet in that one family photograph.
The Wayans Family
In Living Color introduced a television audience to the comic world created by Keenen Ivory Wayans. Damon and Kim Wayans were among the performers associated with the sketch show, with Shawn and Marlon also joining its cast during the run. Their shared surname appeared on both sides of the camera.
The film and television credits spread out from there. Damon starred in My Wife and Kids and The Last Boy Scout. Shawn and Marlon wrote and performed in Scary Movie and White Chicks, while Kim's work also included the drama Pariah. The family's projects weren't confined to one show or one kind of comedy.
The Redgrave Family
Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave are pictured together here, two sisters from a family of performers. Their parents were actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson; their brother Corin acted too. Michael received an Oscar nomination for the 1947 film Mourning Becomes Electra.
Vanessa's supporting Oscar came at the 1978 ceremony for Julia. Her daughters Natasha and Joely Richardson carried a different surname into their acting careers. Natasha died in 2009, and Joely's work includes Nip/Tuck and The Tudors. Following the Richardson branch is one way to see how much of this family tree sits beyond the Redgrave name.
The Smith Family
Will Smith's move from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to films such as Independence Day and Men in Black gave him a career across television and cinema. Jada Pinkett Smith's roles included A Different World and The Nutty Professor. Their children Jaden and Willow entered entertainment too.
Jaden played the son of Will's character in The Pursuit of Happyness, then starred opposite Jackie Chan in the 2010 Karate Kid. Willow appeared with her father in I Am Legend before becoming especially associated with music.
The Dern Family
Laura Dern's parents were actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd. That relationship becomes particularly visible in Rambling Rose, the 1991 film in which Laura and her mother both appeared. Both received Oscar nominations for their performances, in different acting categories.
Ladd's other nominated roles were in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Wild at Heart. She died in November 2025. Bruce's films include Coming Home and Nebraska; Laura's include Jurassic Park and Marriage Story, the latter bringing her a supporting-actress Oscar in 2020.
The Douglas Family
Kirk Douglas and his son Michael both built long film careers. Kirk's roles included Champion and Detective Story; he died in 2020 at 103. Michael won the acting Oscar for playing Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, alongside a filmography that includes Romancing the Stone, Fatal Attraction and The American President.
Michael's mother, Diana Douglas, was also an actor. She and Kirk were therefore both part of the screen history he grew up around. The photograph here pairs father and son in conversation. There are decades of separate credits behind the family resemblance.
The Deschanel Family
The Right Stuff has two Deschanel connections in its credits. Caleb photographed the 1983 film, and his wife Mary Jo appeared as Annie Glenn. One worked behind the camera, the other in front of it, on the same story about America's early space program.
Their daughters Emily and Zooey later became familiar television faces. Emily played Temperance Brennan in Bones; Zooey starred in New Girl and appeared in (500) Days of Summer. You can follow the family from the older film's credits to those later performances, even though their mother and father's work called for different kinds of screen skills.
The Fisher, Reynolds and Stevens Family
Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher were the parents of Carrie and Todd Fisher. Carrie became Princess Leia in Star Wars, while her mother was known for films including Singin' in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Their surname connection is easy to miss if you know them mainly from those roles.
Eddie later had daughters Joely and Tricia with Connie Stevens. Joely's television work includes Ellen and 'Til Death. Carrie Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd adds another generation, with credits including Booksmart and the television series American Horror Story. The original family photograph belongs to the Reynolds and Fisher part of that larger tree.
The Garland and Minnelli Family
Judy Garland's Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz remains one of the most recognizable performances in movie musicals. Her daughter Liza Minnelli found a very different musical setting as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, released in 1972. That performance brought Liza the best-actress Oscar at the following year's ceremony.
Garland wasn't in Cabaret; she died in 1969. Liza's father was director Vincente Minnelli, whose films included Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Garland. The archive photo of mother and daughter captures two performers together, while the film titles trace the different routes their musical careers took.
The Hawn and Hudson Family
Goldie Hawn moved from Laugh-In to films including Cactus Flower, which brought her an Oscar for her supporting performance. Her children Kate and Oliver Hudson, from her marriage to Bill Hudson, later became actors themselves. Kate's Almost Famous and Oliver's television work offer different starting points for recognizing the siblings.
Kurt Russell, Hawn's longtime partner, belongs in this family picture as well. His own career began as a young performer and extended through films such as Escape from New York and The Thing.
The Baldwin Brothers
The brothers are all in dark jackets in this photograph, standing close enough to put their arms around one another. It's a family group you don't get when you watch their films separately: Alec, Daniel, William and Stephen Baldwin.
For Alec, think The Hunt for Red October or 30 Rock. For William, Backdraft; for Stephen, The Usual Suspects. Daniel's credits include Mulholland Falls. One surname turns up across those casts, even though the brothers' performances belong to different movies and television shows. Seeing all four together makes the relationship much easier to spot.
The Huston Family
Walter, John and Anjelica Huston give this gallery a particularly clear three-generation connection. John directed his father Walter in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, released in 1948. Walter won the supporting-actor Oscar, while John won for directing and screenplay at the 1949 ceremony.
Decades later, John directed his daughter Anjelica in Prizzi's Honor. She won the supporting-actress Oscar in 1986 for that 1985 film. John also directed The Maltese Falcon, among many other movies. The family's awards history includes relatives working together on the same production, with different jobs and separate recognition for what they contributed.
The Howard Family
Ron Howard played Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days before becoming known primarily as a director. His brother Clint was also a child actor, including on Gentle Ben. Their parents, Rance and Jean Speegle Howard, worked as actors too.
Ron's daughter Bryce Dallas Howard continued the screen connection, with films including The Village and The Help. Rance and Clint also appeared in Ron's films. Acting and directing both belong to the family's long list of credits.
The Fonda Family
Henry Fonda's film career included the 1981 drama On Golden Pond, for which he won an acting Oscar. His daughter Jane appeared in the film too. Her own Oscar-winning roles came in Klute and Coming Home, while her brother Peter became closely associated with Easy Rider.
Peter's daughter Bridget extended the acting line into another generation. Her 1990s films included Singles and Single White Female. The archive portrait shows Henry with Jane and Peter, before the later generation's career. The shared name runs through very different film eras, from Henry's studio-era work to the movies that made his children and granddaughter familiar.
The Marx Brothers
Groucho's verbal sparring, Harpo's silent comedy and Chico's piano-playing helped make the Marx Brothers recognizable individually as well as together. Duck Soup, released in 1933, also featured their brother Zeppo. By A Night at the Opera in 1935, the familiar film team was the trio of Groucho, Harpo and Chico.
There were five performing brothers in the wider stage-family history, including Gummo, who left the act before their feature-film career. They didn't all appear together in those classic movies. The original photograph shows three of them, a reminder that the number of brothers in the family and in a particular film weren't always the same.
The Estevez and Sheen Family
Martin Sheen's sons Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen used different professional surnames, but both became recognizable actors. Martin's own roles included Apocalypse Now and President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing. Emilio's films included The Breakfast Club and The Mighty Ducks; Charlie's included Platoon, Wall Street and Major League.
Emilio's work in The Breakfast Club connects him to the group of young performers labeled the Brat Pack. Their sister Renée Estevez also worked as an actor, including on The West Wing. The event photograph gathers family members whose names in the credits don't always immediately reveal the relationship.
The Sutherland Family
Donald Sutherland's films ranged from M*A*S*H and Animal House to JFK and The Hunger Games. He died in June 2024, after a screen career lasting more than half a century. His son Kiefer became known for films including The Lost Boys and Young Guns, then television's 24.
Another generation followed with Kiefer's daughter Sarah Sutherland. She played Catherine Meyer, the daughter of Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Selina, in Veep. That's a different kind of television family from the real one behind the credits. The archive event photograph shows Donald and Kiefer together, while Sarah's work supplies a less immediately obvious branch of the connection.
The Cusack Family
John and Joan Cusack have shared films as well as a surname. John's roles include Say Anything... and High Fidelity; Joan's include Working Girl and School of Rock. Their sister Ann also acted in films and television, with A League of Their Own among her credits.
Their father, Dick Cusack, worked as an actor and filmmaker. The family therefore had a screen connection before the siblings' best-known roles arrived. The photograph here centers the sibling generation, whose paths crossed in movies as well as at family events.
The Voight and Jolie Family
Angelina Jolie stands between her father, Jon Voight, and brother, James Haven, in this archive event photograph. The different surnames can make that connection less apparent when their names appear separately in film credits. Haven also worked as an actor.
Voight's films include Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance and Coming Home. Jolie's work includes the television dramas Gia and George Wallace, along with Girl, Interrupted, for which she won an Oscar. The picture brings the father and his two children together at one point in their lives; it doesn't tell us about their later private relationships.
The Coppola Family
Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. His daughter Sofia became a filmmaker too, winning the original-screenplay Oscar for Lost in Translation in 2004. That achievement offers a more useful introduction to her career than reducing it to her early acting appearance in The Godfather Part III.
Francis's sister Talia Shire played Adrian in the Rocky films. Their nephew Nicolas Cage built a career under a different surname, while Talia's son Jason Schwartzman starred in Rushmore. Cousins, siblings and parents all appear in this family tree, across acting, writing and directing.
The Stiller Family
Jerry Stiller played two memorable television fathers: Frank Costanza in Seinfeld and Arthur Spooner in The King of Queens. His own children were Ben and Amy Stiller, both performers, pictured here alongside Jerry and their mother, Anne Meara.
Before those sitcom roles, Jerry and Anne had worked together as Stiller and Meara, a comedy team familiar from stage and television. Anne also starred in Kate McShane. Ben's films include There's Something About Mary and Zoolander, with Jerry joining him in Zoolander. Anne died in 2015 and Jerry in 2020; this is an older family photograph, with their work preserved on screen.
