Last August, the MyHeritage platform - known for creating family trees and offering DNA tests to discover family origins - began exploring the roots and family of Marilyn Monroe and came across an interesting finding: that Dakota Johnson and the iconic blonde are related.
"This family connection dates back to the 17th century and originates from Richard Tydings and Charity Tydings. Born in England, both crossed the Atlantic to start a new life in Maryland, where they settled in the mid-17th century," the research begins.
"Both were among the first British settlers in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties in Maryland, arriving during the early decades of the English colonization of North America. From this common origin, the family tree split into two different branches through their daughters, resulting in a family connection that, centuries later, would unite two Hollywood stars," reported from the platform.
However, this week, MyHeritage has made an even more impressive discovery: that Marilyn Monroe and Sydney Sweeney (29) - one of the stars of Euphoria, who is often compared to the remembered actress - are cousins. Ninth cousins.
As mentioned on the website, the relationship has been established through the paternal branches of both families. Sydney is linked to Monroe through her father,Steven Sweeney, and Marilyn would have a family relationship with Sydney through her biological father, named Charles Stanley Gifford. And who would be their common ancestor?
According to MyHeritage, their family trees converge on a common ancestor named Ezra Perry. A man who lived approximately between 1625 and 1689 and was one of the first settlers of Sandwich, in Massachusetts.
"People have always drawn parallels between Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe, but seeing how their paths coincided at a deeper level inspired us to look for a real connection in the MyHeritage archives," said Roi Mandel, the Director of Research at the company, to Just Jared.
"Discovering this shared family branch was incredible. It is a powerful reminder that humanity is a vast family tree and that, when we delve deep, we discover how extraordinarily connected we all are," added the researcher.
So far, Sydney Sweeney has not commented on the matter. In fact, Entertainment Weekly states that they have tried to contact her, but the actress has not responded to their requests. Nevertheless, it is known that the American actress greatly admires her ninth cousin.
In March 2024, the press began comparing Sweeney to Monroe and even went as far as to say that the young actress was trying too hard to imitate her. And how did she respond? That she wasn't trying anything and that, coincidentally, she had just cut her hair like the legendary actress, because she "needed a touch-up."
However, in September, she began embracing their resemblance and decided to imitate her in a Kérastase ad, singing Happy Birthday in Marilyn's style, as the artist did at John F. Kennedy's birthday in 1962.
Subsequently, in December 2025, Sydney chose to attend the premiere of The Assistant in a white dress designed by Galia Lahav that inevitably resembled the one Marilyn wore in The Seven Year Itch. But the coincidences did not end there, because that same year, Sweeney confessed that she has photos of Monroe in her home.
"Currently, I live in a very beautiful and old Hollywood house, built in the 1920s. The house belonged to director Delmer Daves, who directed, among other films, the original version of the western 3:10 to Yuma. His family owned the house until two years ago, and the entire house is still filled with his belongings. There are lots of signed photographs of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe," she told Israel Hayom.
And last January, the actress posed for W Magazine with photos and styles that undeniably resemble her newly discovered relative. Additionally, in February, at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, she wore a white dress similar to Marilyn's on the cover of Life in 1952.