Sheryl Lee Ralph was surprised to learn she was connected to Samuel L. Jackson. People reports that during the April 1 episode of Finding Your Roots, host Henry Louis Gates Jr. informed the actress that she is distant cousins with the 76-year-old movie actor.
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The two stars share a “long stretch of DNA on their 16th chromosomes,” according to the historian. “This means that they have a common ancestor somewhere in their family trees.”
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When she turned a page and discovered a portrait of Jackson, the Abbott Elementary star burst out laughing.
“Are you kidding me?!” she exclaimed. “And I like him so much!”
The 68-year-old actress confessed that Jackson, 76, has “always” been on her mind because he “reminds me of my brother Timothy… for whatever reason, I don’t know why.”
When Gates Jr. told her that the resemblance was “in the DNA,” she repeated the statement and said, “Wow.”
Ralph acted out a mind-blowing reaction to the big revelation as the show came to a close.
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The revelation is especially noteworthy because, as Janet Jackson disclosed a few months ago, Samuel Jackson is already a member of a family tree full of celebrities.
Last August, the singer revealed a little-known truth on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show. She confirmed that Tracy Chapman and Stevie Wonder are her cousins on her mother’s side, along with the Pulp Fiction star.
“Not a lot of people know that,” she said.
On the popular PBS series, Ralph is only the most recent in a line of celebrities who have learned about unbelievable relatives they were unaware of.
The most recent series showed Debra Messing and Melanie Lynskey both finding out about famous relatives of their own.
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