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GREAT GENES?

MAGA-Coded Star’s Family Connection to Bombshell Revealed

It almost makes too much sense.

Sydney Sweeney and Marilyn Monroe

Getty Images/Shutterstock

MAGA actress Sydney Sweeney, 29, is related to Marilyn Monroe, according to a new study from the website MyHeritage.

The blonde actresses are apparently ninth cousins once removed. Their connection traces back through Sweeney’s father, Steven Sweeney, and Monroe’s biological father, Charles Stanley Gifford, whose family trees connect through their shared ancestor, Ezra Perry. According to MyHeritage, an online genealogy company, Perry lived in Sandwich, MA, in the 17th century.

Sweeney’s red-carpet fashion has generated comparisons to Monroe in the past. At the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February, Sweeney wore a vintage white Ceil Chapman gown almost identical to the one the Some Like It Hot star wore on the cover of Life Magazine in 1952. Additionally, at the Los Angeles premiere of The Housemaid, Sweeney wore a plunging halter gown reminiscent of Monroe’s dress in 1955’s The Seven Year Itch.

Marilyn Monroe in the cover of Life Magazine.

Monroe wore a Ceil Chapman dress on the cover of Life Magazine in 1952; Sweeney wore a similar dress as tribute at the 2026 Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Philippe Halsman/Life Magazine

“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,” Roi Mandel, Director of Research at MyHeritage, said in a statement according to Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

Sweeney came under fire in September for posing nude in an ad for the sports-betting app Novig. In the ad, Sweeney covers parts of her body with basketballs, footballs, and tennis rackets while repeating the word “sports.” Stars began clapping back, especially female Olympic athletes, slamming Sweeney for sexualizing women’s sports.

Sydney Sweeney in Novig 'Just Sports' ad.

Sydney Sweeney in Novig 'Just Sports' ad.

Novig/YouTube

Last year, the Euphoria actress prompted similar blowback by starring in an American Eagle ad campaign declaring “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” MAGA and right-wingers embraced the campaign and made Sweeney an unofficial poster child for their views. President Donald Trump, 80, has praised the actress.

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The Female Athlete Project, an online platform and community, wrote a scathing statement in response to Sweeney’s Novig ad.

“We’re not entirely sure if ‘Novig’ or Sydney Sweeney and her PR team have ever watched sports,” the statement said. “But honestly, wow. It’s incredible they could fit so much misogyny in 40 seconds. Sport has long treated women’s bodies as commodities. And this objectification does nothing to support real women in sports.”

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