25 Famous People Who Married Their Relatives
Marrying a family member is seen as taboo. In fact, in many states across the United States, marrying family members, including cousins, is illegal.
Yet, marrying siblings or cousins has been the norm for many cultures, including the British royal family. From iconic figures cemented in history to famous actors and actresses, you might be shocked to find out which famous figures chose to marry within their family line.
Kevin Bacon
In a twist of fate, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick tied the knot in 1988, unaware of their familial connection. Unlike many other couples on this list, the two were oblivious that they were ninth cousins removed until years later.
They appeared on Finding Your Roots in 2013, an American television series investigating your family history, where they first heard the news. Sedgwick admitted she had suspicions and asked to be on the show. So, when the big reveal happened, she had to act more surprised than she felt.
Prince William
The British royal family has a long tradition of marrying relatives that extends to the present day. Prince William and Princess Catherine “Kate” (Middleton), the Prince and Princess of Wales, are closer than you think.
While Catherine is considered a commoner, she shares a bloodline with Prince William. The two are 14th cousins once removed.
King Charles
Prince William and Princess Kate weren't the first Prince and Princess of Wales to be related by more than marriage. King Charles' first wife, Lady Diana Spencer, and King Charles were sixteenth cousins, once removed.
Sadly, the union was not a happy one. The pair divorced in August 1996, and Diana tragically passed just a year later in a car accident.
Queen Elizabeth II
Remember when we said the British royal family had a tradition of marrying cousins? Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were related to Queen Victoria, making them third cousins.
The couple married in 1947 and celebrated over 70 loving years together until Prince Philip passed in 2021.
Jerry Lee Lewis
This wasn't Lewis' first marriage. When he and Brown got married, he was still married to his second wife, Jane Mitcham, a fact that did not go over well with fans. This move was the nail in the coffin for Lewis' once-promising rock‘ n‘ roll career.
Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani is no stranger to controversy. Several damaging allegations against him exist, one of the latest being that Giuliani married one of his family members.
In 1968, Giuliani married his second cousin, Regina Peruggi. The two were married for 14 years until Rudy annulled the marriage in 1983 before he became the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
King George VI
King George VI married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, his thirteenth cousin, in 1923. Lady Elizabeth rejected his proposal twice in 1921 and 1922, as she wasn’t ready to make the sacrifices needed to join the Royal Family.
Finally, when King George VI proposed on January 16, 1923, Elizabeth accepted, and the two wed at Westminster Abbey on April 26, 1923.
Christopher Robin Milne
Did you know that Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh was based on the author’s son, Christopher Robin Milne? Although Christopher Milne was the inspiration behind the infamous character, he had a very strained relationship with both of his parents, particularly his father.
Tensions only worsened when he announced he was marrying his first cousin. Milne married Lesley de Selincourt in 1948 despite his parents' pleas to reconsider the marriage.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein was the president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 and served as vice president in the 1970s. He was known for his brutal rule over Iraq, where he used forces to suppress any opposition to his rule, and for starting several wars with neighboring countries, most of which were unsuccessful.
Hussein married his cousin, Sajida Talfah, with whom he had five children.
John Kerry
John Kerry served as the U.S. Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017 during Barack Obama’s term as president. He was known to be a distant cousin of his ex-wife, Julia Thorne.
The two married on May 23, 1970, and had two daughters together. Unfortunately, the marriage was unsuccessful, and the two stayed married until 1988 when they divorced after a six-year separation.
Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi is a famous Italian actress who appeared in noteworthy films like White Mischief, Heat and Dust, and Presumed Innocent. Scacchi began a somewhat controversial relationship with her first cousin, Carlo Mantegazza.
The coupling caused tension and a rift between Greta and her father, whose relationship suffered. Scacchi kept her personal life private, but a representative shared with Daily Mail that the two had separated after growing apart.
King George IV
It was not uncommon for people, especially those in royalty, to marry close in the family to keep bloodlines pure and to pursue financial gain. In 1795 King George IV married his first cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, to clear his debts.
When the two met, King George IV asked for brandy, and Caroline stated that he was not as handsome as she had hoped. The two shared a child, Princess Charlotte, who passed away during birth.
Jesse James
Jesse James was a notoriously famous and dangerous outlaw of the Wild West in the 19th century. He was a bank and train robber and the leader of the James Younger Gang.
After a long nine-year courtship, James finally married his first cousin, Zerelda Mimms. The pair had two children together, Jesse Edwards and Mary.
Queen Victoria
In 1840, Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Unlike many marriages during the time, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s marriage was genuine and one of love. She even wrote that her wedding night was “bliss beyond belief,” and the pair had nine children during their marriage.
When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated and wore black for the rest of her life. She isolated herself and avoided the public eye, which the public criticized her for.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach, a famous German composer and musician, also joined the club of famous people who married their relatives. In 1707, Bach married Maria Barbara, his second cousin.
The couple had seven children; of those seven, only four survived into adulthood. Maria died suddenly in 1720 of an illness and was already buried by the time Bach returned home from a trip to learn about her tragic passing.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Although he is a noteworthy figure in American history, many people don’t know that he also married his cousin. In 1772, Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton, his third cousin.
The two shared a genuine union and were in love, and the couple went on to have six children. Unfortunately, only two children — Martha and Mary survived into adulthood.
H.G. Wells
H.G. Wells was a prolific English writer of the early twentieth century, writing classics like War of the Worlds and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In 1891, he married one of his first cousins, Isabel Mary Wells.
The union didn't last very long, as Isabel divorced Wells three years after finding out he had begun a relationship with a former student. In 1895, he married the former student, Amy Catherine Robbin.
King Edward VII
King Edward VII followed in the footsteps of his mother, Queen Victoria, who married her cousin. He tied the knot with his distant cousin, Alexandra of Denmark, in 1863.
Alexandra of Denmark was King George III's great-granddaughter. The pair shared great-grandparents, which made them third cousins.
King George V
King George V married his second cousin, Mary of Teck, in 1893. It was common for royals to keep unions within the family to strengthen political relations and bloodlines. King George V's father, King Edward VII, and his grandmother, Queen Victoria, all married their relatives.
King George V and Mary had six children and shared a great-grandparent, making them second cousins.
King Henry VII
King Henry VII married his cousin Elizabeth of York in 1486 when she was twenty-years-old. Their age difference and close relationship were considered standard at the time and even beneficial, as their marriage united the Houses of Lancaster and York.
The pair were third cousins and shared a great-great-grandparent, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. The two had three sons and four daughters, but only four of their children survived past infancy.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, the man behind the theory of evolution and a notable historical figure, also married his relative. On May 2, 1808, Darwin married his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood. The couple had ten children together during their marriage, but unfortunately, only seven survived past ten.
Three of the surviving children may have been infertile, which could have potentially been a side effect of Darwin and Wedgwood’s close relationship.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt married his fifth cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, once removed in 1905. The two started seeing each other romantically in secret in 1903 before tying the knot two years later. The two had six children together, but unfortunately, one died as an infant.
The couple was married for forty years, but their marriage wasn’t without controversy. Franklin Roosevelt had an affair in 1918, which left Eleanor wholly devastated.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is the most famous scientist of the 20th century. His intelligent mind and complex ideas shaped how we see the world today. You may be surprised to learn that he married his first cousin, Elsa Lowenthal, in 1919. Elsa was Albert's first cousin on his mother's side and his second cousin on his father's.
The two were married until Elsa passed away in 1936. Despite being married for 17 years, Einstein had affairs that became public. Although he did engage in numerous trysts, he was a devoted husband to Elsa until the end.
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. He is another political figure who married a cousin. Buren married his cousin, Hannah Hoes, in 1807.
The pair had six children together and were married for twelve years. Sadly, Hoes passed away at the age of 35 from tuberculosis.
Edgar Allan Poe
When he was 27, Edgar Allan Poe married his first cousin, Virginia Eliza Poe. Edgar’s first cousin Virginia was just 13-years-old when the two tied the knot.
Biographers have long speculated that Edgar and Virginia’s relationship was more like that of two siblings as she referred to him as “Eddy,” and he called her “Sissy.” Sadly, Virginia passed in 1847 from tuberculosis. While it’s unknown whether the two were more like siblings than lovers, Poe wrote several poems dedicated to his young love after her sudden death.
