The revelation was particularly shocking considering the ‘Abbott Elementary’ star said her brother has “always” reminded her of Jackson

Sheryl Lee Ralph attends The Critics Choice Association’s 7th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television on December 09, 2024 (left); Samuel L. Jackson attends the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre (right). Photo:

Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association; Arturo Holmes/WireImage

Sheryl Lee Ralph was flabbergasted to learn about the long-lost cousin she shares the spotlight with.

On the April 1 episode of Finding Your Roots, host Henry Louis Gates Jr. told the actress she is distant cousins with none other than Samuel L. Jackson. The two actors share a “long stretch of DNA on their 16th chromosomes,” the historian said. “This means that they have a common ancestor somewhere in their family trees.”

Ralph, 68, immediately burst out laughing when she turned a page to find a photo of Jackson. “Are you kidding me?!” she said. “And I like him so much!”

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In fact, the Abbott Elementary star revealed that Jackson, 76, has “always” been on her mind as he “reminds me of my brother Timothy … for whatever reason, I don’t know why.”

Gates Jr. told her the similarity is “in the DNA,” to which she echoed the same point, and then said, “Wow.” As the episode concluded, Ralph acted out her head exploding in response to the major revelation.

Sheryl Lee Ralph and Henry Louis Gates Jr. on ‘Finding Your Roots’.

PBS

The revelation is particularly interesting considering Samuel is already part of a celebrity-filled family tree, as Janet Jackson revealed a few months ago.

In August, the singer shared a little-known fact on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show as she confirmed that both Stevie Wonder and Tracy Chapman are her cousins on her mom’s side, as is the Pulp Fiction actor. “Not a lot of people know that,” she said.

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Ralph is just the latest in a string of celebrities who have discovered shocking relatives they never knew about on the hit PBS series.

On the most recent episode, guests Debra Messing and Melanie Lynskey both learned of famous relatives of their own, as Gates Jr. informed Messing that Bernie Sanders is her DNA cousin, which she said was “mind-blowing,” while Lynskey was delighted to learn that her DNA cousin is Questlove.

“He’s such a sweet guy. That’s incredible,” the Yellowjackets star said of the revelation.

Sheryl Lee Ralph attends the Precious Gem Award Honoring Sheryl Lee Ralph during the 41st Miami Film Festival.

Ivan Apfel/Getty

Other surprising celebrity ties that Finding Your Roots has revealed include Carol Burnett and Bill Hader; Scarlett Johansson and Michael Douglas; Lena Dunham and Larry David; and Ciara and Derek Jeter, all of whom are DNA cousins.

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