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:

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.”

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.”

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

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.

“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.

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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