PROVO, Utah, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It turns out
Madonna isn't the only "Lucky Star" in her family. In fact, the
queen of pop and the newest judge on American Idol,
Ellen DeGeneres, are 11th cousins
according to genealogy researchers at Ancestry.com.
Family history experts at Ancestry.com uncovered that the two
entertainment giants are related through a common 10th
great-grandfather – a Frenchman named Martin Aucoin. In the early 1600s, Aucoin's
daughters Jeanne and Michele left their native country of
France to settle in Nova Scotia, where both Madonna and Ellen's
families remained for several generations.
DeGeneres's family left Canada
in the late 1700s when her 5th great-grandfather Joseph Martin relocated to Louisiana. It wasn't until the late 1870s that
Madonna's 2nd great-grandmother Emilie
Daniel left Quebec and
crossed the "Borderline" to Michigan, where the singer herself calls
home.
"It's not every day you discover two celebrity icons are
related, but it's their similarities that make the connection so
extraordinary," said Anastasia
Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com. "They were born the
same year, have both written books and been on tour, are known for
their impressive dance moves – and with Ellen's latest gig on
American Idol – are both legendary figures on the music
scene."
The new-found family connection between DeGeneres and Madonna is
one of many interesting discoveries uncovered by Ancestry.com. In
2009, the family history Web site connected financier Warren Buffett to President Obama and also
revealed that Emma Watson, who plays
Hermione in the Harry Potter movie series, is related to a
16th-century woman accused of witchcraft.
"Fun stories and amazing surprises like this can be found in
everyone's family tree," said Tyler. "You never know what
adventures, heroes – even superstars – you might find until you dig
into your family's roots."
Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on the new, hit television
series "Who Do You Think You Are?" and provided important family
history research for the show, including tracing the roots of the
seven celebrities featured.
For anyone interested in discovering a long-lost relative or
perhaps a famous figure in their family tree, visit
www.ancestry.com.
About Ancestry.com Inc.
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online
family history resource, with more than one million paying
subscribers. The company has digitized and put online more than 4
billion records over the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created
over 14 million family trees containing nearly 1.5 billion
profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine
countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.
SOURCE Ancestry.com Inc.