We all know someone who resembles their mom or dad. After all, that’s how biology works. While it’s not an unusual coincidence, it’s a much bigger deal when Hollywood stars have their own mini-mes, especially since celebrity kids tend to follow their parents into show biz. Who would have thought that Hollywood was a family business?
It works out great because these celebrity offspring give a new generation a glimpse into what classic Hollywood once looked like. From mother-daughter duos to actors you didn’t know were related, this is our list of celebrities who are the spitting image of their kids. The resemblances are seriously uncanny. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s take a look!
Lea Thompson and Zoey Deutch
At 25-years-old, actress Lea Thompson was enjoying her big break, starring in movies like Back to the Future and Red Dawn. At 26, Lea met her husband, director Howard Deutch while working on the film Some Kind of Wonderful together. The pair tied the knot two years later and went on to have two daughters: Madelyn (born in 1991) and Zoey (born in 1994).
While both daughters resemble their parents, their daughter Zoey looks like a copy of her mother. Like her parents, Zoey is also working in the entertainment industry. After launching her career in 2010 on Disney Channel’s series The Suite Life on Deck, Zoey is now booking high-profile roles in TV series like Set It Up and The Politician.
Jerry Stiller and Ben Stiller
Ben’s celebrity parents can be credited for the actor’s chiseled looks. He was born to comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who worked for years as the comedy duo Stiller and Meara. The two first met in an agent’s office. Anne was upset with an interaction she just had with the agent, so Jerry took her out for coffee.
The two hit it off and were married for over 60 years until Anne’s death in 2015. Jerry and Anne regularly took Ben and his older sister Amy to work, which inspired Ben to become an actor. “In some ways, it was a show-business upbringing—a lot of traveling, a lot of late nights—not what you’d call traditional,” Ben later said of his childhood.
Leslie Mann and Maude Apatow
In her early 20s, Leslie Mann married producer and director Judd Apatow after meeting him during her audition for The Cable Guy. It was the perfect meet-cute. Judd, who was one of the film’s producers, read the lines of Jim Carrey’s character during Leslie’s audition, and the two have been inseparable ever since.
The couple has two daughters, Iris and Maude, who appeared in several movies like Knocked Up, This Is 40, and Funny People as the daughters of Leslie’s characters. Growing up in this family, it’s no wonder that Maude has followed in her parents’ show business footsteps. She has appeared in The King of Staten Island and Netflix’s Hollywood and currently stars in HBO’s Euphoria.
Meryl Streep and Mamie Gummer
While many stars have a hard time maintaining a normal personal life in the world of Hollywood glitz and glamour, Meryl Streep is not one of those people. Six months after her husband John Cazale died from lung cancer in 1978, Meryl married artist Don Gummer. The couple has four children: Henry, Mary, Grace, and Louisa.
While everyone bears a family resemblance, Mary, who is better known by her nickname Mamie, is almost an exact copy of her Academy Award-winning mother. Fans may recognize Mamie, who is also an actress, from her role as Nancy Crozier on The Good Wife and the show’s spinoff series, The Good Fight. In 2018, Mamie became engaged to author Mehar Sethi and gave birth to her first child the following year.
Pierce Brosnan and Paris Brosnan
In the years following his first wife’s death from cancer, actor Pierce Brosnan never thought he would find love again. But when he was vacationing in Mexico in 1994, his life changed for the better. The James Bond actor met and fell in love with journalist Keely Shaye Smith after spotting each other on the beach.
The year 2001 was a major milestone for their couple. Not only did they officially tie the knot, but they welcomed their second son, Paris. Paris rose to fame in 2018 after he was snapped alongside his father and brother Dylan at the Golden Globes. Fans were taken back by how much Paris resembles a young Peirce!
Kurt Cobain and Frances Bean Cobain
While there are different stories about how Kurt first met Courtney Love, they have similar details. After meeting at a Nirvana show in 1989, Courtney fell madly in love with the lead singer. However, Kurt didn’t exactly feel the same way. He liked Courtney, but he didn’t know if he wanted a relationship.
Fast forward to 1992, and the couple was already married with a child, Frances Bean. Although both of her parents are musicians, Frances decided to take a different route. She has taken a few modeling gigs and was later named the face of Marc Jacob’s Spring/Summer campaign in 2017. Frances also owns the rights to Kurt’s name and image.
Peggy Lipton and Rashida Jones
After The Mod Squad went off the air in 1973, actress Peggy Lipton married Hollywood producer Quincy Jones. She took a nearly 15-year hiatus to focus on raising her two daughters, Kidada and Rashida. With the stunning model and actress as a mother, it’s no wonder that Rashida decided to go into the entertainment industry.
Like Peggy, Rashida is a cult TV show queen. She has appeared on The Office, Parks and Recreation, and the Netflix series BlackAF. Rashida has also tried her hand at directing. In 2018, her documentary about her father, Quincy, appeared on Netflix and won a Grammy Award for Best Music Film the following year. Sadly, Peggy passed away in 2019 after losing her battle with colon cancer.
Anthony Perkins and Oz Perkins
Although Anthony Perkins was known as Hollywood’s most unrestrained character, he was painfully shy in real life, especially around women. The Psycho actor eventually wed photographer Berry Berenson at the age of 41, and the couple had two sons. The two remained married until his death from AIDs in 1992. Nine years later, Berry died in the September 11 attacks on American Airlines Flight 11.
Their son Oz made his acting debut in 1983 when he played the 12-year-old version of his father’s character, Norman Bates, in Psycho II. He later made appearances in films like Legally Blonde and Star Trek before making the transition to screenwriting and directing. His latest film was the dark adaptation Gretel & Hansel, which premiered in 2020.
Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher
Debbie Reynolds may have been a Hollywood icon, but her biggest achievement was bringing her daughter Carrie Fisher into the world. Debbie married her first husband, singer Eddie Fisher, in 1955 and quickly had Carrie and then her younger brother Todd two years later. The marriage came to a crashing end when Debbie discovered that Eddie was cheating on her with her best friend, Elizabeth Taylor.
Growing up in Hollywood, it was inevitable that Carrie followed her mother’s footsteps. Not only was she a prominent actress with two primetime Emmy Awards, but she also worked as a screenwriter and script doctor for films such as The Sister Act and The Wedding Singer before she tragically died on December 27, 2016. Debbie passed away the next day.
Steven Tyler and Liv Tyler
Aerosmith’s frontman Steven Tyler has dated several women throughout the years, including model Bebe Buell. The couple’s brief relationship came to an end after their daughter Liv was born in 1977. At first, Bebe claimed that musician Todd Rundgren was the father because she was scared that Steven’s drug addictions would negatively affect their daughter.
Todd signed her birth certificate and even paid for her education. But when Liv met Steven at around 9 or 10 years old, she had a feeling that he was her biological father. The truth about Steven’s paternity wasn’t made public until 1991 after Liv changed her last name from Rundgren to Tyler. After learning the truth about her father, Liv and Steven became close.
Vanessa Paradis and Lily-Rose Melody Depp
French model and singer Vanessa Paradis first met Johnny Depp in Paris in 1998 while the actor was busy filming The Ninth Gate. After spotting each other at a dinner party at the Hotel Costes, Johnny says that his “life as a single man was done.” A year later, the couple welcomed their first child, Lily-Rose, into the world.
Fast forward to today. Lily-Rose is almost a carbon copy of her mother when she was younger. Around the time of her parents’ separation in 2015, Lily-Rose began her acting career with her debut in Tusk. She was also chosen by the late Karl Lagerfeld to be the Chanel brand ambassador. Most recently, the actress had a supporting role in The King alongside Robert Pattinson and her then-boyfriend Timothée Chalamet.
Robert Pine and Chris Pine
Although Robert Pine is known to many fans as Sgt. Joseph Getraer from CHiPS, he has actually made guest appearances in over 400 television episodes on almost every television series in Hollywood. He is also Hollywood hunk Chris Pine’s father. See the resemblance? Chris definitely inherited his father’s good looks.
Chris followed in his father’s footsteps in show business, making his acting debut on a 2003 episode of ER. Since then, he has starred in Princess Diaries 2 as Anne Hathaway’s love interest, as well as in the romantic comedy Just My Luck alongside Lindsay Lohan. It wasn’t until his role as James Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek film that the actor gained worldwide recognition.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Apple Martin
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow first met her ex-husband Chris Martin backstage after one of his Coldplay concerts in 2002. The pair hit it off immediately, which worked out great because the tabloids already thought they were dating. “It’s funny because people had started writing that we were going out, and we had never even met,” the actress said in 2013.
The couple wed a year later, while Gwyneth was pregnant with their first child, Apple. Her birth caused a media frenzy, mainly due to her parents’ interesting name choice, which was actually chosen by Chris. Apple also inspired Coldplay’s hit song, Speed of Sound, which Chris wrote about his joy over becoming a father.
John Lennon and Sean Lennon
By 1975, John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend” was over. He and Yoko Ono got back together, and later that year, Yoko gave birth to their son, Sean. Coincidentally, John and Sean share the same birthday: October 9th. While Yoko continued with her work as an artist, John decided to take a step back from music to focus on being a stay-at-home dad.
Although Sean was only five years old when his father died, he still has vivid memories. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Sean said that his favorite memory was when his father would tell him “Good night” before bed. “It was just me and him,” he said. “There was something so soothing about his voice.”
Lisa Bonet and Zoë Kravitz
The Cosby Show actress Lisa Bonet and her daughter Zoë Kravitz could pass as twins. Lisa first met her ex-husband, Lenny Kravitz, backstage at a New Edition concert in New York City. Fast forward to 1987: Lenny moved into her apartment, and the pair eloped to Las Vegas later that year. Although the couple divorced after a few short years, Lenny and Lisa remained close for the sake of their daughter.
Starting off as a singer and model, Zoë has worked her way up through the entertainment industry. After her performance in Mad Max: Fury Road, Zoë has starred in the Hulu show High Fidelity (coincidently, Lisa made an appearance in the original 2000 film) and the HBO series Big Little Lies. She has also been cast as Catwoman in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which is set to release in 2022.
Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen
Martin Sheen, whose real name is Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez, was born to immigrant parents in Dayton, Ohio. He was always interested in acting, but his father disapproved of his interest in the arts. The actor followed his heart and moved to New York in his early twenties in hopes of making it as an actor.
On his way up the entertainment industry ladder, he married actress and producer Janet, and the two had four kids. Like his father, Charlie changed his name from Carlos Irwin Estévez to Charlie Sheen so he could get more acting jobs. But unlike his father, Charlie is in the news for all the wrong reasons. His alcohol addiction, drug abuse, and allegations of domestic violence tarnished his career.
Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd
After Carrie Fisher put her tumultuous relationship with Paul Simon behind her, she began a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd. The couple’s only child, Catherine (whose nickname is Billie), was born in 1992. While Carrie often refers to Bryan as her second husband, the two were never legally married and eventually separated after he left the actress for a man.
In 2015, Billie was cast in the Fox series Scream Queens alongside Emma Roberts, and she eventually joined the cast of American Horror Story. Following her mother and grandmother’s death in 2016, Billie poured herself into her work. “Being able to cry for Winter helped me cry for myself,” the actress said of her work in AHS. “Honestly, it kind of saved my life.”
Tom Hanks and Colin Hanks
There is an uncanny and somewhat eerie resemblance between actor Tom Hanks and his son from his first marriage, Colin. Tom married actress Samantha Lewes in 1978, one year after Colin was born, but things quickly began to fall apart. It didn’t help that the actor met his future wife, Rita Wilson, in 1981 on the set of Bosom Buddies.
Leading up to the divorce, Tom struggled with the fear that his children might think he was “abandoning them” when he walked out of the marriage (to marry Rita). However, the Academy Award-winning actor had nothing to worry about. He is very close to his kids from his first marriage. Colin has also followed in his father’s footsteps and is known for his role as Alex Vreeke in the Jumanji film series.
Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson
You might be interested to learn that Fifty Shades of Grey actress Dakota Johnson is the daughter of ‘80s power couple, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. The former couple first met in 1972 on the set of their film The Harrad Experiment. After their first failed marriage, the couple tried giving love another shot in 1989, the year that Dakota was born.
While Melanie and Don’s reunion ended in divorce, they remained on good terms for the sake of their daughter, who gave her parents a nod during her Saturday Night Live monologue in 2015. Besides her involvement with the 50 Shades franchise, Dakota is also known for her roles in films such as 21 Jump Street and the comedy-drama film Peanut Butter Flacon.
Stellan Skarsgård and Alexander Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård has some major films under his belt. He has starred in projects like Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mamma Mia! and is known for his role as Dr. Erik Selvig in the Marvel universe. You’ll be happy to know that his son Alexander Skarsgård inherited his father’s smoldering good looks and acting abilities.
As the eldest of Stellan’s eight children, Alexander has also joined the Hollywood ranks as an Emmy Award-winning and a Golden Globe Award-winning actor for his role as Perry Wright in the HBO series Big Little Lies. He is also known for his roles in True Blood and Tarzan. Alexander’s younger brothers, Gustaf, Bill, and Valter, are also actors. Maybe we’ll see them in collaboration soon?
Jada Pinkett-Smith and Willow Smith
When Jada Pinkett-Smith first met Will, sparks went flying. However, Will was married at the time and did not believe in divorce. Once his first wife Zampino filed for a divorce, Will called up Jada, and the two have been inseparable ever since. About two years after they began dating, Jada became pregnant with Jaden, and the couple decided to get married.
Two years later, Willow was born. The actress and singer, who has recently dropped her last name, is known for her single Whip My Hair as well as sitting with her mother and grandmother on their show, Red Table Talk. The family genes run strong with this family, with Willow looking almost identical to her mother.
Donald Sutherland and Kiefer Sutherland
Like many families in Hollywood, talent is passed from generation to generation. This is especially true for the Sutherlands. While new generations may know Donald from his role as President Snow in the Hunger Games franchise, older generations know him from films like Ordinary People, Don’t Look Now, and Klute. He is often considered one of the best actors who has never received an Academy Award nomination.
His son Kiefer (who has a twin sister named Rachel) has also followed in his dad’s show biz footsteps. Fun Fact: All of Donald’s sons have been named after directors the actor has worked with. Kiefer was named after Warren Kiefer, who directed Donald’s first feature film, under the name Lorenzo Sabatini: an Italian low budget horror film, Castle of the Living Dead.
George Harrison and Dhani Harrison
A year after George Harrison’s divorce from model Pattie Boyd in 1977, he went on to marry Olivia Arias. The two met at a party in 1974, and although he was still legally married at the time, the former Beatles member invited her to join him on his tour in America and the rest is history.
Born one month before his parents’ wedding, Dhani inherited his dad’s talent and later pursued a career in music. He has toured with Eric Clapton and appeared on a Wu-Tang Clan track, The Heart Gently Weeps. Fun Fact: George’s fascination with Hinduism was the inspiration behind his son’s name. Dhani is named after the sixth and seven notes of the Indian music scale, dha and ni.
Bette Midler and Sophie von Haselberg
As an actress, singer, and comedienne, Bette Midler has it all. She has a successful career, an exciting social life, and, best of all, a long marriage with artist Martin von Haselberg. The two married in 1984, after knowing each other for only six weeks. Bette and Martin tied the knot in Vegas at two in the morning.
Two years later, Bette gave birth to their only child, Sophie, who is also an actress. In 2015, Sophie landed a role in Woody Allen’s Irrational Man. “She’s wonderful,” Woody said of Bette’s daughter: “She came in with a lot of other women that read, and she’s the spitting image of her [mother] and she was just good.”
Jack Nicholson and Ray Nicholson
Going into the family business is already hard, but when your dad is the most nominated actor in the history of Hollywood, it’s nearly impossible. Maybe that’s why Jack Nicholson’s youngest son has yet to make it on the big screen, even though he clearly inherited Jack’s good looks.
While his father praises his acting abilities, Ray prefers to stay behind the camera and has worked as an assistant director. Let’s hope that we get to see him in front of the camera soon! Ray is Jack’s youngest child, from his relationship with actress Rebecca Broussard. Although the couple called it quits in 1994, they remained on good terms because of the kids.
Reese Witherspoon and Ava Elizabeth Phillippe
Reese Witherspoon first met Ryan Phillippe in 1997 at her 21st birthday party. “I don’t know what came over me, maybe the seven Midori sours, but I told [Ryan], ‘I think you’re my birthday present,’” Reese told reporters in 1998. A year later, the couple was engaged when Reese was pregnant with their first child, a daughter named Ava.
Although she is the daughter of a ’90s golden couple, Ava has tried hard to stay out of the public eye. She currently studies at the University of California Berkeley and takes a few modeling gigs on the side. Ava is also the face of Reese’s brand, Draper James. We’re sure that being her mother’s daughter had something to do with landing this job, but we couldn’t imagine a better spokesperson!
Denzel Washington and John David Washington
Denzel Washington first met his wife Pauletta Pearson on the set of his first project, a television movie called Wilma. The pair tied the knot in 1983, and their first child (of four) was born the following year. After spending four years as a running back for the Sacramento Mountain Lions, John made the switch to acting in 2015.
However, his breakthrough performance wasn’t until 2018 with his role as Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. The performance caught the eye of director Christopher Nolan, who handpicked him to star in his 2020 spy film, Tenet. “[He’s] just one of the greatest collaborators I’ve worked with: extraordinarily hard-working, very, very thoughtful, and very considerate of everybody around him,” the director told reporters.
Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber
After her four-year marriage to actor Richard Gere, runway icon Cindy Crawford married businessman Rande Gerber in 1998. The pair first met at Cindy’s agent’s wedding while she was still married. Their relationship remained platonic for some time, which, Cindy says, is the key to their long-lasting marriage.
After tying the knot in secret, the couple welcomed their two children, Presley and Kaia, who both work as models. Kaia, who strongly resembles her supermodel mother, landed her first gig at just 10 years old. She has since walked for some of the industry’s largest fashion houses, including Alexander Wang, Tom Ford, and Valentino. In 2018, Kaia walked for Versace, alongside her mother, during Spring Fashion Week.
Bob Marley and Ziggy Marley
Although Bob Marley passed away in the early ‘80s, his music and legacy still live on to this day. Most of Bob’s 11 children share his musical genes and have ventured into the music industry themselves. One of the most famous of Bob’s children is Ziggy.
When he was younger, Bob’s eldest son formed his first band, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, along with his three siblings. After the group disbanded in 2002, Ziggy launched a very successful solo career. Fun Fact: Although many people believe that his nickname, which means “little splif,” was bestowed upon him by his father, Ziggy says it was actually inspired by David Bowie’s album Ziggy Stardust.
Lori Loughlin and Olivia Jade Giannulli
Although Lori Laughlin had her big break back in the ‘80s with her role as Aunt Becky in Full House, today fans sadly know her as the mother who paid half a million dollars for her two daughters to be admitted into the University of Southern California. That aside, one of her daughters, Olivia Jade, is the spitting image of the ‘80s star.
Since the scandal broke, Olivia Jade’s career as a social media influencer has gone down the tube. She lost endorsements from Sephora and TRESemmé, and several of her social media followers publicly shamed her. A few months later, USC confirmed that the Giannulli sisters were no longer enrolled at their school.
Bob Dylan and Jakob Dylan
Bob Dylan and his first wife Sara became romantically involved sometime in 1964; however, neither of them was single. Bob was still in a relationship with singer Joan Baez, and Sara was still married to photographer Hans Lownds. Bob’s biographer wrote that Sara “had a Romany spirit, seeming to be wise beyond her years, knowledgeable about magic, folklore, and traditional wisdom.”
The couple secretly married and went on to have four kids, including Jakob, who is the spitting image of his father. Like many kids on our list, Jakob was blessed with his father’s musical genes. He went on to form the rock band the Wallflowers, serving as the band’s lead singer and songwriter.
Prince Charles and Prince William
While he’s happily married to Camilla today, Prince Charles was known to be quite the bachelor back in his day. But after testing the waters and even dating his future wife’s sister Sara, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. The following year, the couple welcomed their first child, Prince William, into the world.
Today, Prince Williams is happily married to Kate Middleton, whom he met in 2001 while studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The future Dutchess apparently caught his eye during a charity fashion show on campus. During their second year, the couple shared an apartment with two other friends, causing a press frenzy. The relationship was followed so closely that bookmakers took bets on the possibility of marriage.
Jude Law and Rafferty Law
Way before Jude Law cheated on Sienna Miller with the nanny, he was madly in love with actress Sadie Frost. After meeting on the set of the 1992 film Shopping, Sadie left her nine-year marriage to be with Jude, who was only 19 years old at the time. But after the birth of their first son Rafferty, their relationship began to crumble.
The two officially called it quits in 2003. While the divorce was messy, Jude managed to maintain a relationship with his eldest son. The two even teamed up in the upcoming film, The Hat, which was filmed on an iPhone during the last lockdown. The charity film is the first time that the two have acted together, and it is slated to premiere in November 2020.
Robin Williams and Zelda Williams
After his divorce from comedian Valerie Velardi in 1988, he began dating their son’s nanny Marsha Garces. While it was reported that Robin and Marsha had an affair while he was still married, Valerie says that their relationship began after she and the actor separated.
The pair wed the following year while Marsha was six months pregnant with their first child, Zelda Rae, who was famously named after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda video games. Although Robin and Marsha divorced in 2008, the actor and his daughter remained close up until his suicide in 2014. In the years since his death, Zelda has been vocal on social media about dealing with her father’s tragic death.
Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas
Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas married his first wife, Diana Dill, in 1943. Although they have two kids together, Michael and Joel, the couple soon realized that they weren’t right for one another. The couple divorced amicably in 1951. Kirk went on to marry Anne Buydens in 1954 in a ceremony in Vegas.
Michael made his Hollywood debut in a 1969 CBS Playhouse special called The Experiment, where he was billed as M.K. Douglas. In 1975, Michael received the rights to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest from his father, and he went on to produce the film. Fun Fact: Kirk hoped to play Randle McMurphy since he had starred in an earlier theater production, but Michael thought he looked too old. Instead, the part went to Jack Nicholson.
Yolanda Hadid and Gigi Hadid
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid could have passed as Gigi’s twin in her younger days. Before her reality show success, Yolanda worked as a model for nearly 15 years before setting down to start a family with real estate developer Mohamed Hadid.
Although their tumultuous marriage came to an end, mainly due to Mohamed’s infidelity, the two worked out their differences for the sake of the children. Known by her nickname Gigi, the model has literally taken over the fashion industry. In just four years, Gigi has graced the cover of 35 international Vogue covers! In September 2020, the model gave birth to a daughter with former One Direction member, Zayn Malik.
David Beckham and Brooklyn Beckham
The odds that Brooklyn Beckham will grow up with very good looks are pretty high, given the fact that his parents are David and Victoria Beckham. It’s pretty safe to say that Brooklyn resembles his father as a teenager, but instead of going into soccer like his dad, Brooklyn has chosen to model instead.
He has appeared in magazines such as Vogue China and Miss Vogue and has even photographed a campaign for Burberry BRIT at only 16 years old. However, his work was highly criticized by many prominent photographers, who say that “sheer nepotism” was the reason why the young and inexperienced photographer was hired. I guess it pays off to be David Beckham and Posh Spice’s kid.
Robert Downey Jr. and Indio Downey
Robert Downey Jr. is a lot of things (Hollywood A-lister, party animal, playboy), but “proud dad” might not be something you’d expect him to be. Back in 1992, Robert married actress and singer Deborah Falconer after dating for only 42 days. Their son, Indio, was born the following year. However, Robert’s frequent trips to jail and rehab began to take their toll on the couple.
During his last arrest and sentencing in 1991, Deborah left Robert, taking their young son with her. The actor took this as a sign, and he has been clean since 1993. Sadly, at the peak of Robert’s resurgence as an actor, Indio was arrested for drug possession in 2014. With the support of his dad, Indio completed rehab and has stayed sober since.