Sean Astin had a real - lifeMamma Mia!moment with three potential biologic fathers — John Astin , the man who raise him ; Desi Arnaz Jr. , who was only 17 when he dated Sean ’s mother ; or Michael Tell , the " total stranger " his mom impetuously wed then dumped after 13 days .
Recently,Chrissy Teigentook a DNA test and thought she discovered a long-lost identical twin sister — but it turned out the “twin” she matched with was actually just a DNA test she previously took under a fake name then forgot about.
While getting matched as your own secret twin seems like a pretty one-in-a-million situation, plenty of people have unlocked family secrets through DNA tests. Even people who haven’t taken a test have accidentally stumbled on something they didn’t know about their past.
Here are 17 celebs who discovered family secrets later in life:
1.Rihannareportedlydidn’t know she had three older half-siblings until she was 15, and her oldest sister, Kandy, showed up at her front door out of the blue.
She and her two young brothers , Rorrey and Rajad , discovered that they had two older half - sister , Kandy and Samantha , and a half - brother , Jamie , from her dad ’s previous human relationship .
2.In her memoirI’m Glad My Mom Died,Jennette McCurdyrevealed that, after her mother’s death, she learned that the man who raised her, Mark, was not her biological father. Her bio dad was actually a local jazz musician named Andrew.
Mark decided to state her the accuracy because his girlfriend — his dead wife’sbest admirer , Karen — encourage him to .
Jennette met Andrew after one of his concerts , which she attended with a chemical group of supportive supporter . He evidence her that he eff about her , but he had n’t reached out because he did n’t experience if her mom had tell her the Sojourner Truth .
3.Jack Nicholsonwasraisedto believe that his grandmother, Ethel May, was his bio mom, and his birth mother, June, was his sister. He didn’t learn the truth until he was 37. Time magazine’s researchers were doing a profile on him, and they called to get confirmation of what they’d discovered — June was actually his bio mom, and his bio dad was still alive.
In world , Junegave birthat 18 . Her swain at the time was a human named Don , who was married to someone else . Ethel May run Don off then raised Jack as her own to protect her daughter from the pity she would ’ve face at the time as an unwed female parent .
When Jack was 4 , June prompt away to Miami to prosecute a career in entertainment then terminate up in LA . At 17 , Jack had like aspirations , so he moved in with her .
When he got that call from Time magazine , he asked them not to publish that part of the story . He called his babe and comrade - in - law , Lorraine and Shorty ( who were really his aunt and uncle ) , and they support what the clip researcher had assure him .
Unfortunately , both Ethel May and June had already died , so he was n’t able-bodied to talk to either of them about the Apocalypse .
4.WhenJackie Chanwas a kid, his parents fled to Hong Kong, abandoning him and his siblings in mainland China. Through research for the documentaryTraces of a Dragon: Jackie Chan and His Lost Family, he discovered that his dad had been a gang leader and Nationalist spy, and his mom had been a well-known gambler, opium smuggler, and part of Shanghai’s underworld.
As part of the infotainment , he got to get together his dad , who told him that he met his mom when he arrested her for drug smuggling .
Jackie also learned of his two half - brothers and two half - sisters .
5.Tim McGrawwas raised by his stepdad, Horace Smith, and he went by Tim Smith until college. When he was 11, he was searching for Christmas presents in his mom’s closet and stumbled upon his birth certificate. He discovered that his biological father was actually famous MLB pitcher Tug McGraw.
OnLarry King Live , Tim read , " I had Tug ’s baseball game card up on my wall . I had a few other people . I was n’t the only kid … I called my mom at work , and of course , she amount immediately home . We drove around for a long time , and she explained everything to me . … Mom got ahold of him and said that I had found out and wanted to meet him . Of course , I did in Houston , Texas . I think he gave up a august slam that night . … [ I ] watched him pitch . It was first time I had ever been out of Louisiana , I recall . "
6.Liv Tyler thought that her stepdad, Todd Rundgren, was her biological father until she saw her bio dad, Steven Tyler, in concert with her mom. Liv figured it out when she saw Steven’s younger daughter, Mia, standing at the side of the stage and noticed their uncanny resemblance.
OnThe Jonathan Ross Show , Liv said , " [ Mia ] looked precisely like me , and I attend at my mom , and she had tears in her eyes , and I kind of put it all together . "
7.For most of his childhood, Sean Astinthoughtthat he was born from an affair his mother, Patty Duke, had withAddams Familystar John Astin, who kept their relationship a secret until his divorce, then married her. However, when Sean was 14, Patty confessed that his bio dad was actually Desi Arnaz Jr., who was only 17 during their relationship (she was 23). However, when Sean was 26, he met a relative of Michael Tell, the “total stranger” Patty had married then left after 13 days following her breakup with Desi. The relative suggested a DNA test, so, living his own version ofMamma Mia!, Sean took a paternity test with John, Desi, and Michael. The results believed that Michael was his true biological father.
Sean toldPeople , " If you desire to know who I am , John Astin is my Fatherhood , Michael Tell is my biologic father . … I have a good human relationship with Mike . That ’s who I am . I do n’t fault anybody , I do n’t blame myself or Desi , who is like my godfather , I have such a powerful making love James Bond with this man , he ’s a gorgeous human being . "
He maintained snug relationship with all three men , who also got along well with each other .
8.After his mother’s death, Sir Michael Cainefound outthat she’d had another son before meeting his father. She kept her oldest child hidden from her husband and two younger sons, but she visited him every Monday, no matter what.
In Michael ’s oculus , his mother ’s power to keep that secret for 30 years " made her even more of a powerful womanhood . " He got to love his half - chum .
He told theBelfast Telegraph , " [ I ] improved things for him a piffling bit , because she did n’t dare involve for money to do it . But I had money by that prison term . I was quite far-famed when I meet him . "
9.Clint Eastwoodreportedlydidn’t know that Laurie Murray, his oldest child, had been born then given up for adoption by her bio mother. Laurie spent 30 years searching for her biological family, then connected with Clint in her 60s.
He surprised fans by convey Laurie , along with his seven other Kid , to the premier ofThe Mulein 2018 .
10.Growing up in Hong Kong, Anthony Wong Chau-sang knew very little about his British father, Frederick William Perry, who left the family when Anthony was 4 and stopped sending him letters when he was 12. After spending decades searching for him, Anthony shared his story with theBBC, which inspired a trio of international women to join his search. Within a few weeks, he wasconnectedwith his British half-brothers, twins John and David Perry.
When John and David returned home from a cruise , they see Anthony ’s BBC telecasting , distinguish their Father-God , and reached out to him . The three of them later match up in Hong Kong and straight off stick .
Their father had already pass several decades previously , but he ’d never told John and David about his 2d menage in Hong Kong , where he previously work as a government functionary .
However , all of the Perrys were emotional to welcome Anthony into their family .
Anthony told theBBC , " Dad used to say in his letter that if I was a honorable boy , he would take care of everything for me . I cogitate he knows I ’ve become a practiced boy since then , and he ’s sent two crony to me . "
11.Danny Trejo’s mother wasn’t part of his life, and growing up with his father’s relatives left the actor feeling like he could only “either be a laborer or a gangster or an informant.” However, on his episode ofFinding Your Roots, he found out that his paternal great grandfather (Cirilo Garay) had owned a home and a grocery store after moving from Mexico to the US. He also learned that his maternal fourth great grandfather (Luciano Agundez) had been “a serious landowner” in Mexico. Danny felt that “this history could’ve changed [his] whole family’s life.”
He say , " Just knowing when I went down to Cabo San Lucas , my familyownedsome of that land … I think [ this experience has ] strike a light on who I am on , where I add up from , and who I amount from . I ’m really proud of the whole deal . "
12.When Darryl McDaniels, aka rapper DMC, began researching for his autobiography at 35, hecalledhis parents to ask about the day he was born. To his surprise, they called him back an hour later and revealed that they’d adopted him as a 1-month-old.
afterwards down the route , he decide to research for his birth mother . With a VH1 documentary crowd in tow , he found her after four month . Her name was Berncenia Lovelace . Because she ’d been a single mom , her parents made her give her child up for acceptance .
13.Actor Judy Lewis’s mother, Loretta Young,reportedlyhid her in orphanages for the first year and a half of her life, lied about adopting her, and surgically altered her ears when she was 7 all to protect her secret — Judy was born from an affair between Loretta and herThe Call of the Wildcostar Clark Gable. Two weeks before her wedding, Judy had an identity crisis, and her fiancé informed her that her bio dad’s identity was “common knowledge.”
She didn’tlearnthe full the true about her parents until she was 31 .
Loretta had gone through so much trouble to hide everything in parliamentary law toprotectboth her calling and Clark ’s . Even after revealing the truth to Judy , Loretta refused to publicly acknowledge that they were biologically related . She harmonise to get the chronicle be part of her biography , Forever Young , with the caveat that it not be published until she died .
14.In 2007, Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanureceiveda letter from fellow gymnast Jen Bricker — the biological younger sister her parents had given up for adoption because she was born with a disability. Jen had been trying to get in touch with Dominique for four years. They finally met up in 2008, then went public with their story in 2012.
Growing up , Jen looked up to Dominique as a fellow Rumanian American . After watching her take home the Au with her squad during the 1996 Olympics , Jen was inhale to try out gymnastic exercise herself . When she was 16 , her parent told her that she was adopted and that her pet jock was her biological babe .
15.On his episode ofWho Do You Think You Are?,Game of Thronesactor Charles Dance found out that he had two secret half-sisters who were born nearly 50 years before him. His father, Walter, was 72 when Charles was born in 1956. The actor’s sister Norah was born in 1898, and his sister Mary was born in 1903.
He alsodiscoveredthat his dad was much old than he opine he was . in the beginning , he believed Walter was in his 50 when he die .
Though both his half - baby had already died , the show connected him with Norah ’s granddaughter , Noneen .
16.When Keyshia Cole was 2, she wasadoptedby Yvonne and Leon Cole, who were close friends with her birth mother, Frankie Lons. However, she didn’t know her biological father until she was 34. After years of searching, a paternity testconcludedthat he was famous boxing coach Virgil Hunter.
Keyshia travel to Oakland to get to know Virgil .
17.And finally, while on a joint family vacation in Greece,Matthew McConaugheyand Woody Harrelson learned that there’s a chance they could be half-brothers when Matthew’s mom said she knew (and seemingly implied she may have had a relationship with) Woody’s dad.
On Kelly Ripa’sLet ’s Talk Off Camerapodcast , Matthew said , " [ My mama ] says , ' Woody , I kneeeew your dad . ' Everyone was aware of the eclipsis that my mommy leave after ' kneeeew . ' It was a debase K - N - E - double-u … We went on to take out what this ‘ kneeeew ’ meant and did some math and discover out that [ Woody ’s ] dad was on furlough at the same time that my mom and daddy were in their 2nd divorce . … Then , there ’s potential receipts and place out in West Texas where there might have been a gathering , or a group meeting , or a ' kneeeew ' second . "
At the time , the actors were " on the precipice " of taking a DNA test , but Matthew struggled with the determination .
He say , " await , it ’s a fiddling wanton for Wood to say , ' descend on , let ’s do [ the DNA examination ] , ' because what ’s the skin in it for him ? It ’s a small harder for me because he ’s require me to take a chance to go , ' Wait a minute , you ’re seek to secernate me my dad may not be my papa after 53 years of believing that ? ' I draw a little more skin in the plot . "
