Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick found out they share a familial connection after undergoing DNA testing.
The Hollywood couple, who married in 1988, have two children: Sosie Bacon, a 32-year-old actress known for “Smile,” and Travis Bacon, a 35-year-old musician.
Marriage often involves ongoing discoveries about one’s partner, and a significant revelation came for Bacon and Sedgwick in 2012.
Both Bacon, known for “Footloose,” and Sedgwick, famous for “The Closer” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” participated in the show “Finding Your Roots,” where Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. explored their ancestry.
Over the years, many celebrities have appeared on the show, often finding they are distantly related to other famous personalities.
For instance, John Lithgow discovered a connection to Gates Jr., while Julia Roberts learned she is a distant cousin of Edward Norton.
However, the revelation that surprised many was that Bacon and Sedgwick are related to each other.
Presenting a picture of Bacon to Sedgwick, Gates Jr. revealed: “That is your ninth cousin once removed.”
“Sh*t,” she responded. “I knew it! I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.”
Two weeks later, Gates Jr. interviewed Bacon and asked Sedgwick not to reveal their connection, but she ended up telling him anyway.
Bacon found the discovery ‘beautiful’, stating: “It’s a beautiful concept that we are connected. That we all, essentially, kind of climbed out of the same swamp. It’s fun to be at the forefront of that idea.”
Although Bacon and Sedgwick took the news in stride, film enthusiasts were more astonished.
Referencing ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’, which suggests that anyone in Hollywood can be linked to Bacon within six steps, a social media user commented: “The less fun version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon!”
Another remarked: “One of the best Hollywood couples around and someone’s gotta try and bring them down. Not today internet!!”
“They may be ninth cousins once removed but Kevin Bacon essentially playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and finding out his wife is a distant relative was not on my bingo card for 2024,” another user tweeted.