Sydney Sweeney has been revealed as a distant cousin of Marilyn Monroe through new genealogical research.
The “Euphoria” star, 29, and the late Hollywood icon are ninth cousins, once removed, according to a study by MyHeritage. The connection traces through their fathers: Sweeney’s dad, Steven Sweeney, and Monroe’s father, Charles Stanley Gifford, both descend from Ezra Perry, an early settler in Sandwich, Massachusetts, who lived in the 1600s.
The blond bombshells’ relationship is distant, spanning roughly four centuries, yet it adds a genetic footnote to comparisons that have followed Sweeney throughout her rising career. The actress has openly embraced Monroe’s aesthetic legacy, most recently at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, where she wore a vintage Ceil Chapman dress inspired by one Monroe wore on the April 7, 1952, cover of Life magazine. The figure-hugging design featured three-quarter-length off-the-shoulder sleeves with ruching details along the waist and arms.
Sweeney continued her Monroe homages at the December 2025 premiere of “The Housemaid,” appearing in a custom Galia Lahav dress that recalled the white halter dress from Monroe’s 1955 film “The Seven Year Itch.” A month earlier, at the Governors Awards red carpet, she debuted a bold bob in soft waves that evoked the “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” era.
The genealogical discovery lands amid intensified public conversation about Sweeney’s hypersexualized image. She faced backlash last month over a stripped-down sports betting ad for Novig, responding by posting additional sultry campaign images on Instagram alongside photos of athletes including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jason Kelce, who have posed unclothed for ESPN’s Body Issue covers.
The controversy has done little to dampen support from her inner circle. A source said last month that Sweeney’s boyfriend, music mogul Scooter Braun, 45, considers her “the modern Marilyn Monroe.” Another insider said in May that Braun harbors no reservations about her provocative onscreen work.
“Scooter has absolutely no issue with Sydney’s more provocative scenes in ‘Euphoria’ or any of the work she does as an actress,” the insider said. “He fully understands that it’s part of her job and respects how dedicated she is to her craft.”
Monroe died in 1962 at age 36, leaving behind a complicated legacy as both celebrated sex symbol and underestimated actress. Sweeney, whose breakout roles in “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” established her as one of television’s most in-demand performers, has navigated similar tensions between critical acclaim and public fixation on her physicality.
The MyHeritage findings place Sweeney within a broader tradition of entertainment industry figures discovering unexpected ancestral connections to Hollywood’s golden age, though the ninth cousin, once removed, designation underscores the tenuousness of such links across nearly 400 years of American settlement history.
Sweeney’s next major appearance is scheduled for the upcoming awards season circuit, where “The Housemaid” is expected to feature in campaign conversations.