This week, an expert at Ancestry.com revealed that George Clooney and Abraham Lincoln are distantly related. And the timing is just oh-so perfect, as ‘Lincoln’ is set to hit theaters in limited release on November 9.
Apparently, George is a half-first cousin five times removed.? Lincoln’s mom, Nancy Hanks, was the half-sister of Clooney’s fourth great-grandma, Marry Ann Sparrow.
So you know, go see the movie because George Clooney.
The Sun reported on the “study,” explaining:
“Hanks and Sparrow shared the same mother, Lucy Hanks, but had different fathers.? Lucy Hanks was Lincoln’s maternal grandmother as well as the 5th great-grandmother of Clooney.? George, who has starred in hit films including Oceans 11, is currently dating former wrestler Stacy Keibler.”
They also posted a picture of Clooney and Lincoln, side-by-side, captioning it: “George Clooney, left, and Abraham Lincoln are said to be related.”
I, for one, am so they let us know George was the one on the left. Otherwise I would’ve definitely thought Clooney was the bearded guy in the daguerreotype.
Researcher Michelle Ercanbrack announced the finding:
“We noticed there were similarities between the names and places of Abraham Lincoln’s tree and George Clooney’s tree. They both have deep roots in Kentucky, so once we honed in on that we were able to find a connection between the two.”
George hasn’t commented on the matter, but I think I can speculate Lincoln’s reaction would be something along the lines of:
“Clooney?! OMG EEEEEE!” ~Abraham Lincoln
Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is set to hit theaters in limited release next week, and on November 16, it will be released nationally.
Daniel Day-Lewis, of course, has taken on the role of the 16th president, but he recently revealed that he originally turned Spielberg down.
?I did not take it seriously,? Day-Lewis said. ?It seemed inconceivable to me that I could be the person, and I did not want to be responsible for irrevocably staining the reputation of (Spielberg).?
Daniel completely underestimates himself. In fact, Spielberg said that he asked a second time, and the movie might not have been made if the actor would have declined him again:
“And I was at the point, without putting any extra pressure on Daniel, that I would never have made the movie if he had said ?no? the second time,? confirmed Spielberg.
Day-Lewis added: ?I didn't know it was the right choice, but I ran out of excuses.?
So, basically, he did this movie out of politeness? Oh, gee, I can’t wait to see it.
The story centers around Lincoln’s role in the Civil War, ?specifically, the passage of the proclamation to free slaves.
“?the wonderful surprise with Lincoln is that you begin to discover him. And there are many different ways in which you can do that. He kind of welcomes you in; he's very accessible,” Day-Lewis said of the historic icon.
Plus, he’s related to Clooney!