People Describe The Most Famous Person In Their Family
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Are you related to anybody famous? Where do they stand in your family?

The reality is, we are all probably related in some way or another to some famous figure at some point in history—the size of the human population was a lot smaller back then.

But how about now?

Does anybody whose name crosses the news on a regular or semi-regular basis come to your holiday table?


Redditor LoveSimpleHacks asked:

"Who is the most famous person in your family?"

Here were some of those answers.

Barney And Betty

"My grandmother was the voice of Betty Rubble... And the blue bonnet chicken in Foghorn Leghorn, and little red riding hood on Bugs Bunny (and witcheepoo), and Tweety's grandma (along with other women who voiced her.)"

"And she was on I Love Lucy, and she had her own show called Petticoat Junction, and she was on Burns & Allen.. and.. so... so.. so many more. Oh, and my grandfather was Red Ryder on TV." - Chalky_Cupcake

Crew Crew

"My grandad is a double Olympic bronze medalist for rowing, he has them displayed in a cabinet in his house."

"He’s also one of the most humble and down to earth people I’ve ever met. Never brags or boasts about it, and never brings it up in conversations as a form of one-upping someone."

"If he does talk about it it’s because someone found out by some other means and has asked him about it." - The_Extreme_Potato

You Mean Reality TV Isn't Real?!

"Well I will have you all know my mom has not only been a guest on the Ricki Lake show and the Queen Latifa Show, but the Sally Jessy Raphael show as well!"

"The last one is the only one we have been able to find video evidence of. My mom is a full on attention-seeker and early 2000’s daytime TV was her stage."

"She was also on a couple of 'court' shows but … those storylines were for sure fake. She just wanted a free trip." - sadmotelvibes

These are the people that represent us and our family on the world stage.

Rutherford? I Hardly Know 'Er Ford!

"My great-great Uncle, Ernest Rutherford. The father of Nuclear Physics!"

"My granny has fond memories of him, and it was a buzz to visit the Nobel Prize Museum and see him honoured there. I can attest that the propensity to be good at physics is not passed on, I was horrendous." - petanotpeter

Its Fleece As White As Snow

"George Ellery Hale. His father owned the Hale Elevator Co, who provided the elevators for Chicago's new skyscrapers after the Chicago fire."

"George was a solar astronomer who made discoveries concerning magnetic fields and sunspots. Some of his most famous work, however, was getting 4 observatories built, including Mount Wilson where Hubble made his discoveries of the expanding universe."

"He got multiple world leading telescopes built. Is considered a founder of astrophysics. Cofounded the Journal of Astrophysics. Received numerous awards for his scientific research and achievements."

"I may be related to Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' and was instrumental in getting Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a federal holiday, but I'm still researching that one." - ProbablyABore

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Is There A Doctor In The House?

"Not famous in the traditional sense, but I have 4 uncles in my family who are world renowned physicians. One has a patent that is used worldwide in cardiac surgery."

"Another just won India's second most prestigious award for citizens' distinguished service from the President of India himself."

"Another is retired but used to be the personal physician to the Royal House of Bhutan. The last is one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the world. Pretty astounding achievements in their fields." - dhalsim282

Another Pandemic, Another Time

"My grandmother was a nurse during the 1918 flu. A large farm family was stricken with the virus so she stayed on the farm and nursed them all back to health."

"The mother was pregnant and when the baby was born, my grandmother returned to care for mom and baby. My grandfather was a close relative of the farmer and worked as a hired hand."

"The baby was the father of singer Christopher Cross." - DamnDame

The world is a lot smaller than we give it credit for, so in doing a true family tree trace, you could find one of these surprising figures in your family.

Politicians

"My grandma was a very popular governmental figure and since finishing her term, nobody has really been noteworthy in the same position, the job pretty much never gets mentioned."

"I know I'm biased of course, but I keep up with it and there's nearly no news. No outreach. Nothing. Mostly disappointments. People not doing anything with the job."

"Most of her 'fanbase' are pretty old now. But she used to get stopped every time we went out, it was a huge pain as a kid." - ladyalot

Saving The Family

"Both of my paternal great grandmothers walked The Trail of Tears. Both lost their entire families during the walk due to exposure."

"One quickly became a Robin Hood of sorts by stealing things from drunken passed out soldiers at night, then passing out what she could."

"Both of them were the best of friends, married (one married a Frenchmen, the other a Swiss farmer) and had children. One of each of their children married and they were my grandparents. My dad is 92 come March. (I’m 35. Second mid life crisis😅)" - Professor_Quackers

I Know Your Face

"My aunt is not famous, but she's been an actress her whole life and has been lucky enough to get some small parts here and there."

"She was in a movie with Matt Damon, she was recently in a TV show with Alec Baldwin, and she knows a ton of other celebrities".

"She was in House of Cards, Daredevil, etc. But, yeah, she is definitely not famous and she is just scraping by to pay the bills despite doing better than the average actress." - gman4734

So even though someone in your family might not make the newspapers on a daily basis in 2021, they are still an important part of history.

Be sure to give credit where credit is due.

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