Summary
- Lisa Kudrow discovered she's cousins with Madonna, leading to surprising connections between the two celebrities.
- The revelation shocked Ellen DeGeneres, who was also connected to Madonna through their shared ancestry.
- Kudrow and Madonna's related features and similarities, as well as Madonna's support of DeGeneres, were discussed.
Lisa Kudrow is a talented actress who became a household name playing Phoebe Buffay on Friends. Her comedic timing and one-of-a-kind delivery made her a favorite among viewers each week.
Kudrow's search for her family history led her to make some surprising discoveries. This caused the actress to become an executive producer of another long-running series, Who Do You Think You Are?
The show explores the unknown ancestry of celebrities and sees them making shocking discoveries. This prompted Kudrow to tell Ellen DeGeneres about a surprising connection she has to a very famous singer. The revelation surprised DeGeneres.
Lisa Kudrow Told Ellen That She Is Cousins With Madonna
In 2010, Lisa Kudrow appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about her involvement in the docuseries Who Do You Think You Are? The show features popular celebrities tracing their ancestry and sometimes making shocking discoveries about their roots.
DeGeneres herself was in for quite a shock when Kudrow brought some information on the comedian's family tree.
"You're 11th cousins (with Madonna)," Kudrow shared. "What you share is your 10th great-grandfather, his name was Martin Aucoin, from France... He had two daughters, Jean... That's your side. And another daughter, Michelle, and that gave rise to Madonna's side, and they moved to Canada. Then your fifth great-grandfather... he's the one who moved the family to Louisiana in the late 1700s."
"That's pretty far back," DeGeneres said, "that's pretty amazing."
Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry, had some thoughts about this surprising family connection.
"It’s not every day you discover two celebrity icons are related, but it’s their similarities that make the connection so extraordinary," Tyler said. "They were born the same year, have both written books and been on tour, and are known for their impressive dance moves."
When Madonna appeared on DeGeneres' show in 2012, the two discussed their distant family connection.
"It looks like we're related," DeGeneres told Madonna, referring to their similar features.
"We have the same eye color," Madonna responded. "I heard it goes back to the 16th century."
DeGeneres then showed Madonna the same family chart Kudrow showed her previously.
"Whatever, I'm on your Christmas list now," DeGeneres joked. "That's what I'm getting at. So we have to hang out more often."
"Do we have to give each other gifts?" Madonna asked.
"No, you have to give me a gift," DeGeneres quipped. "You're richer than me."
Madonna Called Ellen To Support Her After She Came Out
During Madonna's 2012 appearance, DeGeneres shared a story about a phone conversation she had with the Queen of Pop.
The year was 1997 and DeGeneres was about to come out of the closet both in real life and on her sitcom Ellen. The media was going crazy speculating on DeGeneres' sexuality and how the event would play out in her series.
"Madonna called me out of the blue — we had never met," DeGeneres remembered. "I just all of a sudden get a call saying, 'It's Madonna and I just want to say I'm behind you, I'm with you, I support you.'"
DeGeneres also told the audience that Madonna sent her a quote from Martha Graham.
"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique," DeGeneres read from the quote. "And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it."
DeGeneres told Madonna that it "meant the world" to her.
DeGeneres' coming out was a widely discussed topic for months both before and after the episode aired. She wanted her character to have a girlfriend in the show's fifth season. However, the response wasn't positive and several episodes aired with warnings about "adult content." The show was ultimately canceled at the end of the season.
DeGeneres later said that she wasn't told by the network or anyone else involved with the show. She said that her assistant told her after reading it in a trade magazine. DeGeneres' career seemed grim, but she would bounce back when her talk show premiered in 2003.
Lisa Kudrow And Ellen Had A Conversation About Her Son During Another Appearance On The Show
In 2022, Kudrow once again appeared on DeGeneres' show and played a question game called "Lisa Blanking Kudrow."
The objective of the game was for DeGeneres to read out sentences to Kudrow, while she filled in the blanks with the first thing that came to mind. The first sentence read, "I had pictures of (blank) on my childhood bedroom walls." Kudrow quickly answered, "David Cassidy."
The second sentence read, "I would do anything (blank) asked me to." Kudrow answered, "Courtney Cox."
While it was nice to see Kudrow saying something sweet about her former Friends co-star, DeGeneres questioned her quick response.
"Really?" DeGeneres asked. "More so than your child?"
Kudrow responded, "Well, if he asked me something that was not appropriate, I'd have to say no."
"But if Courtney asked you something that was inappropriate, you'd say yes?" DeGeneres asked.
"Well, she's an adult and I trust her," Kudrow said. "Actually, right now my son is an adult and I trust him."
"Yeah, so what are you saying?" DeGeneres asked.
Kudrow answered with a laugh, "I mean, it's my son."
"Alright, so we've changed it," DeGeneres said.
"I would do anything my son asked me to," Kudrow said, "because I'm a good mom."
