Oscar Night 2014: Who’s Related?

Did you watch the 86th Annual Academy Awards? The star-studded award show was hosted for the second time by comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who took over the reigns from the previous year’s host Seth MacFarlane. Funny must run in the genes because the Family Guy creator also happens to be Ellen’s 10th cousin. Did you enjoy watching Ellen bring her friendly charm to the Oscar stage?

It turns out this year’s race was a family affair, with a few nominees facing off against their own cousins!

Although the one time co-stars and Best Actress contenders Amy Adams and Meryl Streep lost the top prize to Cate Blanchett, the two actresses may take consolation in learning they share a common ancestry. Amy Adams is Meryl Streep’s 12th cousin once removed. Fun fact: Although Meryl broke her own record this year with a total of 18 Oscar nominations, she’s only won 3 in her career. Amy Adams now has 5 nominations under her belt, should cousin Meryl be concerned that Amy may be gunning for her record?

The Best Supporting Actress race was also a close one. While Lupita Nyong’o won for her powerful performance in 12 Years a Slave, fellow nominees Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence may be interested to learn they too share a common ancestry. Jen and Julia are 16th cousins twice removed! Perhaps they may have shared a moment as they chowed down on pizza cousin Ellen had special delivered to the hungry audience. Ellen is Julia’s 14th cousin once removed and Jennifer’s 14th cousin.

The night’s biggest award went to 12 Years a Slave, inspired by the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York who is abducted and sold into slavery in the antebellum south. The Brad Pitt produced movie won 3 Oscars out of a total of nine nominations. This is Brad’s first Academy Award win; he also co-starred in the film. During the show, the always game actor even lent a helping hand to his 15th cousin once removed, passing out paper plates to the star-filled audience.

Ellen even got the entire family together for a family selfie.

What did you think of the show? Did your favorites win?