In 2012, Ancestry.com revealed that Justin Bieber is a distant cousin of Hollywood star Ryan Gosling. Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun after he saw one of his YouTube videos in 2007. However, learning that Bieber had an unexpected Hollywood connection long before his fame came as a surprise to many fans.
According to the genealogy chart, Bieber and Gosling are 11th cousins once removed (via PEOPLE). Even the researchers at Ancestry.com were surprised by the finding. One of them, Michelle Ercanback, told Associated Press at the time:
The great thing about family history is that you never know what you’re going to find. It was a very pleasant surprise.
Lesley Anderson, who is a genealogist, spoke to TODAY about finding the connection: “Discoveries like this are rare, so the fact that some of Canada’s top entertainment industry stars are all related is especially fascinating.” Bieber and Gosling are connected through a French couple, Mathurin Roy and Marguerite Bire, who moved to Quebec in the 1600s.
Justin Bieber Is Also Related to Avril Lavigne and Celine Dion
It appears that Justin Bieber’s talent runs in his DNA. Ancestry.com also found out that Bieber shared a familial connection with Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne and the iconic singer Celine Dion. Interestingly, Lavigne shared common ancestors with Bieber and Ryan Gosling. Bieber and Lavigne are 12th cousins, according to the genealogy chart.
The Utah-based company found out that Bieber is a 10th cousin, three times removed, of the My Heart Will Go On singer. Bieber and Dion’s connection can be traced back to another French couple, Jacques Vezina and Marie Boisdon, who settled in Quebec in the 1600s.
A fan recently pointed out that all four of the talents were related, which took some new fans by surprise. Fans had a crazy reaction to this family tree of talented artists, with one fan commenting that “God was cooking with that family tree.” Some of the reactions read:
The fact that they’re all cousins😭 pic.twitter.com/keaRuifKRU
God was cooking with that family tree, BTW.
That's the craziest thing ever when I found out 🤣
A lot of people with French Canadian ancestry are linked lol I share the same common ancestor as them as do a lot of people. It goes back like 10-12 generations.
this is so random 😭
Lavigne appears slightly more immediate family to Bieber than Gosling. Apart from the slightly confusing nature of the genealogy chart, even Bieber appears to be convinced that this is legit.
Are Justin Bieber and Ryan Gosling Aware of Their Familial Connection?
While the news had been out since as early as 2012, Justin Bieber only came to know about the familial connection with Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne in 2019. In an Instagram post, he wrote that he just found out about this piece of information. He shared a genealogy chart from Ancestry.com, sharing the evidence of his Hollywood network of relatives.
He shared, “I also just found out that I’m related to both Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne.” He made it clear that he was excited to find out about his distant cousins, sharing, “This is the best day of my life. It seems super legit. It’s on ancestry.com.”
A post shared by Justin Bieber (@lilbieber)
Bieber’s post didn’t catch Gosling’s attention, but Lavigne was quick to respond to the news, sharing, “I’ll host Christmas dinner this year.” Despite the talents sharing DNA, the researchers with Ancestry.com shared that this didn’t provide sufficient evidence of ‘a superstar gene.’
What do you think of this familial connection between Gosling and Bieber? Let us know in the comments below!
