Husband and Wife Duo Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick Are Distant Cousins
“I figured I was going to be related to Kevin Bacon — I mean, most white people are related, ultimately,” Kyra Sedgwick said of her husband.
Published Feb. 26 2024, 12:50 p.m. ET
There isn't a shortage of power couples in Hollywood. One duo that stands out is Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick — veteran actors who have been married for decades.
Best known for her role in The Closer, Kyra is a Golden Globe-winning actor, producer, and director while Kevin has made a name for himself in the industry as a well-known actor and musician.
Even though Kevin and Kyra have maintained active careers over the years, they still make time to keep their marriage strong.
However, Kyra and Kevin’s romantic connection isn’t the only bond that they share. According to a DNA test, the actors are related, too — but not in the way you think.
Here’s how Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are related.
It’s a small world, after all — just ask Kevin and Kyra, who found out they were related in a 2012 episode of Finding Your Roots.
In it, host Henry Louis Gates Jr. gave Kyra and Kevin a rundown of their ancestry. The conversation reached its peak when Henry told Kevin and Kyra that they were cousins.
While the news may be shocking to fans, it wasn’t shocking to Kyra.
“I figured I was going to be related to Kevin Bacon — I mean, most white people are related, ultimately,” Kyra said. She also said, “As long as we’re not first cousins, it’s fine.”
Because Kyra already had an inkling that they may be related before they even went on the show, she had to “act surprised” when she found out.
“Frankly, I figured that was part the reason that they wanted to do both of us,” she said at the Television Critic Association’s Summer Press Tour (per The Wrap) years after the episode first aired.
That said, it isn't like Kyra and Kevin met at a family reunion — they are ninth cousins, twice removed (according to FamousKin.com.)
The site asserts Samuel Hinckley is their common ancestor — and if that surname sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Sam is also related to President Ronald Reagan’s assassin, John Hinckley Jr.
Henry also shared a few other facts about the duo’s family tree. Kevin learned that he’s a distant relative of President Barack Obama and Brad Pitt.
“It’s a beautiful concept that we are connected — that we all, essentially, kind of climbed out of the same swamp,” Kevin said at the time, and well, that’s one way to put it.
How did Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon meet? Let’s break down their relationship timeline.
Kyra and Kevin had their first encounter during rehearsals for the PBS adaptation of Lainey Wilson’s Lemon Sky. In an interview with PEOPLE, the duo opened up about the early years of their relationship. According to Kyra, she knew Kevin was the one after their first date.
Kyra told the outlet: "I remember waking up and going, 'I feel like home.' I realized, 'Oh, that was him.'"
Less than two years after they met, Kyra and Kevin tied the knot and the rest was history. Two kids and more than 30 later, Kevin and Kyra are still going strong.
