Charles Manson and Marilyn Manson Are Known for Their Sinister Actions — Are They Related?

If you think about it, being famous is a lot like being in high school. There are cliques, best and worst dressed categories, and award shows that are a chance for celebs to recreate their prom nights. And, much like in high school, you run into a group of celebs with the same last name and wonder, "Are those two related?"

In many cases, like the Wayans or the Kardashians, you can almost guarantee anyone with that last name belongs to the famous clan. But in Marilyn Manson and Charles Manson's case, their last name could be a coincidence or proof the controversial pair are from the same bloodline.

So, are Marilyn Manson and Charles Manson related? Let's find out!

Sorry, rock and true crime lovers, Marilyn and Charles aren't related. Though they're not part of the same family, Charles was responsible for Marilyn's birth. I can explain.

The "Sweet Dreams" singer, born Brian Hugh Hunter in Canton, Ohio, has shared that Charles, a Cincinnati native, is partially responsible for his stage name. When he was shopping for a name, he combined Marilyn Monroe's name with Charles, and thus, Marilyn Manson was born.

Marilyn decided to mix a 1950s bombshell's name with a serial killer's, which was the perfect moniker for his rock' n' roll career, which began with his first studio album, Portrait of an American Family, in 1994. In an interview with The Guardian, he recalled creating the Marilyn Manson persona in journalism college to escape the world he was living in before his career blew up.

"The first article I ever did was about Marilyn Manson, which I wrote as myself as Brian Warner, and that was in part why I had to have a pseudonym, a stage name," he recalled. "I was put in a situation where I was suddenly stuck with… where I had created a Frankenstein’s monster. There was Marilyn Manson, but there was no music yet. I created a fake world maybe because I didn’t like the one I was living in. But that’s what made me make music. I had to fill in the gaps I’d created.”

Marilyn and Charles may not be blood-related, but they have more in common than just their names. Both men have been involved in significant controversies that followed their lives. Charles became notorious for leading the 1960s cult, "The Manson Family." Under his advisement, the cult killed seven people, including actor Sharon Tate, who was eight months pregnant when she died. Charles served nine life terms in California prisons and was denied parole 12 times before he ultimately died of natural causes in 2017 at 83, per CNN.

According to Billboard, Marilyn's legal woes date back to the 1990s, and he's been accused of physical, sexual, and domestic abuse. Multiple women, including his ex-fiancee, actor Evan Rachel Wood, reported instances of being "horrifically abused" by him during their relationship. After a years-long investigation, Variety reported the allegations from Evan and the other women, which date from 2009-2011, were past the statute of limitations, and he couldn't be charged. Marilyn maintains his innocence.