Rivers Cuomo and Andrew Cuomo Aren't Related, Despite Sharing a Last Name
Published Aug. 11 2021, 9:50 p.m. ET
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced he would be stepping down from his position following multiple sexual harassment allegations. The entire Cuomo family has been under scrutiny as the allegations have played out, especially Andrew's younger brother, Chris Cuomo.
But who else makes up the Cuomo family? There are a few public figures who share the same last name as the now-disgraced political figure, but is Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo one of them? Here's what we know of the family connection.
Are Rivers Cuomo and Andrew Cuomo related? The two are not brothers.
Despite sharing a last name, there is no relation between Rivers and Andrew. Both Rivers and Andrew were born in New York City (Rivers in 1970 and Andrew in 1957), but they each had very different upbringings.
Rivers spent some of his young life in Rochester, N.Y., in the town's Zen Center before being moved to Yogaville, a monastery in Connecticut. Around this time, his mother, Beverly Shoenberger, married Stephen Kitts, and Rivers temporarily changed his name to Peter Kitts. His father, Frank Cuomo, left the family in 1975.
Andrew, on the other hand, comes from a family full of people in politics. He spent much of his young life in Queens, where he was born, and attended law school in Albany, N.Y.
Andrew's parents, Mario and Matilde Cuomo, are both well-known in politics. Mario served as the governor of New York from 1983 to 1994 before losing to George Pataki in reelection. Matilde, on the other hand, is a National Women's Hall of Fame inductee and known for founding the Mentoring USA nonprofit organization. The Cuomo family is a big name in state politics, though none of the family members have run a successful campaign for president yet.
Does Rivers Cuomo have any siblings? What about Andrew Cuomo?
Rivers has one brother, Leaves Cuomo, who also briefly went by James Kitts. Unlike his brother, who is a musician, Leaves currently works as a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, teaching classes on religion. Some of the Weezer tracks mention or reference Leaves in the lyrics.
Andrew, on the other hand, is one of five children and is the second-oldest.
While Andrew is the only one of the children to follow in their father's footsteps and pursue politics, all of his siblings are well-recognized in their own fields. Margaret, the oldest, is a physician and radiologist working on cancer prevention. Maria Cuomo Cole works on films focused on social justice themes with Cuomo Cole Production, while Madeline is an attorney.
The youngest of the bunch, Chris Cuomo, is an anchor with CNN, hosting Cuomo Prime Time.
Following Andrew's decision to step down as the governor of New York, there have also been calls for Chris to step down from his position with CNN, as he often advocated on behalf of his older brother on-air, despite the backlash he was receiving.