Sibling Actors with Different Last Names
I Didn't Know They Were Siblings!
I am a fanatic about checking the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) after watching an especially good movie or television show. Often I go on tangents once on the Web site looking at an actor's IMDb page, and sometimes seeing who their siblings are is a shocker. It makes me say, "I didn't know they were siblings!"
I watched "The Heiress" the other night on AMC with Olivia de Havilland and looked up the movie on IMDb. That's when I saw the bit of trivia that prompted me to write this lens--Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were sisters. Fascinating!
Of course, the most widely known two actors who have different last names is probably Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estivez.
Photo of Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon in a still from the movie The Apartment. (They are not siblings... keep reading to see who her sibling is.)
Source: Photo in the public domain on wikipedia.
Sibling Actors with Different Last Names - Who knew?
These siblings have different last names:
- Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen
- James Arness and Peter Graves
- Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine
- Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland
- Emilio Estivez and Charlies Sheen
- Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan, identical twins
- Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn
Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine - Sisters -- Actresses
Did you know that Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland are sisters! Who knew? Not me. I watched "The Heiress" the other night on AMC with Olivia de Havilland and looked up the movie on IMDb then saw that bit of trivia. Fascinating!
Joan Fontaine was born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland. Olivia Marie de Havilland is her sister.
Good Girls
"Playing good girls in the 30s was difficult,
when the fad was to play bad girls.
Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore;
I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress."
~ Olivia De Havilland
Peter Graves and James Arness - Brothers -- Actors
"Matt Dillon was the kind of guy who's low-key but stands for what is right, ... And he goes about seeing that things turn out that way - with, of course, a lot of people suffering along the way."
~ James Arness
Charlie Sheen and Emelio Estévez - Do you know Charlie's real name?
Martin Sheen, born Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez, and Janet Sheen are Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez's parents. Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estevez. His brother Emelio Estevez kept his birth name, saying he liked how the two Es making his initials were "pretty." Charlie changed his last name, taking his mother's last name, to match his father's last name.
![Judgment Night [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516ibJp4vFL._SL160_.jpg)
"You can't process me
with a normal brain."
~ Charlie Sheen
Different Last Names in the News - A child by any other name...
- Biological Siblings, Different Last Names - NYTimes.com
When what seemed like a good plan -- daughter takes Mom's last name, son takes Dad's -- doesn't seem so good any more. - What Remains Behind: Siblings, But With Different Last Names
"Hi, this is Hayley Krischer, Jake Fentress's mother." That's how I typically introduce myself when I call my five-year-old son's school, a parent I've never met to set up a play date, or Jake's pediatrician. - Celebrity Siblings - MST3K Wiki - Mystery Science Theater 3000
Celebrity Siblings is a song from the episode, It Conquered the World. This entry lists several siblings with different last names. - Surnames and Her-names
The History and Future of Last Names: a look at names and their origins.
Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty - Sibling Actors
Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty and Warren Beatty was born Henry Warren Beaty. They both changed their names.
![Love Affair [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41YA1EQGX1L._SL160_.jpg)
"I've made so many movies playing a hooker
that they don't pay me in the regular way
anymore. They leave it on the dresser."
~ Shirley MacLaine
Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen - Sibling Actresses
Phylicia Ayers-Allen and Deborrah Kaye Allen are sisters. Phyicia changed her name to Rashad when she married Ahmad Rashad in 1985. They have since divorced. Before 1985, she used her birth name Phylicia Ayers-Allen.
"What I love about being an actress is being
able to really look into myself and
understand another human being."
~ Phylicia Rashad
Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn - Siblings -- Actors
Leif Garrett was born Leif Per Nervik. His sister was born Dawn Lyn Nervik.
Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan - Twins and Actors
Nicholas Brendon Schultz and Kelly Donovan Schulz are identical twins who simply dropped their last name to stand apart. Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan starred in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Nicholas currently acts in Criminal Minds. Kelly is also a stunt man in movies and television.
![Criminal Minds: Season 6 [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/519cb6ejG2L._SL160_.jpg)
Did you know about these sibling actors with different last names?
Which pair of siblings were you most surprised to read about?
Affiliate Disclosure
This author, Peggy Hazelwood, participates in Amazon, eBay, All Posters, and other affiliate advertising programs. When you click an advertising link on this page and make a purchase, I receive a small percent of the sale. Thank you for reading this far!
