The Distant Family Connection Between Celine Dion And Justin Bieber
We're not saying all Canadian superstars are related by some of Quebec's most attractive original settlers, but we're not not saying that. According to a blog post by Ancestry.com, some of Canada's hottest celebs — physically and culturally — share the same distant relatives, including Justin Bieber and Celine Dion.
Ancestry traced the two singers' genealogy in 2012 and discovered the pop stars are both related to 17th-century Quebec settlers Jacques Vézina and Marie Boisdon. This distant relation makes the "Baby" and "My Heart Will Go On" singers 10th cousins, three times removed. Per Genealogy of Canada, Boisdon was born on December 28, 1615, and Vézina's birthdate is approximated to be sometime in 1611. The couple lived in France before settling in Quebec and died within months of each other in 1687.
Other notable familial ties Bieber boasts include being an 11th cousin, once removed, to Ryan Gosling and a 12th cousin to Avril Lavigne.
The pop icon seemed esctatic about his ancestral discovery
Justin Bieber posted a screenshot of Ancestry's family tree to his Instagram with the caption, "I also just found out that I'm related to both Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne. This is the best day of my life. It seems super legit, it's on Ancestry.com." After all, who wouldn't be excited about the possibility of such a star-studded family reunion?
Although Celine Dion is absent from the family tree, the Dion name does appear in Gosling and Lavigne's lineages, starting with Marie-Thérèse and Pierre Dion. According to Perche-Quebec.com, Dion's ancestors settled in Quebec at the same time as Jacques Vézina and Marie Boisdon in the mid-1600s. The powerhouse vocalist's mother even shared a name with their 17th-century ancestor, Thérèse Tanguay-Dion.
These uncanny familial connections stem from Perche, a French province from which many of the original Quebec settlers came. Perche-Quebec.com reports that most French Canadians are distantly related to these 17th-century Percherons, despite this immigrant group making up only 4% of the total French settlers in Quebec.
Did the Percherons carry a pre-disposal for fame?
Despite the historical connection between Percheron settlers and today's French Canadian population, Ancestry.com genealogy expert Lesley Anderson says a star-studded link like this is incredibly unique. "Discoveries like this are rare," she explained in Ancestry.com's blog post. "So, the fact that some of the top entertainment industry stars are all related is especially fascinating."
Perche-Quebec.com lists other relatives of Bieber and Dion outside the entertainment industry, including Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, Jack Kerouac, and politicians Hillary Clinton and Justin Trudeau. Other musicians and movie stars include Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Jim Carrey.
Indeed, the genealogical discovery ties together some of the world's most influential figures, subtly suggesting a Percheron pre-disposition for fame. And while there's no specific celebrity gene to credit for Bieber and Dion's similar careers, Justin Bieber's stunning net worth in the hundreds of millions and Celine Dion's insanely glamorous life tend to speak for themselves — oh, to be a fly on the wall for that family get-together.