The Beloved Friends Costar Matthew Perry Was Distantly Related To

After news broke that beloved TV star Matthew Perry died, TV fans around the world were in absolute shock. TMZ reported that the actor tragically passed away in his California home on October 28, 2023, leaving behind him a lasting legacy. 

Although he starred in a number of other major roles, Perry was and will forever be everyone's favorite wise-cracking data analyst. His impact as Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom "Friends" will continue to be felt far into the future. He and his costars were brimming with charm and had amazing chemistry with one another, which undoubtedly contributed to the cult status that "Friends" has achieved over the years. 

The cast's onset bond has proven unbreakable, as the close-knit "Friends" crew remained good buddies even after the show reached its final episode. It turns out that there may be more to why the cast got along so well than just having personalities that click, especially when it comes to Perry. In fact, there could be a blood-related reason why Perry and one of his costars in particular made the best of friends. A genealogy test revealed that Perry is distantly related to Courteney Cox, the costar who played his love interest. 

According to CNN, the genealogists at MyHeritage were the ones to make the surprising discovery that Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox are related. In their search into the family history of the two actors, the MyHeritage team found that Cox and Perry are both related to William Osbern Haskell III and his wife Ellen Haskell, an England-based couple who were around in the late 1500s and early 1600s. The couple shared two sons, Roger and William Haskell, who moved with their mother to America in 1635. It's here where the connection between the "Friends" costars is made. MyHeritage discovered that Perry and Cox are both directly related to one of the sons, which in turn makes them 11th cousins.

This is probably not the news Monica and Chandler fans want to hear. The characters started off as good friends on the sitcom, who were somehow able to bring out the softer side of the other. As the series progressed, we saw Monica and Chandler become much more than friends to eventually be the adorable married couple who ended the series with two children.