Fan Fare

What do Madonna and Ellen DeGeneres have in common? Relatives, if the genealogy researchers at Ancestry.com are right. The family history experts at Ancestry.com have found that Madonna and DeGeneres are related through a common 10th great-grandfather — a Frenchman called Martin Aucoin — so they are 11th cousins.

“In the early 1600s, Aucoin’s daughters Jeanne and Michele left their native country of France to settle in Nova Scotia, where  both Madonna and Ellen’s families remained for several generations,” according to a statement from Ancestry.com.

DeGeneres’ family left Canada in the late 1700s when her 5th great-grandfather Joseph Martin relocated to Louisiana and in the late 1870s Madonna’s 2nd great-grandmother Emilie Daniel left Quebec for Michigan, which the singer calls home.

“It’s not every day you discover two celebrity icons are related, but it’s their similarities that make the connection so extraordinary,” said Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com. “They were born the same year, have both written books and been on tour, are known for their impressive dance moves – and with Ellen’s latest gig on ‘American Idol’ – are both legendary figures on the music scene.”

The new-found family connection between DeGeneres and Madonna is one of many interesting discoveries uncovered by Ancestry.com. In 2009, the family history Web site connected financier Warren Buffett to President Obama and also revealed that Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the “Harry Potter” movie series, is related to a 16th-century woman accused of witchcraft.