Royalty runs in the family!
LeVar Burton, the acclaimed actor and beloved host of the educational PBS show Reading Rainbow, uncovered some surprising family connections during his appearance on Season 10 of Finding Your Roots.
Hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., this documentary series allows celebrities to explore their ancestral histories. In a fascinating revelation from a clip that didn’t make the final episode, @levar.burton discovered that he is actually cousins with the renowned actress Viola Davis.
@findingyourroots #LevarBurton found out he has a new cousin and it’s none other than Black royalty #ViolaDavis! See his reaction in this #FindingYourRoots Season 10 clip that was actually left on the cutting room floor and didn’t make it into LeVar’s episode. For Your Emmy® Consideration for Outstanding Nonfiction Series or Special | Finding Your Roots is now streaming on the @PBS ♬ original sound – findingyourroots
In the clip, Gates Jr. shares that he compared Burton’s DNA with that of past guests on the show, leading to a stunning discovery. “You have a DNA cousin you’d never guess in a million years,” Gates Jr. said, before unveiling a photo of Davis. The two share a long identical stretch of DNA on their first chromosome.
Cover photo: Reading Rainbow Star LeVar Burton Discovers He’s Related to Viola Davis on Finding Your Roots / Photo Credit: L’Oreal Paris / National Book Foundation