George Clooney related to Abraham Lincoln

Los Angeles: Hollywood superstar George Clooney is a distant relative to America`s 16th president Abraham Lincoln.

The surprising connection came up during a research by Ancestry.Com. The website was tracing the family tree of the former president in celebration of Steven Spielberg`s upcoming film `Lincoln`, which details Honest Abe`s attempts to abolish slavery and steer the country through a civil war. Clooney and Lincoln are half-first cousins, five times removed, according the website. "We noticed there were similarities between the names and places of Abraham Lincoln`s tree and George Clooney`s tree. They both have deep roots in Kentucky, so once we honed in on that we were able to find a connection between the two," Michelle Ercanbrack of Ancestry.Com said. The men are connected through Lucy Hanks, who was Lincoln`s maternal grandmother. "Maybe they`re not two men you`d originally put together, but we`ve found some interesting similarities. They`re both human rights advocates... Both are excellent writers... And obviously both have the talent of being able to grow a really great beard," Ercanbrack said. The actor-activist, whose aunt Rosemary Clooney was a singer, is a supporter of President Barack Obama. He is also actively involved in finding a resolution for the Darfur conflict. He even made a documentary `Sand and Sorrow` to highlight the problem. Clooney has been part of political films like `Syriana`, `The Men Who Stare at Goats`, `Good Night And Good Luck` and `Ides of March`. PTI