IT turns out that Hollywood musical stars Ashley Tisdale and Austin Butler have more in common than a talent for singing – the two actors are actually distant cousins in real life.
This surprising fact came to light earlier this week when Tisdale, 37, and her sister participated in the latest episode of Ancestry’s 2 Lies & A Leaf series, which explores the geneology of famous celebrities. Tidale was asked to guess who among her many co-stars was actually related to her in real-life, and she immediately named Butler, 31.
“Austin and I always say that we’re like fraternal twins born very far apart because he’s much younger and we’ve always had that connection,“ the High School Musical star explained.
Both Tisdale and Butler starred together in the 2011 HSM spin-off film Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, and have remained close friends ever since. Butler himself has gone on to further musical success with his portrayal of rock and roll icon Elvis Presley in the biopic Elvis.
When her guess was revealed as correct, Tisdale and her sister both burst into tears. “No wonder we have such a connection!” she continued. “We’ve always said we were brother and sister! That is insane. I literally am going to cry.”
At the end of the episode, Tisdale revealed that she texted Butler the news of their familial connection. Sharing the actor’s response, Tisdale said: “He goes, ‘No f---ing way.’”
