Both Jean Stapleton and Maureen Stapleton were award-winning actors who started their careers around the same time, but no, they weren’t related. But if you thought they were, you’d be in good company. Even Queen Elizabeth asked if there was any connection. Given how successful both Jean and Maureen were in their own right, it would certainly be impressive if the two happened to be sisters, cousins, or even distant relatives. After all, in 1971 Jean won an Emmy for “All in the Family,” and that same year Maureen earned her second Oscar nomination for “Airport.”
However, as we said, the two were not related to each other. That said, unlike many stars of the time, Stapleton was actually a family name for both women, as it was Maureen’s birth surname and Jean’s mother’s maiden name. Still, it’s not exactly surprising that many wondered if there was a connection — and yes, that includes the late Queen Elizabeth. Sore Broadway Worldwhen Jean met the Queen, the monarch asked if there was any relationship. Unfortunately for the TV star, that was reportedly all she had been asked, which was probably due to time constraints, but who knows? Maybe the Queen was just a big fan of Maureen. After all, she had two BAFTA nominations.
Another famous face who thought Jean Stapleton and Maureen Stapleton were related? Rosie O’Donnell, who admitted she even planned to ask about Jean’s sister when she interviewed the “All in the Family” alum in 1998. “Thank God I brought it up in the production meeting, because they were like, ‘They’re not related, you idiot!'” O’Donnell said (via John Flanagan). For what it’s worth, Jean was clearly not offended. In fact, she said that since Maureen was an Oscar winner, she would go with it.
Jean and Maureen got each other’s fan mail
In addition to being mistaken for each other by other celebrities, Jean and Maureen Stapleton were regularly mixed up by the general public. Jean joked on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” that their fan mail was exchanged from time to time. More than that, she revealed that she had learned through a flight attendant that Maureen didn’t like air travel. “One of the flight attendants once said to me, ‘I understand you hate flying’. I said, ‘No …’ and I thought, oh, she’s thinking about Maureen!” Confusion aside, Jean reiterated that she had no problem with the mix-up, gushing from Maureen, “She’s so amazing.”
As for Maureen Stapleton, she addressed the persistent errors in her 1995 autobiography, “One hell of a life.” Including a photo of her with Jean Stapleton, she wrote: “Although we are not related and have never actually acted together, people often mistake me for actress Jean Stapleton of Edith Bunker fame. Maybe this photo will clear that up once and for all.” Well, that would have definitely cleared up that Jean and Maureen were two different people, but we’re not so sure about the relative issues. Of course they aren’t celebrity twins a la Zoe Saldana and Thandiwe Newton or Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanelbut there are tons of siblings who aren’t lookalikes, and TBH, they didn’t look completely unrelated in the picture anyway. How friendly the respective Stapletons were!
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