Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal may be Hollywood royalty, but they are also directly related to the British royal family too. The famous acting siblings have a direct link to the late Queen Elizabeth through their noble Swedish roots.
They are the 19th cousins of the former monarch, who passed away in 2022, through a shared ancestor. Indeed, both the Windsors and Gyllenhaals are descended from King Edward III of England, which means Jake, 45, and Maggie, 48, are linked to the likes of King Charles III and Prince William too.
King Edward, who reigned for an impressive 50 years from the age of just 14 in 1327 to 1377 when he died of a stroke, is best known for initiating the Hundred Years’ War against France. He also created the Order of the Garter, which remains the oldest European order of chivalry and today includes Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Queen Camilla.
Centuries on, King Edward’s many descendants now also extend across the North Sea to Sweden, where the Gyllenhaals are a Swedish noble family. Jake and Maggie, who grew up in Los Angeles, are the children of Stephen Gyllenhaal, a director who is himself the great-grandson of Swedish-American journalist Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal.
© WireImageMaggie and Jake Gyllenhaal (pictured in 2021) are linked to the British royals through their Swedish noble roots
Fast forward to today, and family remains a strong force among the Gyllenhaals, with Maggie sharing the professional sibling rivalry she still experiences with younger brother Jake. Speaking to The New York Times last week, she said: “I don’t think I knew that at first, when I was young and Jake was a movie star right away. I don’t think I was in touch with the envy, but it was there.”
Maggie is promoting her upcoming film The Bride!, which is the first time she has directed Jake for the big screen. “We’ve never been as close as we are now,” she told the newspaper. “We’re finally, maybe in the last five years, more and more and more, even each day, really interacting, which is hard for people to do.”
© Hoda Davaine/Getty ImagesThe siblings are involved in new film The Bride! alongside Julianne Hough, Penelope Cruz, Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale and Peter Sarsgaard
Maggie, who shares daughters Ramona, 19, and Gloria, 13, with husband Peter Sarsgaard, rose to fame in 2002 film Secretary, and also starred in 2001’s Donnie Darko and 2008’s The Dark Knight. Meanwhile, Jake, who is dating model Jeanne Cadieu, was notably in 1999’s October Sky, 2014’s Nightcrawler and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.
They have both been nominated for Oscars in the past. Maggie received two nods for Best Supporting Actress for 2009’s Crazy Heart and Best Adapted Screenplay for her directorial debut with 2021’s The Lost Daughter, while Jake was up for Best Supporting Actor in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain.