Both Jean Stapleton and Maureen Stapleton were award-winning actors who started their careers around the same time, but no, they were not related. However, if you thought it did, you were in good company. Even Queen Elizabeth asked if there was a connection. Considering how successful both Jean and Maureen were in their own right, it would certainly be impressive if the two were sisters, cousins, or even distant relatives. Finally, in 1971, Jean won an Emmy for “All in the Family,” and that same year Maureen earned her second Oscar nomination for “Airport.”
But like we said, the two had nothing to do with each other. That said, unlike many stars of the era, Stapleton was actually a family name for both women, namely Maureen’s birth name and Jean’s mother’s maiden name. Still, it’s not exactly surprising that many wondered if there was a connection – and yes, there is the late Queen Elizabeth. Per Broadway worldWhen Jean met the queen, the monarch asked if there was a relationship. Unfortunately for the TV star, that was reportedly all she was asked to do, likely 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 at the production meeting because they said, ‘They’re not related, you idiot!'” O’Donnell joked (via John Flanagan). For what it’s worth, Jean clearly wasn’t offended. She even joked that since Maureen was an Oscar winner, she would go along with it.
Jean and Maureen received each other’s fan mail
In addition to being mistaken for each other by other celebrities, Jean and Maureen Stapleton were regularly confused by the general public. Jean joked on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” that their fan mail was exchanged from time to time. In fact, she revealed that she learned from a flight attendant that Maureen didn’t like air travel. “One of the service people on an airplane 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 confusion, while Maureen said, “She’s so amazing.”
As for Maureen Stapleton, she addressed the ongoing errors in her 1995 autobiography: “Hell of a life.” She added a photo of her next to Jean Stapleton and wrote, “Although we are not related and have never actually performed together, people often confuse me with actress Jean Stapleton of Edith Bunker fame. Maybe this photo will clear it up once and for all.” Well, it certainly would have made it clear that Jean and Maureen were two different people, but we’re not so sure about the relative questions. Certainly, that is not the case famous twins a la Zoë Saldana and Thandiwe Newton or Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanelbut there are a lot of siblings who aren’t lookalikes, and TBH, they didn’t look completely separate from each other in the photo anyway. It was a good thing that the respective Stapletons were friendly!
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