Two co-stars from The Parent Trap learn of a secret family connection 25 years after the movie was released. A remake of the 1961 film of the same name, the 1998 romantic comedy starred Lindsay Lohan in her film debut as two identical twins who were separated at birth, but after reuniting at summer camp, make plans to bring their divorced parents back together, played by Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson. The Parent Trap also starred Elaine Hendrix as a publicist planning to marry for money and Lisa Ann Walter as a housekeeper and nanny smitten with the family butler.
Now, 25 years after the film was released, two co-stars from The Parent Trap have learned about a surprising family connection they share. In the first episode of unFamiliar from Ancestry, Lisa Ann Walter embarked on a journey to learn about her family history and was shocked to discover a connection to her co-star from The Parent Trap. Watch the video below:
It turns out that Walter and Hendrix’s great-grandparents lived on the same street in New York City in the early 1900s, just a few steps apart from one another. The Parent Trap co-stars agree that their families probably knew each other and even socialized in spaces like the Elizabeth Street Garden, where the two are sitting in the video.
The Parent Trap Stars’ Secret Family Connection Explained
Hendrix and Walter’s characters are enemies in The Parent Trap, though the two actors met and became close friends during the making of the movie. They met on the first day of filming and after going out together for pie, Walter claims the two became best friends within a matter of six hours. This was the start of a personal and professional relationship between Walter and Hendrix, as they have kept in touch over the years about working together again on potential projects while also remaining close friends. All the while, they were unaware of their secret familial connection.
Walter and Hendrix discovering their secret family connection also somewhat mirrors the plot of the movie on which they met. In The Parent Trap, the identical twins Hallie and Annie who were separated at birth are coincidentally sent to the same summer camp where they form an intense rivalry but also discover their secret familial connection. It’s certainly an interesting and surprising historical coincidence that two co-stars from The Parent Trap worked together on the popular film, and even became close friends, without any apparent knowledge of their family connection.
