Claim to Fame contestants: fan theories on the identities of the celebrity relatives

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Using show clues and social media, viewers believe they figured out who the castmates are related to.

Amara, Louise and Logan playing a game on Claim to Fame
Amara, Louise and Logan playing a game on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/John Fleenor)

We have to admit, prior to Claim to Fame premiering, we were skeptical about just how well the contestants would be able to hide their connections to their celebrity relatives. Especially, when you think about the fact that DNA has a habit of making family members look alike. However, as the show is currently on air, while a few contestants aren’t able to escape the familiarity of their facial features, a number of them are. 

What makes this even more interesting, and even complicated, is the fact that the contestants don’t have to be 100% honest about the clues they provide their fellow contestants (makes sense, given the object of the game is for competitors to keep their relative’s celebrity identity a secret for as long as possible). 

With all of that said, we’ve taken the liberty to provide you with a brief rundown of what fans are saying about the cast and who they think each of them could be related to. Plus, we’ve given our factual two cents. Let’s take a look at each contestant one by one. 

L.C.  

L.C. on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Other than truthfully stating her famous loved one has an Emmy, L.C. hasn’t been that truthful. She’s lied about her name and how she’s related to the celebrity in question (she stated her celebrity relative is her father). 

Fan theories: L.C. may be the one to actually win this competition, as she not only is stumping her competitors but fans as well. It looks like the most popular fan theories are that she’s related to Nope star Keke Palmer or Black-ish actor Laurence Fishburne. 

Status in competition: Winner

Celebrity relative: It looks like those fans that said LC is the sister of actress Keke Palmer are correct. LC mentioned that the young starlet is indeed her sibling. 

Pepper 

Pepper on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Although she lied about it, it appears Pepper’s celebrity relative is likely a comedian. 

Fan theories: Now there are those that will argue that Pepper is a relative of 50 First Dates star Drew Barrymore. However, some fans that have taken to social media to do some investigating believe Pepper is likely related to comedian and former host of The Dean Martin Show, Dean Martin.  

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: It turns out that Pepper is the granddaughter of Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin. 

Logan 

Logan on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Although he told his fellow competitors that his celebrity family member is his grandfather, in truth, it’s his cousin. Additionally, his cousin is a musician with an Academy of Country Music award (ACM). 

Fan theories: Despite many fans claiming that Logan is related to Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, one super sleuth believes they found proof that Logan is actually the cousin of country music star Jason Aldean.  

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: Logan Crosby is actually the cousin of country music sensation Jason Aldean. 

Maxwell

Claim to Fame season 1

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: On the show, Maxwell shared that his famous relative is his grandfather. However, he told a lie when he said his grandfather was a singer. 

Fan theories: Although his appearance in the series was brief, fans were certain that Maxwell looked like legendary West Side Story director Steven Spielberg.  

Status in competition: Eliminated (If you haven’t heard, Maxwell was actually disqualified for having a phone.)

Celebrity relative: While fans may have been disappointed that they were wrong, it turns out that Maxwell is related to famous American action star Chuck Norris. Norris is perhaps best known for his role in Walker, Texas Ranger.  

Michael 

Michael on Claim to Fame

Michael on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Michael revealed on Claim to Fame that his famous relative has an Emmy and is an actor, singer and dancer. Perhaps to confuse his fellow contestants, he recently insinuated that he had a crush on actress Zendaya (which is not true). 

Fan theories: Well, it appears fans were quick to assert that Michael is actually actress Zendaya’s cousin. They even found a social media post of the two together.  

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: It was revealed at the time of his elimination that he is indeed related to Zendaya, as the two are cousins. Zendaya is an Emmy-winner and is known for her roles in Euphoria, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dune. We should point out again, that he doesn’t have a crush on his cousin.  

X

X on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Despite lying about this real name, X has come to be honest about the fact that his famous family member is his twin and his twin has an Emmy. 

Fan theories: Fans are clearly right about the identity of X’s twin. The famous twin in question is Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox. While this hasn’t been confirmed yet on the show, Twitter users were quick to remind people that X even appeared in the Netflix hit series.  

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: Fans happened to be right. X, or M. Lamar, is the twin of Inventing Anna actress Laverne Cox. 

Brittany 

Brittany on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: In the series so far, Brittany has revealed to her fellow competitors that her father is a Super Bowl champion and a Hall of Famer. 

Fan theories: There seems to be a consensus among fans about two things when it comes to Brittany. First, she is the daughter of former football player Brett Favre. Second, she looks like The Hills star Lauren Conrad.  

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: It looks like fans correctly guessed that Brittany is the daughter of the famous Green Bay Packers quarterback, Brett Favre. A few contestants on the show have also surmised that the NFL great is her dad. 

Dominique

Dominique on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Dominique hasn’t been truthful about her famous connection, stating that her relative is an actress. Unfortunately, she hasn’t shared much more with her competitors or viewers. 

Fan theories: While Dominique hasn’t revealed a ton about her famous loved one, fans are convinced she’s related to The Real host and Gordita Chronicles actress, Loni Love. 

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: It seems fans were a bit off with their theory here. It turns out that Dominique's famous relative is her father Reverend Al Sharpton, the longtime civil rights activist. 

Kai

Kai on Claim to Fame

Kai on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Kai hasn’t shared much, but she was truthful in sharing that her relative has a Grammy award. 

Fan theories: Kai has managed to play the competition pretty wisely and has her fellow cast and Claim to Fame viewers confused as to who she might be related to. As of now, two theories are that she’s either related to a member of the mega group TLC or Tuca & Bertie star Tiffany Haddish. 

Status in competition: Eliminated 

Celebrity relative: It turns out that Kai is the sister of funny woman Tiffany Haddish. Furthermore, her name isn't Kai at all, but it's Jasmine English. 

Amara

Amara, Claim to Fame season 1

Amara, Claim to Fame season 1 (Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Amara is one of those contestants in the series who clearly favors her famous family member. Perhaps that’s why she revealed to viewers who her grandmother is in episode 1. However, to her castmates, she shared that her grandmother was a well-known actress whose biggest accomplishment in the industry was receiving an AVN, an award for Adult Video News. 

Fan theories: Since she revealed her family tie early on, it seems Twitter users were more concerned by the lie that Amara told about her grandmother.  

Status in competition: Eliminated 

Celebrity relative: Amara is related to EGOT-winning Whoopi Goldberg. Goldberg is a legendary actress, comedian and producer and has been in projects like Ghost, Sister Act and The Color Purple. We wonder how The View host feels about her granddaughter claiming she has an AVN.  

Louise

Claim to Fame season 1

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Louise shared with the cast that her celebrity relative is her sister, who is famous for being an athlete. However, she stated that her sister’s most notorious athletic award is one she received as a college athlete. The last statement is clearly a lie as Louise herself admitted that her sister is Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. 

Fan theories: No theories here, but make note that Louise is instantly recognizable to fans as Simone Biles' sister. 

 

Status in competition: Eliminated

Celebrity relative: She herself revealed that she's the sister of Olympic-gold-medalist Simone Biles. The only surprise is that her real name is Adria.

Lark

Lark on Claim to Fame

(Image credit: ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Show clues: Lark hasn’t shared much other than her famous loved one is her aunt. 

Fan theories: Thanks to the efforts of social media snoopers, many fans now believe Lark to be the niece of supermodel Cindy Crawford. Based on the social media posts, we’d venture to say this is an accurate guess.  

Status in competition: Eliminated 

Celebrity relative: With her elimination, it was finally revealed that Lark is indeed the niece of legendary supermodel Cindy Crawford. 

Be sure to keep watching Claim to Fame airing on Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.  

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Terrell Smith
Terrell Smith

Terrell Smith has a diverse writing background having penned material for a wide array of clients including the federal government and Bravo television personalities.  When he’s not writing as Terrell, he’s writing under his pseudonym Tavion Scott, creating scripts for his audio drama podcasts. Terrell is a huge fan of great storytelling when it comes to television and film. Some of his favorite shows include The Crown, WandaVision, Abbot Elementary and Godfather of Harlem. And a fun fact is he's completely dialed into the TLC 90 Day Fiancé universe.