Younger Siblings Of Famous People Who Became Even More Famous

Eric Roberts is more than 11 years older than his sister, Julia. So, it's unsurprising that he has had the much longer career as an actor. His career got off to a bang; he made his film debut in King of the Gypsies in 1978 and immediately earned a Golden Globe nomination for the Best Motion Picture Acting Debut - Male. He received another Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, for Star 80, which was just his third feature film. In 1985 he received Golden Globe and Academy Award Best Supporting Actor nominations for his performance as Buck McGeehy in Runaway Train.

But Eric had a heavy drug habit for years. That's one reason why, although he has worked steadily, appearing in more than 700 films and television shows, he was unable to maintain the momentum he had in the first years of his career. Meanwhile, Julia, who made her feature film debut in 1988, quickly surpassed her brother's fame after earning Academy Award nominations in back-to-back years for her work in Steel Magnolias (Best Supporting Actress) and Pretty Woman (Best Actress). Julia appeared in a number of blockbuster films throughout the 1990s, and in 2000 became the first female actor to ever get paid $20 million for a film. Her performance in that film, Erin Brockovich, earned Julia her first Oscar.

Eric has struggled with his younger sister's fame. In a 2018 Vanity Fair interview, he claimed:

If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no [his actor daughter] Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that. When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, ‘Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?’ And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I’m proud of that.

In his 2024 memoir, Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far, he backtracked on this claim, writing:

That's not only unfortunate, but it’s also untrue. And I hope Julie will accept this more public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said. I was proud of her, but it was pride turned on its head, to my own advantage.

Randy Quaid has appeared in more than 90 films since making his debut in The Last Picture Show in 1971. Despite receiving BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Last Detail and winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in the television movie LBJ: The Early Years, he may be best known for his appearances in several of the National Lampoon Vacation movies. His career was derailed by legal troubles in the 2000s.

While Randy is known primarily for being a supporting actor, his younger brother Dennis has been taking on mainly lead roles since the mid-1980s. He first began getting noticed for supporting roles in films like Breaking Away and The Right Stuff, and by the end of the decade had surpassed his brother's fame, starring in films like The Big Easy and Great Balls of Fire, winning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for the former. He won a second Independent Spirit Award, and earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal as a closeted husband in Far From Heaven. And his career is still going strong two decades later; in 2024 he portrayed the title role in the biopic Reagan, while also taking on a supporting role in the body horror film The Substance, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Venus and Serena Williams first started playing tennis in Compton, CA, coached primarily by their parents. Both were just 14 when they turned professional, Venus in 1994 and Serena the following year. In September 1999, Serena became the second Black woman in history to win a Grand Slam title (after Althea Gibson) when she defeated Martina Hingis at the US Open. She wouldn't win another Grand Slam singles title for the next three years, while her older sister won Wimbledon and the US Open in back-to-back years (2000 and 2001). 

Venus was the first of the sisters to reach the world No. 1 ranking in women's singles; she did so on February 25, 2002, making her just the second African American woman (again, after Althea Gibson) to accomplish this feat. But later that year, the advantage started to swing to Serena; beginning with the 2002 French Open, the sisters faced off in four straight Grand Slam singles finals, with Serena winning all four times. The last of these titles gave Serena a career Grand Slam (winning all four majors). Both sisters struggled periodically with injuries in the following years, but it was Serena who was better able to maintain her reign at the top of the tennis world. When she retired she had 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the second most by any woman (Margaret Court had 24). Venus, meanwhile, finished with seven Grand Slam singles titles; the sisters also teamed up to win 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.

Beau and Jeff Bridges are the sons of actor Lloyd Bridges, who may be best remembered for the television series Sea Hunt. The brothers both began their careers as child actors, occasionally working alongside their father. As adults, they co-starred in the feature film The Fabulous Baker Boys, portraying sometimes combative brothers who work as a piano lounge act; Beau won the National Society of Film Critics' Best Supporting Actor Award for his role.

Both brothers have earned multiple accolades in his career; Beau, who is the older brother by eight years, has won three Primetime Emmy Awards (out of 16 nominations) and two Golden Globe Awards, while Jeff has received seven Academy Award nominations - winning the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal as an alcoholic singer in 2009's Crazy Heart - and two Golden Globes. But Jeff, who had established himself as a leading man by the early 1980s, is considered a movie star, while Beau has gotten more recognition for his work in supporting roles than he has as a lead actor.

Beau told CNN's Chris Wallace that, because of the age gap, there's never been much of a rivalry between the brothers:

I'm eight years older than Jeff. And my dad was traveling a lot…when he was away, I was teaching Jeff how to throw a ball, do all that stuff. So, I've always enjoyed whatever successes he's had.

Jeff concurred, telling the audience at the event, “Beau and Jeff: A Tale of Two Bridges":

It’s [their work as actors] not a competition. It’s like we’re on the same team.

Donnie Wahlberg shot to fame in the 1980s as a member of the hugely successful boys' band New Kids on the Block. The group broke up in 1994 (re-forming in 2008) and Donnie pivoted to acting, making his debut in the 1996 film Bullet. His breakthrough role came when he was cast in the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers. But he might be best known for his role of detective Danny Reagan in the TV series Blue Bloods; Donnie played the role for the series' entire 14-year run. In February 2025 it was announced that a spinoff of this series, tentatively titled Boston Blue, had been scheduled to premiere in the 2025-26 season and would focus on Donnie's character.

Like his older brother, Mark Wahlberg began his career as a musician. After being in NKOTB for a hot second, he became a teen idol under the name of Marky Mark as part of the 1990s hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch; “Good Vibrations,” the lead single of their debut album, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wahlberg made his acting debut in 1993; four years later he had his breakout role when he portrayed adult film star Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights. He spent much of the 2000s starring in big-budget action films and gritty dramas, earning an Oscar nomination for the crime drama The Departed and a Golden Globe nomination for the sports biopic The Fighter. In 2017, he became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, even as he added executive producing duties to his resume on TV series such as Entourage, Boardwalk Empire, and Ballers.

In a 2010 interview, Donnie said the brothers had never really competed for acting roles:

He’s a movie star. He’s a leading man and I’ve always thought of myself as a character and I take great pride in that. It’s really all I could ever hope for is to be having a good reputation as a really solid character actor. That’s really a great place for me to be in my opinion.

On February 12, 2023, Jason Kelce, the Philadelphia Eagles' All-Pro center, and Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs' All-Pro tight end, became the first set of brothers to ever face each other in the Super Bowl (the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII, 38-35). Although they played for different teams, the brothers' careers had been tied together in a lot of ways; they had played together at the University of Cincinnati, and when the Chiefs were considering drafting Travis, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid called Jason (whom he had coached with the Eagles) to allay his concerns about the younger Kelce, who had been suspended from his college team for pot use. The brothers also started New Heights, which has quickly become one of the more popular podcasts in the country.

Both Kelces have received many accolades and are considered probable future Hall of Famers. But tight end is a far more glamorous position than center, and Travis is considered one of the greatest tight ends in history. He has more Super Bowl rings (3) than his older brother (1) and in Super Bowl LIX surpassed Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most receptions in postseason history. So, Travis has probably been more famous than his older brother since at least the 2019 season, when the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl since 1970. That's not to mention the heavy attention he's received since he started dating music superstar Taylor Swift in 2023 and for his forays into acting. As Jason explained during a June 2024 appearance on the Whiskey Ginger podcast:

Travis and Taylor have taken it to another level and that's a whole other side of it. [His wife] Kylie and I think we have it bad, and then we go hang out with one of them for a second. I don't even know how to, like, you can't be a normal person at that point.