The Short Answer: Yes, but Only Distantly
Yes, Tom Hanks is related to Abraham Lincoln. But this is a distant cousin link, not close family.
Hanks is not Lincoln’s grandson, great-grandson, or direct descendant. Lincoln has no direct living descendants — the last direct descendant died in 1985.
The reported link is that Hanks is Lincoln’s third cousin, four times removed. That means they share a distant ancestor many generations back, not a parent, grandparent, or recent family home.
How the Family Link Works
The connection runs through Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks.
Abraham Lincoln was the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. The Hanks name in Tom Hanks’s family tree is the same wider family line.
Genealogy reporting, including Ancestry.com’s genealogists as reported by Mental Floss, traces both men back to a common ancestor, John Hanks.
In that account, John Hanks was Lincoln’s great-great-grandfather and Tom Hanks’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. That gap in generations is why the relationship is described as “four times removed.”
A shared last name alone would not prove this. Surnames can match by chance. Here, the claim rests on traced genealogy, not on the name Hanks by itself.
Who the Two Men Are
Tom Hanks was born Thomas Jeffrey Hanks on 9 July 1956 in Concord, California. He is one of the most recognisable American film actors of his generation.
Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 in Kentucky. He served as the 16th President of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.
They lived more than a century apart. Their link is historical and genealogical, not personal. They never met, and Hanks did not grow up in Lincoln’s family.
Did Tom Hanks Play Abraham Lincoln?
No, not in the production most people mean.
Hanks hosted and narrated National Geographic’s Killing Lincoln (2013). In that docudrama, Billy Campbell played Abraham Lincoln. Hanks was the on-camera host, narrator, and historical commentator.
The old article’s claim that Hanks played Lincoln in multiple movies is wrong. Daniel Day-Lewis, not Hanks, played Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln (2012).
Hanks’s interest in the subject makes sense given the family link. But narrating a story about Lincoln is not the same as playing him.
Tom Hanks’s Marriages and Children, Corrected
The old article also got Hanks’s personal life badly wrong. He has not married four times. He has not been married to two women at once.
He has married twice:
- Samantha Lewes (also known as Susan Dillingham), from 1978 to 1987
- Rita Wilson, since 1988
He has four children, not two:
| Child | Mother | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Colin Hanks | Samantha Lewes | Actor, born 1977 |
| Elizabeth Hanks | Samantha Lewes | Writer, born 1982 |
| Chester “Chet” Hanks | Rita Wilson | Actor and musician, born 1990 |
| Truman Hanks | Rita Wilson | Born 1995 |
Any list that names only Chester and Truman leaves out Colin and Elizabeth, Hanks’s two older children from his first marriage.
What Does “Third Cousin, Four Times Removed” Mean?
Cousin terms describe how far back the shared ancestor sits.
“Third cousin” means the shared ancestor is a great-great-grandparent on both sides, before adjusting for generation gaps.
“Four times removed” means the two people sit four generations apart from each other in that line. One branch is much closer in time to the common ancestor than the other.
In plain terms: distant cousins, from the same broad family tree, separated by many generations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tom Hanks related to Abraham Lincoln?
Yes, distantly. He is reported as Lincoln’s third cousin, four times removed, through the Hanks family line.
Is Tom Hanks a direct descendant of Lincoln?
No. Lincoln has no direct living descendants. Hanks is a distant cousin, not a descendant.
Did Tom Hanks play Lincoln in a movie?
No. In Killing Lincoln (2013), Hanks narrated and hosted, while Billy Campbell played Lincoln.
Are Tom Hanks and Lincoln related through Nancy Hanks?
Yes, in the reported genealogy. Nancy Hanks was Lincoln’s mother, and the wider Hanks family line is the link to Tom Hanks.
Did Tom Hanks marry four times?
No. He has married twice: Samantha Lewes from 1978 to 1987, and Rita Wilson since 1988.
