THE PARENT TRAP Co-Stars Discover Surprising Ancestry Connection

THE PARENT TRAP Co-Stars Discover Surprising Ancestry Connection

By Movieguide® Contributor 

THE PARENT TRAP co-stars Lisa Ann Walter and Elaine Hendrix discovered a surprising connection on a recent episode of Ancestry’s UNFAMILIAR YouTube series. 

Today reported, “According to marriage records from the New York City Municipal Archives, Walter’s maternal great-grandfather, Francesco Mansueto, lived at 250 Elizabeth Street after he immigrated from Italy to the U.S., while Hendrix’s great-grandfather, Dominick DePersio, resided at 190 Elizabeth Street.”

Walter was shocked when she found out. The two stars always knew their friendship was meant to be. 

“Shut up!” Walter expressed. “It’s almost not a surprise.”

“Mansueto’s marriage certificate also states that his wife, Clotilda Vinetti, who is Walter’s maternal great-grandmother, lived at 261 Elizabeth Street,” Today wrote. 

“Back then there were very specific neighborhoods that very specific groups of people lived in. And so two blocks was like nothing, that was basically next door to one another,” Hendrix told Entertainment Weekly. 

“I think given that time in history, people who emigrated stayed within their community when they got here and so this would have been a predominantly Italian area so they had to have known each other,” Hendrix told Today as Walter nodded in agreement.

“They would have gone to church together,” Walter revealed. “They must have been in the same parish if nowhere else.”

Walter and Hendrix’s friendship began on the set of THE PARENT TRAP, which was filmed in 1998. Although the two were enemies on screen, they were inseparable off-screen. 

“It’s like a soul connection. I wanted to take care of her. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. I don’t know. I just felt deeply connected to her,” Walter said.

Hendrix added, “Lisa’s so warm and inviting and we’re similar in a lot of ways and different in a lot of ways. So, we complement each other just in the places that we need to.”

“She’s my best friend,” Walter said of Hendrix. “So to see the Ancestry records showing our great-grandparents grew up on the same street just steps away from each other at the same time—it’s just unbelievable.”

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