Origin star Niecy Nash highlighted an incredible family connection with two of this year's Oscar nominees who happened to be her cousins.
Taking to Instagram, the actress and comedian highlighted that clearly talent runs in the family for these three actors, who have been stalwarts throughout award season.
© @niecynash1 InstagramIt turns out that Niecy can count both Sterling K. Brown and Danielle Brooks as cousins - and she was more than proud of the family connection as the two were nominated respectively for Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role in American Fiction and The Color Purple.
She extended her congratulations to the cousins on Instagram: "Both of my COUSINS are OSCAR NOMINATED ‼️‼️ Yes! We are blood related! REAL cousins! I’m so proud of my fam! @thedaniellebrooks @sterlingkbrown I’m rooting for you! #KinFolk".
© Charley GallayThe photo saw the three of them looking glam in black dresses and black tie with massive beaming smiles on their faces.
Needless to say, fans went wild at the unusual family connection - especially as it's incredibly rare to have one family member nominated for such a prestigious award, let alone two.
Kerry Washington commented below: "So the talent runs in the family, got it" with a number of clapping emojis.
"This is a FLEX!!!! Beautiful!!!!!", one fan commented, "congratulations because THEY deserve!!!!!" Another added: "A dynasty of talent. We love to see it".
A third fan commented: "Danielle Brooks was so amazing in her role. I’ve loved her work ever since I first saw her. Wow."
© Jeff KravitzMinutes after Danielle found out about her incredible nomination, she was on the phone with the New York Times. She said: "I'm alive and I am an Oscar nominee today", adding, "I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep."
Having first broke out in Orange Is The New Black, Danielle is previously an Emmy and Tony nominee, as well as a Grammy Winner. She said of her nomination:
"It's like getting the M.V.P. at the Super Bowl. Crazy. It's what I always just hoped and dreamed would happen, but for it to actually happen, I'm in shock! It's like what it says in The Color Purple: 'Look what God has done."
Meanwhile Sterling K. Brown took to Instagram and shared a video of his response to the nomination.
"I just have to tell you guys how your boy woke up this morning", he started. "So I fell asleep on my kids' floor, and my phone was close to dead so I got up off the kids' floor and I go to sleep in my bedroom and my phone had died."
After charging his phone, sleeping and getting his kids' breakfast the next morning, he checked his phone to find "126 messages".
The This is Us star joked that previously that his son was unimpressed at the news of his recent SAG award nomination, asking him to come back when it was an Oscar. But as he showed the 12-year-old his Academy Award nomination, Sterling revealed "you could see his 12 year old mind trying to find a way to bring your boy down, but all he said was congratulations."
