FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 file photo, Helena Bonham Carter arrives on the red carpet for the World Premiere of "Les Miserables" at a central London cinema in Leicester Square. A report from Ancestry.com says Victor Hugo was a political colleague of a cousin of the 46-year-old actress. Carter stars as Madame Thenardier in the upcoming musical “Les Miserables.” (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
December 18, 2012 - 7:12 AM
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Helena Bonham Carter apparently shares more with Victor Hugo than just a role in the film based on his novel.
A study by genealogy website Ancestry.com reveals that Victor Hugo was a political colleague of a cousin of the 46-year-old actress. Carter stars as Madame Thenardier in the upcoming musical "Les Miserables." The film is an adaptation of the stage musical based on Hugo's 1862 book.
Ancestry.com says French financier and politician Achille Fould was Carter's first cousin five times removed. He served with Hugo in the post-revolutionary French government in the 1840s. Fould was minister of finance; Hugo was in the constitutional and legislative assembly.
Fould was a staunch supporter of Louis Napoleon III when he seized power in 1851, while Hugo declared him a traitor.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012