California: Stars Shooting Out of Silence

Have you ever hesitated before sending in a DNA test because you weren't sure you wanted to know the answer? What if that one decision could connect you not just to a father you never knew, but to a Hollywood legacy that seems too extraordinary to be real?

That's the choice Candace Dixon-Horne faced in 2018 when her husband bought AncestryDNA kits on a whim. Raised by a single mom in Arkansas, Candace spent her entire life with only one blood relative she knew - her mother. Her adopted grandmother was passionate about genealogy, constantly apologizing because "to you, this is just paper." Candace always wished she had roots of her own to discover.

When her DNA results came back showing a "close family" match, she did what any of us would do:  she Googled his user name. What she found seemed impossible. A man in Greenwich, Connecticut with an IMDB page. His mother had acting credits. And his mother's parents? Silent film stars with their own stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"I closed Google and my inner voice was like, Candace, that's not your story. You don't go 46 years of not having relatives to get that. Like, who gets that as their history?"

But it was her story. And within days, that “close family” match, who turned out to be her uncle would confirm that his brother, John had briefly visited Arkansas in the 1970s.

From Arkansas to Greenwich

That first phone call changed everything. Her uncle and his wife told her about her father, John, describing him as "a little hermit" who had cared for their mother in her final years. Even if he didn't want to meet, Candace thought, at least she knew she came from kindness.

But John did want to meet. And so did everyone else.

That Easter in Greenwich, Connecticut, Candace walked into a room with 17 relatives she'd never known existed and found herself surrounded by cousins, uncles, aunts, and her father. Her husband hadn't warned her about the crowd because he knew she already felt like she'd be a spectacle. But this wasn't a spectacle. It was a homecoming.

"I would move or do something, and they would catch eyes and look at each other. 'Your mannerisms are like our mom.' It definitely answered that question of, yeah, you are from your people. Like, whether you ever encountered them or not, they are definitely in you."

And then there was John. In one of the most genuine moments Candace has ever experienced, her father looked at her across the dinner table and said simply: "You know, if I'd known you were there, we would have tried to find you."

She'd always known that. Her mother had been honest. John didn't know she existed. There was no rejection, no abandonment. Just a profound absence that DNA would finally fill.

The California Connection

As Candace began learning about her father's family, she discovered a connection to California that spanned generations. It was the legacy tied to Hollywood's golden age that she'd stumbled upon in that first Google search but couldn't quite believe was hers.

Her grandmother had written a book about her own father, spending eight years researching and traveling to document his life. Before Candace flew to meet her biological father for the first time, her new family sent her a copy. Reading it, she found a passage that stopped her cold. In it her grandmother describes her own nervousness about meeting her father, holding up her long white dress to climb the steps to his home at Christmas.

"Just sitting there reading a book written by my grandmother about this anticipation of meeting her father while I'm reading it about to meet my father, that's her son, was kind of this connection as though she was walking me through a welcoming into the family that I had missed."

The Whole Story

Want to hear about the Hollywood stars with their names on the Walk of Fame, the godmothers who were silver screen legends, and how one DNA test revealed a California legacy that transformed everything Candace thought she knew about family?

Prefer audio only? Click here to listen on your favorite podcast app.

🎙️ What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• The Google search that seemed too incredible to be true
• How Candace met her biological father and 17 other relatives for the first time
• The remarkable California legacy hiding in her DNA results
• Her great-grandparents' connection to Hollywood's golden age
• Why her grandmother's book felt like a personal message across time
• How discovering her roots transformed not just her story, but her entire family's

The Power of One Story

Candace's story reminds us that family history isn't just about filling in boxes on a family tree. It's about understanding where we come from, recognizing ourselves in the faces and voices of those who came before us, and finding our place in a larger story that spans generations.

She went from believing genealogy was "just paper" because she had no blood relatives to trace, to uncovering roots that run deeper than she ever imagined - through California's entertainment history and back to 1568 in New York City.

But perhaps the most beautiful part of her story isn't the famous ancestors. It's the father who said he would have looked for her if he'd known. It's the family who welcomed her with open arms. It's the younger cousin who finally read their grandmother's book because Candace's enthusiasm reminded her why family stories matter.

"I always wanted roots, and now I have these roots that just go so deep, just in American culture and history, that I'm more connected than I could have ever dreamt possible."

Your Story

You don't need Hollywood stars or famous ancestors to have a story worth discovering. Every family has connections waiting to be found, mannerisms passed down through DNA, and relationships that transcend time and distance. The question is: are you ready to discover yours?

Story Seeds 🌱

Plant these conversation starters and watch your family stories grow.

1. For Your Parents: What dreams did you have as a young person that you let fade? What would it have meant to have someone encourage you to pursue them?
2. For Older Relatives: Were there any family members whose stories seemed to disappear from family knowledge? What do you remember hearing about them, and what always made you curious?
3. For Your Siblings or Cousins: What family heirlooms, photos, or documents have we inherited but never really explored? What questions do they raise about our family's past?
4. For Anyone Who Knew Your Grandparents: What did my grandparents hope for their children and grandchildren? What legacy did they hope to leave beyond just material things?

Story Sparks 🔑

Unlock your family's hidden stories with these research techniques.

1. Don't dismiss extraordinary search results. When Candace Googled her DNA match and found Hollywood connections, her first instinct was to close the browser. It seemed too incredible to be true. But it was her story. If your research leads somewhere unexpected, investigate further before dismissing it.
2. Look beyond the obvious records for your female ancestors. Leatrice Joy went from New Orleans to New York to California chasing her dreams and then she ended up in Connecticut. Women's stories often involve more movement and more name changes than we expect. Check city directories, employment records, and regional newspapers in multiple locations.
3. Mine obituaries for unexpected clues. The mention that led Candace to research came from someone else's obituary. When reading death notices for your ancestors, pay close attention to every name mentioned—siblings, in-laws, friends—and investigate any unfamiliar ones. They might open entirely new branches of your family story.

Candace's journey proves that it's never too late to find family, and DNA can reveal not just relatives, but entire worlds of heritage and belonging. Her father had been waiting his whole life to know about her. Her family's stories had been waiting for someone with fresh eyes to bring them back to life.

Ready to discover what stories are waiting in your DNA? Subscribe to Stories That Live In Us wherever you get your podcasts, and if this episode moved you, please leave us a rating and review—it helps other family story seekers find their way home.

© 2025 Crista Cowan. All rights reserved.