Dr Oz, Meryl Streep related through Ottoman harem

ISTANBUL

Dr Oz (L) and Meryl Streep share a common lineage. REUTERS, AP photos

Famed Turkish-American doctor Mehmet Oz has said he is related to Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep through a common ancestor who was a concubine in the Ottoman harem. 
 
Oz told Türkan Yılmazer of daily Akşam that he learned about the fact after Streep walked up to him during an event and said "What's up cousin?"
 
"My mother is Circassian, her great grandmother was brought from the Caucasus to Istanbul as a concubine in Sultan Mahmud II's harem," Oz said. "The concubines were removed from the Ottoman court after Mahmud II's death in 1839 and she was married to the imam of a local mosque." 
 
Oz said Streep told him that she was a descendant of the relatives of that concubine. He said a DNA test confirmed that two shared a common lineage.