Who is Marlon Brando’s grandson, and was he really on ‘Claim to Fame?’

The article below contains spoilers for season 3 of Claim to Fame.

Claim to Fame’s third season was a gas, with bigger stars than ever – or at least, connections to those stars. Contestant Shane nearly got away with his secret, making it to the final four, before a wine bottle became his last-minute downfall. So who is Shane really related to, and was he telling the truth?

How many children did Marlon Brando have?

Marlon Brando is thought to have at least eleven children —this is the widely accepted number, although there have been numerous disputes regarding the late actor’s paternity.

The eleven children officially claimed as being Brando’s are, in order of birth (according to People):

• Christian (born 1958)
• Miko (born 1961)
• Teihotu (born 1963)
• Rebecca (born 1966)
• Terita Cheyenne (born 1970, died 1995)
• Petra (born 1972, adopted)
• Maimiti (born 1977, adopted)
• Raiatua (born 1982, adopted)
• Ninna Priscilla (born 1989)
• Myles Jonathan (born 1992)
• Timothy Gahan (born 1994)

Who is Shane Brando, and was his claim to fame legitimate?

While the chicken wing necklace he wore throughout the competition threw off his fellow competitors attempting to guess who his famous relative was, the unusual jewelry piece had no connection to Shane’s grandfather, Hollywood icon Marlon Brando.

While some contestants stated he had a resemblance to fellow actor Forest Whitaker, Shane managed to get away with hiding his identity —that is, until Mackenzie guessed from the wine room clue, “Hollywood icon with Italian kingpin role.”

Shane is the son of Miko Brando, Marlon’s second-oldest child, who was born during his marriage to Mexican-American actress Motiva Casteneda. Miko was Michael Jackson’s bodyguard and personal driver, with Jackson counting both the father and son as close personal friends. This gave Shane a connection to fellow contestant Dedrick — who later revealed that his real name is Siggy Jackson, and is the nephew of Michael Jackson, through the music icon’s brother Jackie.

When asked by Entertainment Weekly if his late grandfather would have enjoyed watching him on Claim to Fame, Shane responded “absolutely not,” seemingly implying he wasn’t a fan of reality TV, also revealing that Brando often watched the TV on mute to closely study the expressions of actors, much to his grandchildren’s annoyance. Shane also has a few TV and film credits to his name, having previously starred in the short film Fly Bird Fly (2015), as well as appearing in the 2007 documentary Brando.