Claim to Fame season 2 cast: show clues, theories on the identities of their celebrity relatives and status in the competition

Shayne, Jr. Monay, Jane, Hugo and Carly sitting down outside as members of the Claim to Fame season 2 cast
Claim to Fame season 2 cast (Image credit: ABC/John Fleenor)

Back in time for summer TV is Claim to Fame season 2. In the series' first run last year, fans eagerly flocked to the show to play detectives, doing their best to unmask the secret family connection each of the contestants had with a well-known celebrity. 

While some familial connections were easier to spot than others and social media experts were able to scroll through a few posts to find out who was who, the overall mystery surrounding the premise of the show hugely captivated viewers. 

Now in season 2, ABC has made the big guessing game even more difficult with a brand-new crop of contestants. We've done our best to list the major clues dropped as to the identity of each celebrity relative, and developed a few theories in the process. 

With that said, let’s take a look at the Claim to Fame season 2 cast.  

Carly

Carly in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Carly, Claim to Fame season 2 (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Uncle has been a big Hollywood star since the ‘80s and has an Oscar. 

Status in competition: eliminated week 1

Our guess: We’re going to venture to assume that Carly might be related to Bruce Springsteen, although not his niece. Springsteen in fact has received an Oscar. 

Celebrity relative: It looks like Carly’s uncle is two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks. He is perhaps one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors and he’s starred in Forrest Gump, Philadelphia and more recently in A Man Called Otto and Asteroid City.  

Chris

Chris in cast photo for Claim to Fame season 2

Chris on Claim to Fame  (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Uncle is a musician who Chris looks and sounds like. Plus, his uncle has a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.

Status in competition: still active 

Our guess: Based on looks, we think Chris is related to superstar John Mayer. On an interesting note, Mayer does have two older siblings.  

Olivia

Olivia in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Olivia on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Olivia stated that her famous relative is a TV personality and he is the recipient of a Razzie award. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess: We’re going to take a stab in the dark and say she’s related to host of The Bachelor, Jesse Palmer.  

JR

JR in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

JR on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: JR has a famous brother who is a musician. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess: We’re going to guess that JR is related to music hitmaker, Khalid, whose real name is Khalid Donnel Robinson. JR is no doubt a nickname of sorts, and if the “R” represents his surname, it could be Robinson.  

Shayne

Shayne in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Shayne on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Shayne shared that her celebrity family member is her father, he is a musician and he’s a Grammy winner. However, one of these details is a lie. Bonus clues shared about her relative are symbols for a coin, a crown, a deer with antlers, wheat, the US and traveling. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess: Shayne’s identity is harder to pinpoint. If we had to say, we’re going to guess she’s related to singer Rick James. While we don’t think he’s her father, we can see a family resemblance.  

Jane

Jane in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Jane on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Jane claimed her famous relative is her father, a musician and a Grammy winner. However, only two of these details are true. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess: We aren’t sure what to guess as it pertains to Jane, so we’ll throw out the name  Ozzy Osbourne. However, we think she could be the Grammy winner’s niece. 

Monay

Monay in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Monay on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Monay stated her dad is famous, he’s an athlete and he’s an Emmy winner. Again though, one of these details is not true. 

Status in the competition: still active

Our guess: We can’t shake the feeling that she’s somehow related to retired NBA legend Bruce Bowen. At first glance, the two look alike.  

Hugo 

Hugo in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Hugo on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Hugo shared that his grandfather was once "the most powerful man in the world" and is a Nobel Prize winner. 

Status in the competition: still active

Our guess: We’re going to lean into the Nobel Prize winner angle and put out the theory that Hugo is the grandchild of either Al Gore or Jimmy Carter, both of whom have received a Nobel Peace Prize.  

Karsyn

Karsyn in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Karsyn on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Karsyn stated that her famous relative is her uncle, who happens to be a musician and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. One of these details isn’t true. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess: We’re actually going to assume that Karsyn’s uncle is not a musician but rather an athlete in some type of sports-related hall of fame. She kind of reminds us of former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway.  

Gabriel

Gabriel in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Gabriel on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Gabriel claimed his brother is an NAACP Award winner. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess: We’re going to guess Gabriel is related to House of Payne and Our Kind of People star Lance Gross, who has won an NAACP Image Award.  

Cole 

Cole in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Cole on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Cole asserted that his father is the famous one in his family. Additionally, Cole said his dad is a singer and Grammy recipient. One of these details is a lie. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess/celebrity relative: Call us supersleuths, because we did a little digging and were able to determine that Cole is in fact the brother of Grammy-winning artist Alicia Keys.  

Travis

Travis in Claim to Fame season 2 cast photo

Travis on Claim to Fame (Image credit: ABC/Gizelle Hernandez)

Major clues: Travis said his father is his famous relation. Also, Travis asserted his dad is an actor and a Critics Choice Award winner. Travis worried that reciting the first 100 digits of pi would put him in a “nerd category,” which apparently could happen anyway based on who his father is. 

Status in competition: still active

Our guess/celebrity relative: Again putting our detective skills to the test, we were able to determine that Travis is the son of American astrophysicist, author, science communicator and actor, Neil deGrasse Tyson. 

Watch Claim to Fame season 2 on ABC every Tuesday, or stream it the next day on Hulu.

Terrell Smith

Terrell Smith has a diverse writing background having penned material for a wide array of clients including the federal government and Bravo television personalities.  When he’s not writing as Terrell, he’s writing under his pseudonym Tavion Scott, creating scripts for his audio drama podcasts. Terrell is a huge fan of great storytelling when it comes to television and film. Some of his favorite shows include The CrownWandaVision, Abbot Elementary and Godfather of HarlemAnd a fun fact is he's completely dialed into the TLC 90 Day Fiancé universe.