“Shrinking” star Christa Miller recalls learning her biological aunt is “Kate & Allie ”icon Susan Saint James

Wesley StenzelFri, June 19, 2026 at 8:37 PM UTC

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Christa Miller in Los Angeles on April 12; Susan Saint James in New York City last yearCredit: Savion Washington/Getty; Gregory Pace/ShutterstockKey points -

Christa Miller discovered she is the biological daughter of Susan Saint James' brother when she was 11 years old.

Miller was obsessed with her grandmother's issue of PEOPLE that featured her aunt on the cover: "Every time I would go visit her, I would take it out and look."

The actress reconnected with Saint James and the rest of her dad's family when she was 16: "It was seamless."

Christa Miller learned a major bombshell about her family when she was 11 years old.

The Shrinking actress' grandmother told the future actress that her biological father was not the man who had been raising her but, rather, Chuck Miller, the brother of actress Susan Saint James. Miller's grandmother delivered the news alongside a 1977 issue of PEOPLE that featured Saint James on the cover.

"My grandmother told me not to tell anyone, and I had to leave the PEOPLE magazine in my room, but every time I would go visit her, I would take it out and look," Miller told PEOPLE in a new joint interview alongside Saint James, noting that she obsessed over photos of Saint James' children — her cousins — that accompanied the 1977 article. "I would go, 'Sunshine and Harmony? There's nobody named Sunshine! And Harmony's the boy!' I memorized those pictures."

Miller in New York on May 1Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Miller's mother, model Bonnie Trompeter, was married to Chuck Miller until the future Drew Carey Show star was 2 years old. Saint James said that she was in contact with Christa and her mother until the divorce.

"I knew Christa when she was a little baby," Saint James told PEOPLE. "But then nobody was communicating because my dad had said, 'You better not,' and 'Give Christa a chance.' It was just so '60s."

Saint James said that the Miller family "were all so attached at first" before Christa's parents' split, adding, "[What happened] was just so wrong."

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When Christa began modeling as a child, Saint James followed her career closely. "If we went to my attic right now in Connecticut, there'd be some book with all the pictures," Saint James said. "It would have been a whole different world for my brother if he'd had Christa in his life then, even partially, because he would have had a connection with his true old self."

Jane Curtain and Saint James on 'Kate & Allie'Credit: CBS Photo Archive/Getty

Christa finally reconnected with her biological father and his family when she was 16. "It was seamless," she said of the family reunion. "I felt like, 'Oh, this is my family.' Susan instantly welcomed me and brought sunshine into my life."

"We got her back, and then we all followed along because now we had this relationship, we had this relative that was flying up the ladder, and just about that time I retired after Kate & Allie. And so then we rode Christa's career," Saint James recalled. "It was so much fun."

Saint James receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in 2008Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty

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Saint James remains a strong supporter of her niece. "I'm just so proud," she said. "I always could tell Christa would be an actress. Shrinking is, to me, one of a kind. I'm waiting for them to give you the Emmy. You've earned it, Christa."

"That means a lot coming from her. You're my biggest champion," Christa responded. "You are my people."

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