The Answer:

No, there are no direct descendants of William Shakespeare living today.

Shakespeare, and his wife Anne had three children: Susanna, who was born in 1583 and twins Judith and Hamnet, who were born in 1585. Hamnet, a boy, died in 1596 at 11 years of age.

Susanna married John Hall in 1607 and had one child, Elizabeth, in 1608. Although Elizabeth was married twice (in 1626 to Thomas Nash and in 1649 to John Bernard), she never had any children.

Judith married Thomas Quiney in 1616 and had three sons, one of whom died in infancy. The other two sons both died unmarried in 1639.

There are, however, numerous descendants of Shakespeare's sister, Joan Hart, who are alive today and can claim some relationship to the great bard.

This information was taken from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

—The Editors