A woman has gone viral on TikTok – and started a whole new trend – after sharing her uncanny resemblance to a portrait of her great-great-grandmother.
Ellery Broga, from Fairfax, Virginia, couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the photo while visiting her grandmother and immediately noticed how much she looked like her ancestor.
The 24-year-old shared a video of herself and the portrait of her grandmother’s grandmother, Jessie, on the video-sharing platform, where it quickly racked up eight million views – and followers said the resemblance gave them ‘chills’.
The viral clip even started a new trend, as people shared their own strange coincidences against a backdrop of Laurie Anderson’s O Superman – with the lyrics: ‘Well you don’t know me, but I know you.’
Ellery Broga, from Fairfax, Virginia, couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the photo while visiting her grandmother and immediately noticed how much she looked like her ancestor.
Ellery first saw the portrait hanging above the guest bed at her grandmother’s home during a recent visit.
‘The first night I was there, I spent a lot of time staring at the portrait with great curiosity.
“I think I felt a strong connection with it, but I had no idea who she was.
‘The next morning I asked Grandma who the portrait was.
“She loved telling me all about my great-great-grandmother, Jessie.
“That evening, after hearing her story, I sat down and thought about the portrait some more.
‘I stared at it and thought of Laurie Anderson’s O Superman – the line she sings: ‘You don’t know me, but I know you.’
“I guess I just felt bad because I didn’t know her until that day. I wanted others to get to know her too. I created the TikTok as a way to express a connection that transcends time.”
The 24-year-old shared a video of herself and the portrait of her grandmother’s grandmother, Jessie, on the video-sharing platform, where it quickly racked up eight million views – and followers said the resemblance gave them ‘chills’.
Ellery first saw the portrait hanging above the guest bed at her grandmother’s home during a recent visit
Ellery asked her grandmother about Jessie Challis and she told her she was born in 1887 in Holland, Erie County, New York.
According to her grandmother, Jessie married in 1909 and had three daughters, including Ellery’s grandmother’s mother.
Sadly, Jessie died in childbirth in 1923.
The post received more than 850,000 likes and thousands of comments. One person said: ‘It’s incredible how you can see the resemblance!’
‘Holy shit, the chills this gave me are inexplicable. It’s like watching yourself bro,” said another viewer.
“This moved me,” another user commented.
“Omgggg twins,” someone else said.
One person commented: ‘You look so much like her!’
Ellery asked her grandmother about Jessie Challis and she told her she was born in 1887 in Holland, Erie County, New York
The post received more than 850,000 likes and thousands of comments. One person said: ‘It’s incredible how you can see the resemblance!’
“Your eyes look so similar,” another viewer agreed.
Someone else added: ‘I think our ancestors are just a reincarnation of ourselves.’
“There’s a line of mothers that goes back to the beginning of life and I think that’s incredible,” another viewer added.
One person commented, “I’m amazed that in a hundred years my great-grandchildren might see my photos and feel so connected to me.”
“Omg, you look so much like her!!!” said someone else.