Random Celebrities Whose Ancestors Made History (13 items)

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  (#1) Helena Bonham Carter

  • 57

  Helena Bonham Carter can boast that her family tree includes a British prime minister: Her great-grandfather was Herbert Henry Asquith, who headed Parliament from 1908 to 1916.

  Asquith's daughter - and Bonham Carter's paternal grandmother - Violet Bonham Carter led an equally compelling life. Politically engaged and close friends with Winston Churchill, Violet opposed the rise of fascism in the 1930s so fiercely that she ended up in Hitler's so-called "black book" of anti-fascist Britons whom he wanted to arrest.

  When Helena Bonham Carter participated in a British genealogy series to find out more about Violet Bonham Carter and her other grandparents, she urged, "I feel every young person should go and interview their grandparents."
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  (#2) Tilda Swinton

  • 62

  Tilda Swinton's family tree stretches back over a millennium in England and Scotland - her noble family roots are anchored in the 800s. As she explained in an interview with The Guardian in 2003, "All families are old. It's just that mine have lived in the same place a long time and happened to write things down."

  Among Swinton's distinguished ancestors is Robert the Bruce, a medieval monarch. He championed Scottish independence from English encroachment and became king of Scotland in 1306. 

  Though several films - like Outlaw King and Braveheart - have featured her ancestor, Swinton hasn't appeared in any of them.
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  (#3) Rashida Jones

  • 47

  Actor Rashida Jones claims descent from 20th-century immigrants on her mother Peggy Lipton's side and a line of American and European royalty through her father Quincy Jones. Quincy Jones participated in PBS's African American Lives to learn more about his heritage. He discovered that the majority of his ancestry can be traced to Africa, but some 34% of his DNA comes from Europe.

  Among Rashida Jones's ancestors through her father are Edward I and Betty Washington Lewis. Edward I of England - nicknamed "Hammer of the Scots" for his attempts to take over Scotland - is credited with regularizing the English Parliament. Betty Washington Lewis was George Washington's sister and an advocate for American independence.
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  (#4) Edward Norton

  • 54

  Actor Edward Norton is known for his award-winning roles in films including Primal Fear, The Incredible Hulk, American History X, Fight Club, Birdman, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Norton, who has received three Oscar nominations, grew up with a family rumor that he was related to Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, a Native American chief who ruled in the 17th century in the area claimed by colonists near Jamestown, VA. She was captured as a teenager by English settlers, then married farmer John Rolfe, who took her to England. Pocahontas perished in 1617. Many legends have surrounded her role in American history.

  In an episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS that aired in January 2023 (the show explores celebrities' ancestors), Norton learned that Pocahontas and Rolfe were indeed his 12th great-grandmother and great-grandfather. Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. told Norton he traced the ancestry via the couple's 1614 marriage certificate. "You have a direct paper trail," Gates said.

  “It just makes you realize what a small… piece of the whole human story you are,” Norton said.
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  (#5) Rose Leslie

  • 36

  Many children dream of living in a castle - but actor Rose Leslie actually got to do it. The Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones star grew up at Lickleyhead Castle, her family's 16th-century Scottish home. 

  Through both her father - who is the head of Clan Leslie - and mother, Leslie claims significant historical figures as kin. Like her husband Kit Harington, Rose Leslie counts King Charles II as an ancestor.

  Charles, a lover of the theater, indirectly enabled Leslie's career: It was during Charles's reign beginning in the 1660s that it became legal for women to professionally act.
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  (#6) Harry Lloyd

  • 39

  Game of Thrones actor Harry Lloyd claims as an ancestor Charles Dickens. Lloyd's mother's surname was Dickens before marriage, and she claims descent from Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, Charles's son and a successful lawyer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  Charles Dickens is revered as one of the best-loved writers of all time. As a celebrity and bestselling author, Dickens used his novels to shed light on poverty and other social conditions in the 19th century.
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  (#7) Anderson Cooper

  • 56

  As the son of fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt, Anderson Cooper is part of one of America's most storied families: the Vanderbilts.

  Through his mother, Cooper is the great-great-great-grandson of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, the shipping magnate and railway tycoon. By the time Vanderbilt passed in 1877, he had built one of the largest - and most lucrative - shipping networks in the country and had accumulated around $100 million.

  Cornelius Vanderbilt's descendants squandered the family wealth through conspicuous spending, including the construction of architectural gems like The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.
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  (#8) King Princess

  Born Mikaela Straus, the performing artist King Princess has deep roots in her native New York City. In fact, she can claim as an ancestor the owner of one of the city's most recognizable stores: Isidor Straus, her great-great-grandfather, purchased Macy's in the late 1800s and also served as a New York representative in Congress.

  Isidor Straus isn't only remembered for his entrepreneurship or public service. He and his wife Ida were among the RMS Titanic's victims in 1912. When speaking of her great-great-grandparents' fate, Princess said, "Those fools died. It's so historic at this point, there's no trauma."
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  (#9) Kit Harington

  • 36

  Kit Harington played a character caught up in the web of politics on television - and his ancestors were as compelling as any Game of Thrones character.

  Harington's mother is a descendant of Robert Catesby, the mastermind behind the so-called Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Catesby, a Roman Catholic in aggressively Protestant England, schemed to blow up Parliament and replace the monarchy with a Catholic one.

  Harington actually played Robert Catesby in 2017's Gunpowder. He described his ancestor as "a deeply sad man" and claimed that he doesn't "have particularly fond feelings towards him."

  Harington's father is a baronet, through whom Kit is related to Sir John Harington, who is credited with creating the flush toilet.

  Despite his noble connections, Harington downplays his ancestry:

  I didn't go to Oxbridge, and yet every American interviewer I get says to me, "You're related to Charles II! Your grandfather's a baronet!" And it's infuriating, because that is part of my history, but you're trying to turn me into a posh boy and I'm not. I'm adamant that I'm not. My mum's always telling me, "Tell those journalists that you went to a state school."
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  (#10) Cary Elwes

  • 60

  One of British-born actor Cary Elwes's ancestors is John Elwes, who some claim was Charles Dickens's inspiration for the character Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

  Despite inheriting mountains of wealth and becoming a Member of Parliament, John Elwes didn't like spending money: He routinely wore through clothes and didn't want to pay the upkeep for his home. His frugality was so well known that contemporaries even called him "the celebrated miser." 

  Charles Dickens gave John Elwes a new name - he reportedly came up with the name "Ebenezer Scrooge" after stumbling across a headstone for "Ebenezer Scroggie" in Edinburgh - and one of the most well-known Christmastime characters was born.
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  (#11) Christopher Plummer

  • Dec. at 91 (1929-2021)

  Oscar-winning actor Christopher Plummer has a distinguished career on stage and screen, including The Sound of Music, Knives Out, and performances on Broadway, Canada's Stratford Festival, and the United Kingdom's National Theatre.

  Plummer's success isn't all that surprising, since he comes from a family of high achievers. His great-grandfather was Sir John Abbott. Abbott served as Prime Minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. Despite his career, Abbott once said, "I hate politics."
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  (#12) Riz Ahmed

  • 40

  London-born actor and rapper Riz Ahmed has deep roots in South Asia, since both his parents immigrated from Pakistan.

  Among Ahmed's ancestors is Sir Shah Muhammah Sulaiman. As Ahmed described him, Sulaiman was "the first Indian judge appointed by the British in Uttar Pradesh." In other words, Sulaiman was a trailblazer in colonial India.

  Like Ahmed, Sulaiman had multiple talents. In addition to his successful legal career, he was a mathematician and education advocate.
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  (#13) Christopher Lee

  • Dec. at 93 (1922-2015)

  While geneticist Adam Rutherford asserts “literally everyone” can trace their lineage to Charlemagne if they are of European ancestry, Christopher Lee is one of the notable individuals who made it known. 

  Lee was born in London in 1922 and received attention as an actor with his appearance in Horror of Dracula in 1958. As Count Dracula, Lee's elegance and charm set the foundation for future macabre and dark roles. During the 1970s, Lee branched out to more dramatic and comedic roles. His career continued for more than eight decades. Lee passed away in 2015.

  Lee's list of offerings to his fans went beyond the screen. In 2010, Lee released a symphonic metal concept album titled Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Stone.  He followed it up with 2013's Charlemagne: The Omens of Death. According to Lee, 

  I became rather fascinated by this because in terms of the history of music its fairly recent, and if it is properly done and you can understand the story and you can understand what the people are singing, and you can get the right bands and the right singers, I think it is rather exciting. I became rather fascinated by this because in terms of the history of music its fairly recent, and if it is properly done and you can understand the story and you can understand what the people are singing, and you can get the right bands and the right singers, I think it is rather exciting.

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