Top 10 Celeb Reactions to Who Do You Think You Are
#10: Bradley Whitford
Actor and activist Bradley Whitford traced his ancestry to German immigrants who made the journey from Prussia to America in 1846. He discovered that his great-great-grandfather Frederick Neu served under Ulysses S. Grant at 1863’s Siege of Vicksburg along with his two brothers. Thankfully, all three siblings survived. Frederich went on to have a significant legacy as an upstanding citizen, and reading his glowing obituary moved Whitford to tears. Given Whitford’s own political activism, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that he descends from courageous, hard-working immigrants who fought in the American Civil War.
#9: Jim Parsons
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Jim Parsons, known for his starring role as Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory,” decided to honor his late father by exploring his paternal family tree. In doing so, he discovered that descends from important figures in the arts and sciences. In Louisiana, he learns of his third-great-grandfather Dr. Jean Baptiste Hacker. The 55th graduate of the Medical College of Louisiana, he documented the yellow fever epidemic in the New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. Then, all the way over in France, Parsons researches his sixth great-grandfather Louis-François Trouard, a celebrated architect who worked for royalty. Parsons realizes Trouard had a similarly supportive father, making his accomplishments all the more impressive and meaningful.
#8: Sean Hayes
In an effort to find out more about his estranged father Ronald, Sean Hayes goes digging in Chicago and Ireland. But what he discovers is more than he anticipated. Ronald and his siblings were sent to an orphanage, and that their father William was someone who faced various hardships and ultimately died of illness. Going back further, we learn that the actor’s great-great-grandfather Patrick Hayes, Sr. had similarly difficult experiences and got into legal trouble. He even went to court against his sons. Hayes’ great-grandfather, Patrick Hayes Jr., also had a criminal record before moving to the United States. Despite unearthing his family’s less-than-savory past, Hayes was simply thrilled and amazed with the whole research process.
#7: Zooey Deschanel
Growing up, Zooey Deschanel knew that she descended from a line of remarkable women and activists. Following the lineage of her late paternal grandmother Ann Orr, who passed away not long before the episode, Deschanel traveled to Pennsylvania to delve into her Quaker origins. Her four-time great-grandmother Sarah Pownall, an abolitionist whose father enslaved someone, had a farm that aided in the Underground Railroad. It was also the site of the Christiana Resistance of 1851, a historical event that fueled the anger of John Wilkes Booth. While she knew about her courageous ancestors’ involvement in the anti-slavery movement, Deschanel did not expect them to be such an important part of history.
#6: Chritina Applegatse
For actress Christina Applegate, uncovering details from her genealogy was a way to provide some much-needed answers for her father Robert, who never really knew his mother. She found that her grandparents Lavina Shaw and Paul Applegate had a marriage that ended in divorce and led to a difficult custody battle. Applegate struggled to read the details of Paul’s alleged mistreatment of Lavina and was visibly saddened by a document saying her father was malnourished at one point. While the research didn’t produce the happiest of results, the experience at least provided some closure for the Applegates.
#5: J. K. Rowling
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Controversial author of the “Harry Potter” series, J.K. Rowling knows about epic stories and extensive family trees. So it’s no surprise that she has an interesting French genealogy. One ancestor she heard a lot about was her great-grandfather, Louis Volant, a recipient of the Legion of Honour in the First World War. Decades later, Rowling was honored with the same award for literature. However, the story she heard about her relative isn’t true. However, Volant was still very much a hero and was bestowed the Croix de Guerre medal for bravery. Rowling makes another illuminating discovery that she comes from generations of single moms, echoing her own motherhood experience. These include her great-grandmother, Lizzie Smith, twice-great-grandmother Salomé Schuch, and three-times-great-grandmother Christine.
#4: Regina King
Regina King set out to find more information about her maternal genealogy and came across her great-great-grandfather Moses Crosby, aka Moses Hughes. After uncovering many hardships and injustices he faced, it doesn’t take long for the actress to become emotional. King is shocked to see that Crosby had a prison record, but learning the whole story is heartbreaking. After getting out, Crosby became a pastor and co-founded Morning Star Association, an organization instrumental in paving the way for Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. The latter is famously where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor. Not only was Crosby an activist in his own right, he also aided the Civil Rights movements decades after – you can tell how much that means to King.
#3: Rita Wilson
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A few years after her father passed away, multitalented artist Rita Wilson decided to trace his roots. Though he went by Allan in the States, he was born Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff in Greece sometime in the 1920s and later moved to Bulgaria. Wilson travels to both countries to uncover secrets of his past, from serving in the military to escaping a labor camp. She’s most shocked to hear that Hassan was previously married to a woman named Alice and had a son, Emil. Unfortunately, both of them passed. This heartbreaking reveal understandably leaves Wilson devastated. But thankfully, she has the incredible opportunity to meet her uncle and reminisce about Hassan.
#2: Lisa Kudrow
“Who Do You Think You Are?” executive producer Lisa Kudrow has one of the most harrowing episodes of the series. Looking into her father’s Eastern European Jewish lineage, she heads to Belarus, where she reads horrific accounts of the Holocaust and notably visits the village of Ilya. Unfortunately, her great-grandmother was amongst the Jewish residents who were killed there during the Second World War. Naturally, she’s visibly shaken by the loaded history. But at least Kudrow’s journey ends on a high note in Poland, where she tracks down Yuri Barudin, a relative previously believed to be deceased. She’s able to meet Yuri and his family, a touching moment in an otherwise heavy episode. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Lionel Richie The Musician Learns His Great-Grandfather Was Instrumental in the Fight for Civil Rights Kelly Clarkson Gets Emotional Talking About Her Heroic Ancestor Isaiah Rose & What He Fought For Jason Sudeikis The “SNL” Alum Reads the Grim Details of His Grandfather’s Passing Martin Sheen Finds an Amazing Connection Between His Four-Times Great-Grandmother & the Man Who Tried to Put Her in Jail Courteney Cox An Exciting Discovery of Her Royal Roots
#1: Sarah Jessica Parker
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In “Who Do You Think You Are?”’s first episode, Sarah Jessica Parker discovers she has connections to not one but two significant historical events. Beginning in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, Parker learns about her great-great-great-great-grandfather John S. The miner traveled from Ohio to California during the Gold Rush, arriving in 1850 and sadly passing away that same year. Over in New England, Parker finds that her tenth-great grandmother, Esther Dutch Elwell, was accused in the Salem Witch Trials – but thankfully survived. Coincidentally, one of the actress’ most famous roles was Sarah Sanderson in the witchy “Hocus Pocus.” Given everything she learns about her family, SJP has some of the most expressive reactions in the series. And she was worried about not being interesting! Do you have any shocking revelations in your family tree? Let us know in the comments below.
