Top 30 Most Awkward Moments on Finding Your Roots

Emmy-nominated actor Anthony Ramos is best known for his role in the historical musical Hamilton. In 2024, he took a deep dive into his own history on Finding Your Roots, where he uncovered the turbulent story of his 15th great-grandfather, Andrés. An indigenous inhabitant of Tenerife island, Andrés was enslaved by a Spanish conquistador for at least 10 years. To regain his freedom, he convinced his enslaver to let him find someone to take his place. That someone was likely one of the recently arrived enslaved Africans in the Canary Islands. What Andrés did next had Ramos scratching his head. After securing his freedom, Andrés joined the Spanish military, the very folks who had colonized his homeland, and joined the conquest of North Africa, where he likely died.

We often view our parents through the lens of who they are now, forgetting that they were once young and occasionally reckless. In the season 11 premiere, Tony-winning performer Lea Salonga uncovered a bit of her dads mischievous side. Although she remembers her father, Feliciano Salonga, as emotionally distant, she learned that at 19, he was preparing to leave the Philippines to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. However, after slipping away from the ship to visit his cousin, Feliciano lost track of time and missed his departure. His family eventually raised the money to send him by plane instead. While this discovery amused Salonga, it also confirmed her suspicion that he must have been up to some shenanigans.

You know how they say married couples tend to look alike over time? Well, in the case of actor Paul Rudds parents, the reason might be a little more awkward than sweet. In this season 4 episode, Rudd set out to explore his ancestry only to uncover an unexpected family revelation. Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. informed him that his parents, Michael and Gloria Rudd, werent just married, they were actually second cousins. This means that in addition to sharing children together, they also shared the same great-grandparents. As you can imagine, this discovery caught Rudd off guard and left him feeling a little weirded out. Still, he managed to lighten the moment with a perfectly timed joke.

On the HBO series The Sopranos, Michael Imperioli played Christopher Moltisanti, a hot-headed Mafia henchman who rises to the rank of capo. But when he went on Finding Your Roots in 2025, Imperioli discovered that his ties to crime extended beyond fiction. It turns out his great-grandfather, Raffael Raea, owned a bar in New York in the early 20th century and he continued selling alcohol, even after Prohibition made that practice illegal. Apparently, Raea would store the liquor in the cellar of his apartment, a decision that led to a fire in 1923. But that wasnt the only time one of Imperiolis ancestors was caught with alcohol. In 1922, Raeas sister-in-law was also busted for serving whiskey and ended up facing federal charges.

Given his title as the Father of Europe, there must be thousands who descend from Charlemagne, the first crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. But only few can trace their ancestry back to him with documented proof, and one of those is Sharon Stone. Through genealogical research, Stone discovered that her lineage is packed with royal blood, including not just Charlemagne, but two French kings as well. Naturally, this was a mindblowing revelation. With so much royalty in her family tree, one would expect her ancestors lived a life of privilege. However, the reality was much different. Stones mother, Dorothy Larson, actually grew up in extreme poverty in rural Pennsylvania, where she shared a cramped two-room house with her parents and four siblings.

On her fathers side, actress Kristen Bell has Scottish roots, tracing back to her seventh great-grandfather, William Bell, who emigrated from Scotland. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, William joined the fight, not as a Patriot but as a Loyalist, much to Bells disappointment. However, Williams allegiance wasnt that transparent at the time, because he actually worked as a spy for the British. An affidavit written four years after the war revealed that he had been secretly gathering intel in the U.S. and sending it to Canada. His spy work eventually caught up with him and he was arrested. Although William was spared from execution, he was imprisoned and later exiled, along with his family, from their home.

For years, actor Ty Burrell had heard a family rumor that his great-grandfather, George Weeks Jr., was African-American. This seemed a bit far-fetched, considering that by mere looks, Burrell doesnt appear to have African-American roots. At first, it seemed the rumor was nothing more than family lore, as research showed that Weeks was identified as White in certain records. However, when researchers dug deeper, it became clear that Weeks may have changed the way he identified over time, as he was actually biracial. His mother, Susannah Weeks, was a Black woman from Tennessee who moved to Oregon, where she purchased land and established her family. Burrell himself was born and raised in Oregon, and attended the University of Oregon.

Although her full name is Carol Creighton Burnett, this legendary performer spent years unsure who her real grandfather was: William Creighton or Herman Melton. Both men had, at different times, been married to Burnetts grandmother, Mabel, who was apparently quite the romantic, having tied the knot six times. Considering her middle name is Creighton, Burnett always assumed William was her grandfather, but about 30 years ago, her cousin suggested that she might actually be descended from Herman. Hoping to uncover the truth, Burnett turned to the show for answers, and she eventually got them. DNA tests confirmed her initial hunch: she was indeed a Creighton. Still, Burnett was stunned by just how friendly her grandmother was with the gents.

Joy Behar was born in Brooklyn, New York to Rose and Louis Occhiuto, who had both immigrated to the United States from Italy. On Finding Your Roots, Behar came to learn more about the relationship between Rose and Louis. She discovered that not only did they originate from the same country, but they also came from the same region, the same village, and even the same street. Their childhood homes were practically staring at each other from across the road. As it turns out, Behars grandparents from both her maternal and paternal sides lived just a stones throw apart, making it almost inevitable that her parents would meet. For Behar, this connection was a little too close for comfort.

After first meeting on the set of the 1988 film Lemon Sky, actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick got married and have been going strong ever since. With such a lengthy marriage, youd think there wouldnt be many surprises left. But in 2012, the couple decided to dig into their family trees on Finding Your Roots, and what they unearthed was more than a little bizarre. It turns out the couple is actually related by blood although, its a very distant relationship, as they are ninth cousins, once removed. While Bacon was clearly floored by the news, Sedgwick took it in stride, even admitting shed had a hunch. Luckily, the family ties are remote enough not to cause any serious drama.

The grandparents of CBS News anchor Norah ODonnell immigrated from Ireland to the U.S., where they met and got married. ODonnells grandmother, Mary Monaghan, came to America at 23, and managed to build a life for herself, eventually becoming a naturalized citizen. However, Monaghans citizenship was unexpectedly revoked not because she committed any violent crime or act of treason, but because she told a little lie. Since her husband, ODonnells grandfather, was still an undocumented immigrant, Monaghan lied about her marital status to protect him from being deported. Call it a white lie or a loving fib, but for ODonnell, it was a surprising revelation that made her reevaluate how she viewed her grandmother.

When Van Halen lead singer Sammy Hagar appeared on Finding Your Roots, he made some shocking discoveries, but none left him quite as bewildered as this one. The shows researchers unearthed an 1850 census document, which revealed that Hagars great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth, was raising her kids alone. Oddly enough, her husband was alive and well, living in a neighboring county with his own mother. To untangle this mystery, they tested Hagars DNA and found that he shared no biological connection to the Hagar family. Instead, he was genetically linked to 27 men with the surname Belcher. Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. speculated that Elizabeth may have had an affair, which prompted her husband to leave her and move in with his mother.

Bitter family disputes are nothing new. They have occurred for centuries, plaguing both royal elites and regular folks alike. In the season seven premiere, filmmaker John Waters learned about a conflict within his own family. After the death of her husband, Waters great-grandmother Bertha Whitaker was dragged to court by her mother-in-law Mary. This fight was over custody of Berthas young son, Clifford and, as is the case with many other families, money matters. Mary argued that Bertha had an ungovernable temper and lacked the resources to raise the child. However, the court disagreed, granting Bertha custody of Clifford and even giving her a chunk of the family fortune. Its the kind of riveting twist youd find in a John Waters film.

When you go digging into your family tree, you might not be entirely thrilled with what you find. No one knows this better than actor and TV host LeVar Burton. Burton, who rose to prominence for playing enslaved protagonist Kunta Kinte in the 1977 miniseries Roots, discovered his own roots trace back to a white farmer named James Henry Dixon. To make things even more awkward, Burton learned that Dixon had served with the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. To say that he was shocked by these revelations would be an understatement. However, he did manage to find a silver lining, acknowledging that it could help ease his conversations with white people in America.

Long before the Salem witch trials in the late 17th century, individuals across Europe, especially women, faced accusations of witchcraft. One of such women was Neil Patrick Harris 12th great-grandmother, Gertrude Stuell. In 16th century Germany, Stuell was accused of enchanting her neighbors livestock to kill them, and she was placed on trial for her life. Sadly, the proceedings ended with Stuell being found guilty of practicing witchcraft and sentenced to death. Youd think this tragic family history would provoke a somber reaction, but instead Harris seemed oddly thrilled by the idea of his ancestor being burned at the stake. Even more unsettling, he drew a connection between Stuells accusation of black magic to his own love of magic.

It can be astounding how little one knows about their own family history. For comedian Larry David, this truth hit hard when he went on the show, hoping to learn more about his mother, Rose, who he admits was notoriously secretive. As the researchers sifted through historical records, they unearthed a document showing that his grandmother had a daughter named Regina. But David was puzzled; he never had an Aunt Regina. Did she die, change her name or simply vanish? Well, no. Turns out Davids mother, Rose, was actually born Regina, a fact he was completely unaware of. Whatever reason she had for the name change, Rose took it to her grave, leaving her son utterly confused.

In the season 10 premiere, Ciara stumbled upon a family secret involving her great-great-grandmother, Emily Redding. The singers DNA test showed a biological connection to Redding and her son, Willie Head, but not to Willies supposed father, Nathan. To add to the surprise, the results also linked Ciara to several other people, all of whom were white. Further investigation revealed Willies actual father: a white man named Walker Lafayette Head. Apparently, Walker and Nathan lived near each other around the time Willie was conceived. Whether Walker and Reddings relationship was consensual is unknown, but Ciara seemed to believe it was. However, considering the societal dynamics back then, that might not have been very likely.

TV host Sunny Hostin was born in 1968 to a Puerto Rican mother and an African American father, so she always believed her heritage was half Puerto Rican. However, when she appeared on Finding Your Roots in February 2024, she got an unexpected surprise. Hostin learned she was only 7 percent indigenous Puerto Rican and that she descended from a Spanish merchant who, it turns out, most likely participated in the slave trade. This revelation contrasted with her political beliefs, leaving her feeling a mix of shock and disappointment. Despite this, she admitted that the discovery enriched her understanding of her familys history, even though it didnt necessarily change her perspective.

Getting told by your parents that youre adopted can be earth-shattering for anyone. Now, imagine making such a discovery years after theyve passed away, on a TV show, no less. Thats exactly what happened to rapper LL Cool J and his mother, Ondrea Griffith, on Finding Your Roots. After his parents split up in his childhood, LL was raised by his maternal grandparents, who supported his musical ambitions. But one secret they hid was that his mother was not their biological child. Even Griffith didnt know this, only learning about it through the show. The news was so sensitive that host Henry Louis Gates Jr. had to first call LL privately, away from the cameras, to break it to him.

Discovering that ones ancestors owned slaves can be embarrassing for some people. It was this sense of shame that pushed actor Ben Affleck to a drastic point. Affleck appeared on the show in 2014, where he learned that his maternal ancestor, Benjamin Cole, was a slave owner in Georgia. The revelation unsettled him so much that he went to great lengths to keep it hidden. Affleck successfully lobbied Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the shows producers to omit this information from the aired episode. However, the infamous Sony Pictures hack that year unearthed emails that revealed Afflecks efforts to suppress the truth. The ensuing controversy led to the show being temporarily suspended, although it returned after Affleck apologized for his actions.

You might be familiar with the British practice of sending convicts to Australia during the 18th and 19th centuries. But did you know that before Australia, the primary destination for British prisoners was actually America? If this fact didnt come as a surprise to you, it definitely did for award-winning actress Laura Linney. When she appeared on the show in 2019, Linney discovered that her fifth great-grandfather, William Linney, had been convicted in England of receiving stolen goods and was transported to Virginia in 1768. Probably not the most flattering information to learn about ones ancestor, but Linney took it in stride with a hearty laugh.

Laura Linney was not the only celebrity to uncover their ancestors criminal background. In another episode, veteran broadcast journalist Soledad OBrien was also hit with a mortifying revelation about her third great-grandmother, Lillius Wightman. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr presented OBrien with a prison register from 19th century Scotland, revealing that a 41-year-old Wightman had been arrested for robbery alongside a group of teenage boys. It soon became clear that Wightman might have been leading a gang of young thieves in Edinburgh, Scotland. This theory seemed to embarrass OBrien initially, but when they dug deeper into the actual reason why Wightman resorted to crime, her perspective changed.

The name Julia Roberts is instantly recognizable to millions around the world, but what if we told you its actually not her biological name? The Oscar-winning actress derived her surname from Willis Roberts, her supposed great-great-grandfather. However, genealogical research uncovered a discrepancy: Julias great-grandfather, John, was born more than a decade after Willis passed away. This meant that the actress couldnt be biologically related to Willis Roberts. Through DNA analysis, the show eventually traced her ancestry to a man named Henry McDonald Mitchell Jr., a married man who lived only a few miles away from Willis wife, Rhoda. Despite the biological inaccuracy, we still think Julia Roberts has a much better ring to it than Julia Mitchell.

During the era of slavery, people who were enslaved were typically omitted from census records. However, during her appearance on Finding Your Roots in 2021, actress and producer Issa Rae discovered documents that identified her third great-grandfather, Dorson Charbonnet, by name. This was due to the fact that Charbonnets mother, Mélite, had been granted freedom by her owner, who also happened to be a black man. Additionally, Rae learned that Charbonnets father was a white man who had his own family, but engaged in a clandestine relationship with Mélite. If this all felt like a convoluted television B-plot, then youre not alone. Even Rae shared the same sentiment.

Gayle Kings family harbored a long-held secret concerning her maternal grandmother, Emma Brown. It was revealed that Brown was the product of a white father and a black mother, a fact seemingly concealed out of shame, at least according to King. The genealogists at Finding Your Roots were able to trace Kings ancestry back to Robert Elliot Copes, a white man from South Carolina and Emma Browns grandfather. This discovery unveiled Kings European ancestry, which comprises over 30% of her genetic makeup. However, when the results of this DNA analysis were revealed to her at the end of the episode, King didnt seem to be very pleased with them.

Youd be shocked to learn what some of your ancestors were up to. That probably should be the tagline for Finding Your Roots. In 2023, the show delivered yet another jaw-dropping revelation, this time to political activist Angela Davis. Throughout her lengthy career, Davis gained a fierce reputation for her unwavering advocacy for civil rights, as well as her relentless fight against structural racism. Hence, she was taken aback to learn that her ancestors were the complete opposite. Davis was revealed to be a direct descendant of William Brewster, one of the 102 settlers who journeyed to the colonies on the Mayflower. Just goes to show that despite sharing bloodlines, people can still differ greatly from their ancestors.

When George R. R. Martin appeared on Finding Your Roots in 2019, he uncovered a surprising family tale reminiscent of the sordid ones in his epic fantasy books. Martin had always believed that his Italian paternal grandfather, Louis, had abandoned his grandmother, Grace, for a younger woman. However, that notion was shattered when the shows team revealed the results of Martins DNA test. Martins DNA showed a quarter Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, suggesting his true grandfather was Jewish. It was quickly surmised that it was Grace who likely cheated on Louis, which eventually pushed him away. Oh, we fully expect the next book to be chaotic.

Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis came on Finding Your Roots expecting to learn more about her ancestry. But she probably wasnt ready for the messy familial secrets she would uncover. Davis learned that her grandfather, Henry Logan, had a mysterious lineage. In official documents, two different men had been listed as his father: Gable Logan on his social security application, and John Young on his obituary. Although Henrys mother, Corine, was married to Gable, historical records showed that after he came back from World War I, Gable never returned to live with Corine. Through DNA analysis and census data, the researchers inferred that Corine likely had an affair with her neighbor, John Young, resulting in the birth of Davis grandfather.

Our forefathers often relocated to different countries for various reasons: economic prospects, fleeing conflict, or in the case of Kathryn Hahns ancestor, eloping with their lover at the expense of family ties. In 1853, Hahns third great-grandfather, Wilhelm Lünenschloss, was living in Germany with his wife and six children. However, by 1860, Wilhelm had moved to Wisconsin, now married to a different woman named Eliza. The Finding Your Roots team dug deeper into this significant change. Through a German city directory from 1854, they found that Eliza was the daughter of Wilhelms neighbor. This suggests that Wilhelm met Eliza there in Germany, then abandoned his family to start a new one with her in America.