Strange Celeb Ancestors That Explain A Lot

Nature versus nurture is a debate that, frankly, most of us really don't care about.
But every once in awhile, you just have to wonder whether that craving for corn dogs
is learned behavior or due to the genetic legacy bequeathed to you by one of your ancestors.
And the same question holds true for celebrities.
The talented, the beautiful, the powerful — did they become famous simply because
they won the genetic lottery?
Here's a look at some of the stranger celebrity ancestors that explain a lot about their famous
descendants.
Tom Hanks' presidential pedigree
Hollywood icon Tom Hanks is known for his upstanding, everyman demeanor.
So where does he get his all-American personna from?
Well, it might be because he comes from the same line as the most American American of
all time: Abraham Lincoln.
Yes, Lincoln's mother was Nancy Hanks, making Honest Abe and the star of Joe Versus the
Volcano distant cousins.
The resemblance is uncanny.
Emma Watson's witchy woman
In Harry Potter, Hermione Granger was often ridiculed by the forces of He Who Must Not
Be Named for having no magic in her bloodline.
"How dare you talk to me, you filthy little mudblood."
But it turns out that's not quite true.
According to an Ancestry.com expose, actress Emma Watson is 14th cousins with a real witch.
Well, at least, as far as the English courts were concerned, since they convicted Watson's
ancestor, Joan Playle of witchcraft, excommunicating her from the Church of England in the process.
Who's the mudblood now, Draco?!
And as it turns out, there's another interesting ancestral connection within the world of Harry
Potter...
J.K.
Rowling's heroic legacy
In 2009, Harry Potter author J.K.
Rowling was awarded France's highest honor, the Legion d'honneur, for her literary service
to the world.
But it wasn't the first time her family had been singled out for upholding the ideals
of France.
Rowling's great-grandfather, Louis Valant, earned the croix d'e guerre for displaying
uncommon bravery at the Battle of Verdun during World War I.
"It's better.
The Croix d'e Guerre is much better than the Legion d'Honneur."
Now we know just how Rowling was able to craft those amazing tales of heroism: seems she
was drawing on her own family's legacy.
President Obama's All-American roots
His rise from the son of a struggling single mother to the leader of the free world is
the quintessential American story.
And it turns out his ancestry is just as uniquely American.
According to genealogists, President Obama is actually descended from John Bunch, the
son of John Punch, one of the first African slaves in American history.
But that's not all.
"John Bunch's mother was white.
And so was his wife.
Which means that President Obama descends from the first known black and white couple
that left traceable descendants."
"We are the ones we've been waiting for."
Katharine Hepburn's ancient muse
All-time great Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn is known for playing iconic film roles
such as Eleanor of Aquitaine in the classic film The Lion in Winter.
Surprisingly, she had a leg up on her competition: the real Eleanor of Aquitaine was actually
one of her ancestors.
That wasn't her only royal connection to a part she played, either.
She's also related to James Hepburn, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, who Katharine
Hepburn played in Mary of Scotland.
Talk about authenticity...
America Ferrera's revolutionary roots
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants actress America Ferrera has been breaking down barriers
and standing up for her beliefs throughout her career.
And it seems she comes by it naturally.
Her great-grandfather, General Gregorio Ferrera, was a revered rebel leader in Honduras who
repeatedly led movements to protect the rights of the people against the country's corrupt
government regimes.
And like his great-granddaughter America, he also gained his powers via a pair of magic
pants.
Okay, that part isn't true, but the rest of it totally is.
Adam Vinatieri's Last Stand
Legendary NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri is renowned for keeping his cool under fire, helping his
teams win four Super Bowls thanks to his clutch performances.
Where did he get that ice water in his veins from?
Probably from his great-great-grandfather, Felix Vinatieri, who served in the military
under the command of General George Armstrong Custer.
Yes, that General Custer.
Felix was even slated to accompany Custer on the mission that would go down in history
as Custer's Last Stand, but Custer ordered Felix, who was the unit's band leader, to
remain behind with his bandmates and await their victorious return.
And we thought Super Bowl 36 was a close call!
Meryl Streep is everything
Finally, there's Meryl Streep, who is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest actresses
of all time.
She has so many talents, it's impossible to trace them back to just one strange ancestor.
But that's fine, because Streep descended from a slew of noteworthy forebears.
Besides being directly related to a cousin of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania,
she is also the descendant of one of the members of Pennsylvania's constitutional congress
in 1776.
Her family arrived in America the old-fashioned way.
During the English Civil War, her ancestors were thrown out of the country, only to help
start another war — King Phillip's War against the Native American tribes of Massachusetts
— once they arrived in the New World.
Is it any wonder Streep is able to bring such complexity and command to her roles?
"We're so ignorant of our back-history, you know, we're very busy with our own lives,
and we're the sum of all the people who lived before us."
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Strange Celeb Ancestors That Explain A Lot

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