Who do these celebs think they are? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most animated or noteworthy responses from stars digging into their lineage on “Who Do You Think You Are”.
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00:00 And I just thought I shared the same last name as Dr. King.
00:05 Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most animated or noteworthy
00:11 responses from stars digging into their lineage on Who Do You Think You Are?
00:16 We'll only be covering episodes from the American version of the series.
00:28 Number 10. Bradley Whitford
00:30 Actor and activist Bradley Whitford traced his ancestry to German immigrants who made
00:36 the journey from Prussia to America in 1846.
00:45 He discovered that his great-great-grandfather, Frederick New, served under Ulysses S. Grant
00:50 at 1863's Siege of Vicksburg, along with his two brothers.
00:55 Thankfully, all three siblings survived. Frederick went on to have a significant legacy as an
01:00 upstanding citizen, and reading his glowing obituary moved Whitford to tears.
01:17 Given Whitford's own political activism, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that he
01:22 descends from courageous, hard-working immigrants who fought in the American Civil War.
01:38 Number 9. Jim Parsons
01:41 Jim Parsons, known for his starring role as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, decided
01:46 to honor his late father by exploring his paternal family tree.
01:57 In doing so, he discovered that he descends from important figures in the arts and sciences.
02:03 In Louisiana, he learned of his third great-grandfather, Dr. Jean-Baptiste Hacker.
02:09 The 55th graduate of the Medical College of Louisiana, he documented the yellow fever
02:14 epidemic in the New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal.
02:26 Then all the way over in France, Parsons researches his sixth great-grandfather, Louis-Francois
02:33 Chouard. A celebrated architect who worked for royalty, Parsons realizes Chouard had
02:39 a similarly supportive father, making his accomplishments all the more impressive and
02:44 meaningful.
02:45 Number 8. Sean Hayes
02:53 In an effort to find out more about his estranged father Ronald, Sean Hayes goes digging in
02:58 Chicago and Ireland. But what he discovers is more than he anticipated. Ronald and his
03:15 siblings were sent to an orphanage and that their father William was someone who faced
03:20 various hardships and ultimately died of illness.
03:24 Going back further, we learn that the actor's great-great-grandfather Patrick Hayes Sr.
03:29 had similarly difficult experiences and got into legal trouble. He even went to court
03:34 against his sons.
03:42 Hayes' great-grandfather Patrick Hayes Jr. also had a criminal record before moving to
03:48 the United States. Despite unearthing his family's less than savory past, Hayes was
03:53 simply thrilled and amazed with the whole research process.
04:04 Number 7. Zooey Deschanel
04:07 Growing up, Zooey Deschanel knew that she descended from a line of remarkable women
04:12 and activists. Following the lineage of her late paternal grandmother Anne Orr, who passed
04:29 away not long before the episode, Deschanel traveled to Pennsylvania to delve in her Quaker
04:35 origins. Her four-time great-grandmother Sarah Pownall, an abolitionist whose father enslaved
04:41 someone, had a farm that aided in the Underground Railroad. It was also the site of the Christiana
04:57 Renaissance of 1851, a historical event that fueled the anger of John Wilkes Booth. While
05:03 she knew about her courageous ancestors' involvement in the anti-slavery movement,
05:08 Deschanel did not expect them to be such an important part of history.
05:20 Number 6. Christina Applegate
05:34 For actress Christina Applegate, uncovering details from her genealogy was a way to provide
05:40 some much-needed answers for her father Robert, who never really knew his mother. She found
05:45 that her grandparents, Lavinia Shaw and Paul Applegate, had a marriage that ended in divorce
05:50 and led to a difficult custody battle. Applegate struggled to read the details of Paul's alleged
05:56 mistreatment of Lavinia, and was visibly saddened by a document saying her father was malnourished
06:02 at one point. While the research didn't produce the happiest of results, the experience
06:14 at least provided some closure for the Applegates.
06:23 Number 5. J.K. Rowling
06:25 Controversial author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling knows about epic stories and
06:31 extensive family trees, so it's no surprise she has an interesting French genealogy. One
06:37 ancestor she'd heard a lot about was her great-grandfather Louis Voulon, a recipient of the Legion of
06:43 Honor in the First World War. Decades later, Rowling was honored with the same award for
06:56 literature. However, the story she heard about her relative isn't true. However, Voulon
07:09 was still very much a hero and was bestowed the Croix de Guerre Medal for bravery. Rowling
07:15 makes another illuminating discovery that she comes from generations of single moms,
07:20 echoing her own motherhood experience. These include her great-grandmother Lizzie Smith,
07:32 twice great-grandmother Salome Schuch, and three-time great-grandmother Christine.
07:37 Number 4. Regina King
07:40 Regina King set out to find more information about her maternal genealogy and came across
07:45 great-great-grandfather Moses Crosby, aka Moses Hughes. After discovering many hardships
08:01 and injustices he faced, it doesn't take long for the actress to become emotional.
08:07 King is shocked to see that Crosby had a prison record, but learning the whole story is heartbreaking.
08:13 After getting out, Crosby became a pastor and co-founded Morningstar Association, an
08:30 organization instrumental in paving the way for Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. The latter
08:35 is famously where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor. Not only was Crosby an activist
08:41 in his own right, he also aided the civil rights movement decades after. You can tell
08:47 how much that means to King.
08:58 Number 3. Rita Wilson
09:01 A few years after her father passed away, multi-talented artist Rita Wilson decided
09:06 to trace his roots. Though he went by Alan in the States, he was born Assan Alil Ibrahimov
09:21 in Greece sometime in the 1920s and later moved to Bulgaria. Wilson travels to both
09:26 countries to uncover secrets of his past, from serving in the military to escaping a
09:32 labor camp. She's most shocked to hear that Assan was previously married to a woman named
09:48 Alice and had a son, Emil. Unfortunately, both of them passed. This heartbreaking reveal
09:55 understandably leaves Wilson devastated, but thankfully, she has the incredible opportunity
10:01 to meet her uncle and reminisce about Assan.
10:14 Number 2. Lisa Kudrow
10:16 Who Do You Think You Are? executive producer Lisa Kudrow has one of the most harrowing
10:21 episodes of the series. Looking into her father's Eastern European Jewish lineage, she heads
10:27 to Belarus, where she reads horrific accounts of the Holocaust and notably visits the village
10:33 of Ilia.
10:42 Unfortunately, her great-grandmother was amongst the Jewish residents who were killed there
10:50 during the Second World War. Naturally, she's visibly shaken by the loaded history. But
11:05 at least Kudrow's journey ends on a high note in Poland, where she tracks down Yuri
11:10 Berudin, a relative previously believed to be deceased. She's able to meet Yuri and
11:16 his family, a touching moment in an otherwise heavy episode.
11:27 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:31 Lionel Richie The musician learns his great-grandfather was
11:35 instrumental in the fight for civil rights.
11:49 Kelly Clarkson Jason Sudeikis
12:07 The SNL alum reads the grim details of his grandfather's passing.
12:20 Martin Sheen finds an amazing connection between his four-times great-grandmother and the man
12:26 who tried to put her in jail.
12:39 Courtney Cox An exciting discovery of her royal roots.
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13:15 Sarah Jessica Parker In Who Do You Think You Are's first episode,
13:19 Sarah Jessica Parker discovers she has connections to not one, but two significant historical
13:25 events. Beginning in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, Parker learns about her great-great-great-great-grandfather,
13:33 John S. Hodge. The miner traveled from Ohio to California
13:46 during the gold rush, arriving in 1850 and sadly passing away that same year.
13:53 Over in New England, Parker finds that her tenth great-grandmother, Esther Dutch Elwell,
13:58 was accused in the Salem Witch Trials, but thankfully survived.
14:05 Coincidentally, one of the actress' most famous roles was Sarah Sanderson in the witchy
14:16 Hocus Pocus. Given everything she learns about her family, SJP has some of the most expressive
14:23 reactions in the series. And she was worried about not being interesting. Do you have any
14:36 shocking revelations in your family tree? Let us know in the comments below.
14:49 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo. And be sure
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