Edward Norton Shocked To Learn His Ancestor Is Iconic Historical Figure
Edward Norton, in the season premiere of Finding Your Roots, discovered he is descended from Pocahontas.
Award-winning actor, famous for his roles in American History X and Fight Club, Edward Norton found out on the season premiere of Finding Your Roots that real-life is stranger than fiction. Thanks to the research of the team behind Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. series, Finding Your Roots, a piece of Norton family legend was proven to be true: the actor is a descendant of Pocahontas. Yes, the actual historical figure that Disney decided to make a very inaccurate film about, is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother of the villain from The Italian Job.
The reality of Pocahontas is far darker than the Disney film would make it seem, though she was the daughter of the powerful chief of the Powhatan people, living in modern-day Virginia. The Chieftain, going by the old adage of “keep your enemies close”, offered John Smith, a recently arrived colonial leader, rule of a nearby town. This meeting took place in 1607, with Smith writing in his journal that he first met Pocahontas some months later, though in later years the colonist revised this account to be far more dramatic, making the details of how Edward Norton’s ancestor first encountered the English nebulous at best.
What has been confirmed, is that at the age of 17, Pocahontas was captured by the colonists and held ransom for a year, during which time she learned English and was converted to Christianity. Soon after, in 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe, living with him in the British colony for two years, during which time she gave birth to Thomas Rolfe. The marriage may not have united the Powhatan and English, but it ushered in an era of peace, trade, and prosperity for both sides.
Pocahontas died three years later, during a trip to England where she was paraded around the nobility as an example of a “civilized savage.” Thomas Rolfe survived, eventually having his own children and furthering Pocahontas genetic lineage, which includes Edward Norton. The star found out that in addition to being a direct descendant of an important historical figure, he’s also related to slave owners.
On finding out that his third great-grandfather, John Winstead, owned a family of slaves, Edward Norton had this to say, “It’s not a judgment on you in your own life but it’s a judgment on the history of this country and it needs to be acknowledged first and foremost and then it needs to be contended with,” adding that “when you read ‘slave aged eight,’ you just want to die.” Other famous figures have gone onto Finding Your Roots and found other similar family secrets, such as Larry David, when the Curb Your Enthusiasm star discovered his family also owned slaves.
Joining Edward Norton on the season premiere was fellow movie star, Julia Roberts, and other celebrities coming on during season 9 include Joe Manganiello, David Duchovny, Jeff Daniels, Danny Trejo, Cyndi Lauper, Carol Burnett, and Claire Danes. Finding Your Roots airs Tuesdays at 8:00 PM on PBS, with the first eight episodes also available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
