Actor Edward Norton Learns His 12th Great-Grandmother Is Pocahontas On ‘Finding Your Roots’

Jan 06, 2023 by apost team

Edward Norton has established himself as a highly acclaimed actor and filmmaker in Hollywood over the last three decades. After rising to fame with his 1996 film debut "Primal Fear" — which earned him a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination — he starred in "Flight Club" and "American History X," two films he's still remembered for today.

Since then, he's starred as "The Incredible Hulk" and appeared in highly acclaimed ensemble cast films such as "Moonrise Kingdom," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Birdman" and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." He's even worked behind the camera, having directed movies "Keeping the Faith" and "Motherless Brooklyn."

On-screen, Norton has played various characters, both good and bad, while off-screen, he's used his platform for environmental activism and anti-corruption efforts. Although he's very well known for his work in Hollywood, Norton has expressed that he has no interest in being a celebrity. His previous relationships with other high-profile entertainers, including Courtney Love and Salma Hayek, have gone under the radar, and he has managed to live a relatively quiet life despite his fame.

However, the actor has decided to open up one aspect of himself to the public — his family history. Appearing on PBS' "Finding Your Roots" in January 2023, Norton learned some big discoveries about his genealogy, including that he is related to Powhatan woman Pocahontas, also known as Amonute. 

Other notable discoveries in Norton's bloodline include a Civil War soldier who was in correspondence with Abraham Lincoln and a pro-union labor activist from the late 19th century. Read on to learn more about Edward Norton's surprising ancestry.

Norton appeared on the ninth season premiere of PBS' "Finding Your Roots," where he spoke to host Henry Louis Gates Jr. about his family's ancestry, dating as far back as the early American colonial era in Virginia. One incredible discovery, which Norton had vaguely known about since it was family lore, was confirmed by Gates Jr. — the Native American Powhatan woman Pocahontas, also known as Amonute or Matoaka, is Norton's 12th great-grandmother. 

Her story is fairly well known as she was captured and held for ransom by English colonists and later married a man named John Rolfe. Her father was the chief Powhatan, and their tribe encompassed the Tidewater region of Virginia. Over the years, her story has been romanticized and fictionalized, including in many books and movies. 

On the topic of Norton being a descendent of Pocahontas, Gates Jr. told the surprised actor:

"I understand that was family lore ... Well, it is absolutely true."

The host gave context for the time period that all of this took place: "John Rolfe and Pocahontas got married on April 5, 1614. Shakespeare dies in 1616, just to put this in perspective." He continued: "Pocahontas died sometime in March 1617 in Grave's End, England, and John Rolfe died around March 1622."

Norton couldn't believe that the family lore had turned out to be true, as he asked, "How could you possibly determine that?" Gates Jr. explained "through the paper trail," some of which was kept by Norton's ancestors themselves. Incredibly impressed with the detail accounted for, Norton exclaimed: "This is about as far back as you can go, unless you're a Viking." He added:

"Makes you realize what a small piece of the whole human story you are."

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On a more "uncomfortable" note, Norton also learned that his third great-grandfather, John Winstead, owned enslaved people, according to the 1850 North Carolina census. This included a 55-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman, and five young girls aged 10, 9, 8, 6 and 4. After Norton learned his ancestor held seven people in bondage, he revealed:

"The short answer is these things are uncomfortable, and you should be uncomfortable with them, everybody should be uncomfortable with it."

He added:

"It's not a judgement on you and 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 acknowledged, first and foremost, and then it needs to be contended with."

As the pair discussed how the young girls were literally born into slavery, Norton grappled with that knowledge and said, "when you read slave age 8, you want to die."

Elsewhere in the episode, Norton revealed that his grandparents had transcribed the journals of an earlier ancestor of theirs from the 19th century, making him fairly well-informed about his genealogy. In fact, Gates Jr. even said Norton came prepared to talk about his family's ancestry better "than any guest (he) can recall."

Upon learning that another ancestor of Norton's joined the Continental Army in 1777 under George Washington, the actor said, "I gotta be honest, one of the things that amazes me is that they were making these kinds of records in that kind of a tumultuous time."

At the end of the episode, Gates Jr. revealed that Julia Roberts — who also appears in the ninth season of "Finding Your Roots" — had a close enough sequence of DNA to Norton, which determined that they have an ancestor in common somewhere in their families' pasts.

What do you think about Edward Norton's family history? Let us know your thoughts, then pass this on to anyone you think would be interested to read about it.