E-Paper
St. Patrick's Day: 5 famous celebrities you didn't know had Irish roots
From Tom Cruise to Nicole Kidman, here are five famous celebrities you didn't know had Irish roots
St. Patrick's Day is an annual Irish holiday which is celebrated on March 17. The festival is observed in honour of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. With the St. Paddy's Day only days away, here are five famous celebrities you didn't know were of Irish heritage:
Emily Ratajkowski
Supermodel and actress Emily Ratajkowski has often been vocal about her strong links to Ireland. She has claimed Irish heritage through both of her grandmothers. The 32-year-old has spent summers in Ireland during her childhood days. “I absolutely love Ireland. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I have strong ties here,” Ratajkowski once told Irish Independent.
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise's Irish heritage dates back to the 12th Century. The Mission Impossible star, whose paternal side of the family is Irish, was astonished when he learnt about his roots. When he learnt about his origins, Cruise said, “I'm very proud to be Irish. There's a pride in America of being Irish. I can't wait to come back, and I want to visit the land of my ancestors and the castle that they had.”
Robert De Niro
Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro's little-known Irish heritage caught attention in 2019 when he portrayed the titular mobster in the Netflix film The Irishman. Both De Niro's Italian and Irish ancestry stems from his father's side of the family. The 80-year-old actor's father, Robert Sr.'s mother, was Irish from both sides of her family.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman's strong Australian accent often covers up her diverse ancestral history. The Expats star is of Irish, Hawaiian, Scottish, and Australian descent. Reflecting on her link to Ireland, Kidman once said, “We definitely have, on my father's side, a strong Irish slant. We come from the line of the Callaghors and, obviously, how I look, you know, I have Irish skin.”
Meryl Streep
The Devil Wears Prada icon Meryl Streep is surprisingly of Irish descent. While she is recognised for having one of the most authentic “fake” Irish accents in the industry, her links to Ireland are stronger than that. Streep's maternal great-great-grandparents, Manus McFadden and Grace Strain, belonged to the Horn Head district of Dunfanaghy in Donegal before emigrating to Pennsylvania around 1864.
