Edward Norton has discovered that Pocahontas is his 12th great-grandmother.
This week, the 53-year-old actor appeared on the season nine premiere of Finding Your Roots, during which he learned that historical figure Pocahontas is actually his 12th great-grandmother.
During the episode, host Henry Louis Gates explained that there is a record of Pocahontas and John Rolfe marrying on 5 April 1614, in Jamestown, Virginia.
Through other documents, Gates said, Norton’s genealogy could be traced back to them.
“This is about as far back as you can go,” Gates said, adding that William Shakespeare died two years after Pocahontas and Rolfe married.
Norton replied: “This just makes you realise what a small piece of the whole human story you are.”
Pocahontas was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.
She was the daughter of Powhatan, the paramount chief of a network of tributary tribes in the Tsenacommacah, encompassing the Tidewater region of Virginia.
She married tobacco planter John Rolfe in April 1614 at the age of about 17 or 18, and gave birth to their son Thomas Rolfe in January 1615.
In 1616, the Rolfes travelled to London where Pocahontas was presented to English society as an example of the “civilised savage” in hopes of stimulating investment in the Jamestown settlement.
Pocahontas died at Gravesend of unknown causes, aged 20 or 21.
She was buried in St George’s Church, Gravesend, in England. Her grave’s exact location is unknown because the church was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire.
Elsewhere during the episode, Norton said it was “uncomfortable” to discover that his ancestors had been slave owners.
Norton isn’t the first celebrity to have found interesting genealogical roots through Finding Your Roots.
Christopher Meloni found out he was related to Nancy Pelosi, while Andy Cohen discovered that he is a distant relative of Scarlett Johansson.
Glenn Close also found out that she is related to both Princess Diana and Clint Eastwood.
Finding Your Roots kicked off season nine on Tuesday (3 January).
