Voice Of Post

Roots of the Well Known.President Obama retraced some of his lesser-known ancestral roots to a village in Ireland .. One of the president's maternal great-great-great-grandfathers was a shoemaker who immigrated to the United States during the height of a crisis in his homeland. Crowds packed the streets to hear Obama speak as he kicked off a four-nation tour of Europe


Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler had some interesting finds in his family tree, according to DNA research. The revelation underscores the surprises many people often uncover when researching their genealogy. See what you can dig up about your own family.


Lionel Richie
When Lionel Richie retraced his roots, he had a little help from a certain TV show. The legendary musician  has ties to an old civil rights organization dating back to 1897 through his great-grandfather. Learn interesting facts about other famous family trees.


Vanessa Williams
The award-winning actress and former beauty queen has roots in the Tennessee legislature, where her great-great-grandfather served. Read her biography.


Tim McGraw
This country star found out in his teens that his biological father was this professional baseball player. He's also got ties to this former president, since an ancestor was actually mentioned in one of the former president's journals.


Emmitt Smith
Football great Emmitt Smith, who also happened to win this show, was able to trace his roots all the way to this West African country, whence his ancestors were brought to America as slaves.


Alex Haley
His 1976 historical novel "Roots" and subsequent miniseries ignited genealogical interest, especially among African-Americans. Haley's research revealed that his ancestors were slaves from this country. They landed in this Maryland town, which has a statue in honor of Haley telling the story of his family tree.


Sarah Palin
The Rev. John Lothrop, who came from England in 1634 and founded a New England town, is an ancestor of both Palin and the former president who expanded social services. The ex-Alaska governor is also a distant cousin of this late English princess.


President Barack Obama
Born in Hawaii, the commander in chief is the son of Barack Obama Sr. a Kenyan, and Ann Dunham a Kansan. On his maternal side, President Obama is related to his predecessor, a British prime minister and a handsome A-list actor.


Tom Hanks
Hank's family tree's maternal branch includes 1800s immigrants from a southwestern European country; the paternal branch includes a great American president. Via his stepmom, the California-born actor (clips) has Chinese-American siblings. Read Hanks' biography.


Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker originally thought her ancestors were German. But she got a surprise in the family tree.  Parker's people are English, and her 10th great-grandmother was accused of wicked deeds.


Eva Longoria 
"He's Mexican?" jokes the Tejana actress on learning that she and this Chinese-American cellist share an ancestor. Longoria made the discovery on Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s genealogy series.


Robert Pattinson
London native Pattinson,star of a certain vampire movie franchise, is a distant relative of the real-life count who inspired an influential Bram Stoker novel. On a less-gothic note, the actor is also a distant cousin of two British princes.


Tina Turner
On "African American Lives," Turner explores her multiracial heritage. Her great-great-grandfather was an African-American sharecropper and minister; she also has European DNA and blood from these tribes.


Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Although not born in Hawaii, the wrestler-turned-actor  is of Pacific islander ancestry, specifically here, on his mother's side. Johnson's African-Canadian father, also a wrestling champ, is from a province with a rich black heritage.


Soledad O'Brien
The CNN reporter's full name, María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien, offers clues to her heritage. She was born in New York to an African-American mom from this island. Her dad? He's of Irish descent and an emigrant from Toowoomba in this country.


Hillary Rodham Clinton
The secretary of state has an exciting family tree, including:

* Madonna
* an Oscar-winning actress
* a Canadian diva
* the author of "On the Road"
* the singer of "Ironic"

Stars who portrayed historical figures
We’re all intrigued by the lives of history’s most famous people, and so is Hollywood. John Travolta is the latest star to take on a historical role as a notorious American mobster. Check out this list of actors and actresses who dared to imitate real-life characters.

John Travolta
The former greaser won’t have to extend his acting range much to inhabit the character of a man nicknamed “Dapper Don” Gotti (check out his mug shot), not to mention the most powerful crime boss in America during the 1980s.
Johnny Depp
In 2009, Depp captivated audiences when he played a Depression-era gangster  who rose to “Public Enemy No. 1” status for his dozens of bank heists.
Cate Blanchett
Sixteenth-century England was the setting for this 2007 film, in which Cate Blanchett depicts the rise of a young queen. The film earned the actress international attention and lead to many major movie parts.
Elizabeth Taylor
In this 1963 classic, Elizabeth Taylor was said to be completely immersed in the role of the alluring Queen of Egypt that many said she was born to play. Though, the $44 million dollar film nearly bankrupt the studio.
Joaquin Phoenix
Phoenix portrays a troubled and legendary country singer in this biopic. Did he actually sing those famous tunes? Watch his famous prison performance.
Meryl Streep
In the City of Light with her husband in the 1950s, Streep’s boisterous character struggles to find something useful to do. After a go at hat-making and bridge, she stumbles upon a vocation that changes the eating strategies of millions of Americans.
Tom Hanks
The year is 1970, the mission is dangerous, and an unlucky number seems to be sending three men to their demise in outer space. It’s a story of survival, heroism, and faith and Hanks shines as the captain.
Robert Redford
Jason Robards and Hal Holbrook played alongside Redford as a crusading reporter in this riveting drama set in the nation’s capital. This true story had all the makings of box office gold: crooks, cold trails and a mysterious whistle blower
David Strathairn
Strathairn played a crusading broadcast journalist in the 1950s whose series of TV news reports lead to the censure of a certain Wisconsin senator . The film was written by a Hollywood leading man.
Helen Mirren
As the monarch the Commonwealth realms, Mirren’s character refuses to honor the death of her son’s very popular ex-wife.The resulting turmoil causes friction with a politician played by Michael Sheen
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx  won an Oscar for his moving portrayal of a singing legend who suffered an impairment since the age of 7. Listen to one of his most famous songs
Henry Fonda
An American director famous for his westerns directed Fonda in this tale of a future president’s salad days in an Illinois city.
Kirk Douglas
Douglas won a Golden Globe for this 1956 biopic of one of the world’s most talented–and impoverished–artists. It’s directed by the father of a famous female singer and actress
James Stewart
A famous American director both wrote and directed this 1957 film about one of aviation’s greatest heroes.Stewart’s character had a fitting nickname.
George C. Scott
Francis Ford Coppola had a hand in crafting the story behind this 1970 classic, in which Scott portrayed a World War II Army officer. Much of it was set in the second-largest continent.
Anthony Hopkins
A legendary scandal brought down the embattled 37th President of the United States, portrayed by Hopkins in this 1995 film, which was nominated for four Oscars
Denzel Washington
In an Oscar-nominated role directed by Spike Lee, Washington plays a troubled youth who becomes a controversial human rights leader, and later assumes the name El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz.
Robert Downey, Jr.
This 1992 movie also starred Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd and Kevin Kline, who played one of the most famous actors of his day.A blood relative of the tragicomic figure Downey portrayed was also included.
Madonna
Andrew Lloyd Webber won an Oscar for best original song  in this 1996 musical about the famous wife of an Argentinian president, played by Madonna

Brad Pitt
A lot of people consider this film Brad’s big debut. But no, it was the 1989 film “Cutting Class.” (Watch clips.) This low-budget slasher flick was the world’s first glimpse of the future Mr. Jolie.