David Hartnell’s Holiday – 10th January 2011

Monday 10th January 2011

I'm not one to gossip but……Not all stars were born in Hollywood, infact, hardly any. Here’s some family ties and who was born where.

Brendan Fraser and his wife Afton both share the same birthday—3 December. There is a year difference in their age—he’s a year older.

Andy Garcia was born with a conjoined twin, which was no bigger than a tennis ball. Today Andy has a scar on his shoulder where his twin was surgically removed.

Here are some stars that have called Australia home, even though they were born elsewhere:

Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, but grew up in Melbourne.

Hugo Weaving was born in Nigeria, Africa, and moved to Sydney when he was 16 years old.

Greta Scacchi was born in Italy and moved to Australia in 1975.

Russell Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and moved to Sydney at the age of four.

John Farnham was born in Essex, England, and moved to Melbourne at the age of ten.

Colin Friels lives in Australia but was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

Jimmy Barnes was born in Scotland and moved to Australia at the age of six.

Nicole Kidman was born in Hawaii and moved to Sydney at the age of three.

Mel Gibson moved from New York to Sydney at the age of 12 with his ten brothers and sisters.

Naomi Watts moved to Sydney from England when she was 14 years old.

Guy Pearce grew up in Geelong, Victoria, but was born in Cambridgeshire, England. He came to Australia at the age of four.

Minnie Driver was born in Barbados; she lived in the Caribbean until she was nine years old. Then her parents sent her to an English boarding school.

Andrew McCarthy was born the third son of four. His dad was a financier and his mum was an advertising executive.

Michael Douglas thinks being a Libra is a curse because it makes decision-making trickier.

Nicolas Coppola (he changed his surname to Cage) was the youngest of three sons. His mum, Joy Vogeslang, was a creative dancer and choreographer. His dad, August Coppola, taught comparative literature at California State University and later became the Dean of the School of Creative Arts at San Francisco State University. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is his uncle, actress Talia Shire is his aunt and Sofia Coppola is a cousin. His mum and dad divorced when he was twelve.

Matthew Broderick was born in New York, the third child and only son of playwright/painter Patricia and actor dad James Broderick.

Andy Arturo Garcia Menendez (Andy Garcia) was born in Havana, Cuba, the youngest of three children. His dad was a lawyer who was known as ‘The Mayor’; he owned quite a bit of property in Havana. His mum, Amelie, taught English. When the Americans invaded the Bay of Pigs, his mum took the children to Miami.

Madonna was born at Mercy Hospital in Michigan, which is now the Bradley House retirement home.

Laura Dern was the second of two daughters. Her older sister drowned as an infant.

Lara Flynn Boyle was an only child. At the age of six, her parents divorced.

Annette Bening was the daughter of an insurance salesman and was the youngest of four.

Robert Duvall was the second of three sons to be born. His dad was a rear admiral, and his mum was an amateur actress who encouraged his interest in acting.

Rebecca De Mornay was the daughter of American TV personality Wally George. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. Her mum remarried but unfortunately her stepdad died not long after she turned five.

Patricia Arquette was born the middle child of five.

Mickey Rourke is from Scots-Irish descent. His dad was an undertaker and bodybuilder who separated from his mum when Mickey was seven.

Michael Keaton is the youngest of seven children.

English actor Bob Hoskin’s dad was a bookkeeper and his mum was a school cook.

Matthew Modine was the youngest of seven children; his father was the manager of a drive-in theatre.

American TV talk-show host Jay Leno’s mum Catherine was born in Scotland. His dad, Angelo, is Italian.

Pamela Anderson was the first Canadian baby born on Canada’s Centennial Day in 1967.

Many times it’s been said and printed that Mel Gibson was born in Australia—not true—he was born in Peekskill, New York. His family moved to Australia when Mel was 12; he attended acting school in Sydney at the State Theatre of New South Wales and the rest is history.

Jack Nicholson was born to an unwed mother who was abandoned by an alcoholic husband. His ‘mum’ Ethel May, supported daughters June and Lorraine and son Jack by running an at-home beauty parlour. In the early seventies, Jack learned Ethel May was really his grandmother; Lorraine, his aunt; and June, his mother.

Bianca Jagger, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Mick, was born in Nicaragua.

Donald Duck was born in 1934 in Los Angeles, at the end of Walt Disney’s pencil.

Kings of the horror movies Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price all share the same birthday, 27th May.

Johnny Cash, Cher, James Garner and Burt Reynolds are all part Cherokee.

Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium.

Julie Christie was born in India.

In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Sean Connery played Harrison Ford’s father. Since Sean was born in 1930 and Harrison in 1942, that means Sean would have been 12 when Harrison was born.

It’s often stated that actor Sam Neill was born in New Zealand. In fact he was born in Ireland and immigrated to New Zealand with his parents at the age of seven. His real name is Nigel Neill, but his parents nicknamed him Sam as a baby and the name stuck.

American actress Victoria Principal was born in Japan.

Patrick McGoohan, star of the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner, was not English; he was born in New York.

Robin Williams was born in Edinburgh. His dad was a top executive with the Lincoln car firm, which was based in Scotland. When Robin was one they moved back to America…..but my lips are sealed!

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