Edward Norton is a descendant of Pocahontas, a Native American who inspired the Disney classic

Edward Norton was part of a program on the American PBS network aimed at finding the ancestors of his guests. Among the Nortons there is a pleasant surprise: His 12th great-grandmother is Pocahontas, the 17th-century daughter of the chief of the Native American tribe Powhatan.whose life would inspire many films, including Disney’s famous “Pocahontas”.

The link with the iconic woman had always been rumored in the Norton family, but Henry Louis Gater Jr., the host of the show, confirms it: “It’s Absolutely True”he says, according to CNN in an excerpt from the program. There is documentation that directly traces Pocahontas, whose native name was Matoaka, and John Rolfe, the widower who she married and with whom she had a son, Thomas Rolfe, who would therefore also be his distant great-grandfather; with Norton. “It makes you understand that you are a little piece of history”says the three-time Oscar nominee.

However, it’s not all good news, especially when looking at more recent ancestors. The show also discovers that Norton has family connections with a man named John Winstead, his third great-grandfather, who owned seven slaves, probably a family of slaves, made up of a couple and five girls aged between 4 and 10 years. Norton says so “when you read ‘eight year old slave’, you want to die” and admits that confronting said family history without a doubt “It’s uncomfortable” and argues that it should be like this: “Everyone should feel uncomfortable”.

He is not the only celebrity who has family ties to slavers, as we also know the case of Benedict Cumberbatch, who may have to pay compensation for the profit his family made from exploiting people. However, Norton notes: “It’s not a judgment about your person and your life, but rather It is a judgment on the history of this country and above all it must be recognized. And then you have to deal with it”.

Reference in “Glass Onion”

A film reporter shared a certain reference in “Daggers in the Back: The Mystery of the Glass Onion” on Twitter that may have escaped the eyes of some: the similarity between the character of Norton, the archetypal tech tycoon, and entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmeswho was convicted of cheating and defrauding with her health tech company.

Well spotted but our reference photo was actually this:
? (it took many tries to get that weird ‘crossed eye trying to project seriousness’ right!) https://t.co/Q0otwAN0mT pic.twitter.com/8YhbDyGjEQ

? Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) January 4, 2023

Edward Norton confirms the reference by replying to the tweet, though he further specifies which image was used to parallel his character with the napkin where he points to his business idea and points out that “it took many tries to get that strange “crossed look while trying to project seriousness”.“.

* ‘Knives in the Back: The Mystery of the Glass Onion’ is now available on Netflix.