New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe has revealed he is the distant relative of a notorious Scottish Jacobite lord who was the last man to be executed by beheading in Britain.
The Gladiator star has been exploring his ancestry and his research uncovered some surprising connections.
While he knew he had Scottish heritage, he recently discovered he is related to Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat - known as the Old Fox.
Known for his scheming plots and switching sides between the British government and Jacobite causes, his clan was eventually among those defeated at the battle of Culloden in 1746 and he was executed the following year.
I've been on the hunt to track down my Italian forebears for quite some time. Folkloric family tales and misspelling had seen me travel on a number of wrong tracks.
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) January 3, 2024
Turns out my great great great grandfather, on my mother’s side, who travelled to NZ in 1864 was …
Fans of the Outlander novels and TV series will recognise him as the grandfather of lead character Jamie Fraser.
On X, formerly Twitter, Crowe said he had begun by trying to trace his Italian roots, something made difficult by "folkloric family tales and misspelling".
He discovered his great-great-grandfather Luigi Ghezzi had moved to New Zealand in 1864 after meeting Mary Ann Curtain in Cape Town.
The 59-year-old actor added: "Also something else that has recently come to light on my fathers mothers side, via John (Jock) Fraser (arrived in NZ in 1841) we directly connect back to Simon Fraser. 11th Lord Lovat. Look him up.
"He's quite the character. The Old Fox they used to call him.
Fascinating.
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) January 3, 2024
Also something else that has recently come to light on my fathers mothers side, via John ( Jock ) Fraser (arrived in NZ in 1841) we directly connect back to Simon Fraser. 11th Lord Lovat.
Look him up. He's quite the character. The Old Fox they used to call him
"Seems his Machiavellian ways caught up to him at the age of 80, & he has a claim to infamy as the last man to have the head chopped off his living body in the Tower of London. His death even coined a phrase.
"Apparently, they set up temporary stands for the gentry to watch him die.
"One of these stands collapsed which resulted in the death of nine onlookers.
"Being told this just before he was put to death made him laugh.
"He was still laughing when the blade struck his neck, thereby 'laughing his head off’."
Crowe also said his DNA suggested a strong Irish link, but he is currently uncertain where exactly this comes from.
Source: Press Association
