Catherine Zeta-Jones
Zeta-Jones in 2005, 360b / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Catherine Zeta Jones
Place of Birth: Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales
Date of Birth: 25 September, 1969
Ethnicity: Welsh, smaller amounts of Irish and English
Catherine Zeta-Jones is a Welsh actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago (2002). Her roles also include the films The Mask of Zorro, Entrapment, The Haunting, Traffic, Intolerable Cruelty, Ocean’s Twelve, No Reservations, and Side Effects, and television’s Catherine the Great.
Her father is of Welsh descent. Her mother is of Welsh, English, and Irish ancestry. She is married to American actor Michael Douglas, with whom she has two children, including podcaster Dylan Douglas.
Catherine’s paternal grandfather was named Bertram G. Jones (whose parents’ surnames were Jones and Johns). Bertram was born in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales.
Catherine’s paternal grandmother was named Zeta Davies (whose parents’ surnames were Davies and Morgan). Catherine’s grandmother Zeta was born in Swansea.
Catherine’s maternal grandfather was William Edgar Fair (the son of Ernest George Fair and Edith Margaret Williams). William was born in Swansea. Ernest was born in Swansea, to English parents, from Devon, William Fair and Agnes Pugsley, with Agnes at least being from Barnstaple. Edith was the daughter of James Williams and Ruth Lewis.
Catherine’s maternal grandmother is named Kathleen/Catherine O’Callaghan. Catherine was born in Swansea.
Catherine is sometimes described on the internet as being of Greek ancestry. This is not accurate.
Source: Genealogy of Catherine Zeta-Jones – https://www.geni.com
Maybe name Zeta means “olive” for Hebrew,but i think it seems that this is just letter from Greek alphabet
sorry, i mean 200 thousand italians in preceding comment
PS.Wales on of the few regions in Europe witn one of the lowest level of migration for the last 4000 or more years!
Mark Jordan you’re liar or not belong to history society!!!
Population in Wales before 1830 was about 800-900 thousand people.And there’s absolutely normal when population in Wales grew to 2 million in 1900.Such a big increase -It’s a common situation for all Brit.Islands and Europe generally,it’s not a migration,it is just high fertility of industrial society
you’re saying: 200 italians in South Wales in 1900!!!!!!?????
Mark you have sunstroked when you wrote this?
In this case halfmillion of modern Welsh people must be with italian surnames LOL))))))))))))
By the way,Jenkins is not Anglo-saxon surname,it Cornwall surname appears in Britain after Normands conquest as composit of early christianic (not anglo-saxon) name Ioan and flemish/french word ”kiin” what means ”son”.Thus normands registered native people
There’s a lot of darkhaired people in South Wales because of one of the early neolithic migrations from Iberia.Some Roman chronists in the beginning of AD described Silures as people, looks like Iberians.
i don’t know what does it means Zeta,but i’m goin’ to find out that.i’m sure Catherine doesn’t have italian heritage,she is 100 % Briton
Welsh Historians certainly write a skewed history of Wales and bend the facts to promote their own nationalism. If you believed their history, Italians started arriving in South Wales in 1885, yet many Italian businesses are recorded from 1820. The massive amount of Italians and Germans that came to Glamorgan don’t show up on the census’ due to name changes (Jones), naturalisation and offspring being civically Welsh.
I said Fair was Anglo Saxon – Jenkins is an English name.
No population can increase by a muliple of 4 in 100 years without massive immigration. Especially in a society where children died at childbirth.
Zeta means ‘Little Girl” in Italian. Jones was a generic name given to foreignors by the local Welsh administrators, there in no getting away from that.
Catherine Zeta Jones is, in my opinion, as ethnically Italian and English. Only a full study of her geneology would confirm this.
OK! In your mind:200 THOUSANDS Italians!!! came to Wales around 1850-1900 and most of them changed their surnames immediately???!!! Sorry man but it is a whopper! Where did you get this information? Real number of Italian immigrants in Wales were no more than just 1000-1500 about 1900 year and most of them worked in the coal mines and as a seamen on a ships
No,you said that Jenkins is Old English name. It’s not true,cause Old Eanglish it’s the same that Anglo-Saxon!
This surname is derivative from early Christian (Latin) name Ioannes ,more widespread in Wales, Cornwall,Devon and West Midlands. It’s earliest documented occurrence in Monmouthshire,Wales in the Domesday in XI century.There is no connection with Old English names.
Increase of population by a multiple of 4 in 100 years is characteristically situation for all Britain,not just for Wales. Because of high fertility and low mortality thanks to advances in medicine and healthcare.
“Zeta means “Little Girl” in Italian” – Lie again!!!
Name Jones derives from early medieval Latin name Ioannes,and you must know that Christianity,and this name respectively became common in Wales much earlier than in Eastern England ,and by the time of Eduard I,name Ioannes and derivatives from that were very common in all Christian Europe including Wales,so, your version that this name brought to Wales from England in Modern Era is absurd.
Your opinion about Italian heritage of Catherine is just your imagination ,it’s can never be confirmed
If you are interested in a list of old english names for boys and girls try this one Old English Names
Ok,Mark Jordan,in your mind 200 thousand Italians!!!! settled in Wales in XIX century,and all of them didn’t registered and immediately changed their names ???!!!! Sorry man but this is bullshit!
In fact real number of Italian immigrants in Wales by 1900 year was never more than 1000-1500 people and most of them worked as a seamen or miners.
You said that Jenkins is Old English surname,but Old English is the same Anglo-Saxon language.
In reality surname Jenkins (which very widespread in Wales,Cornwall,Devon and West Midlands) derives from early Christian (Latin) name Ioannes,and you must know that Christianity became common in Wales much earlier than in Eastern England,so respectively name Ioannes and derivatives were widespread in Wales long before Eduard I.For example surname Jenkins first documented in Monmouthshire in Doomsday book in XI century.
Increase of population by a multiple of 4 in 100 years is characteristically for England and Wales.because of advanced in medicine,health education.welfare work and other actions.i don’t say that there wasn’t immigration to Britain,but it was not decisive reason of increase of population there.
“””Zeta means “Little Girl” in Italian””” _Lie again!
What about surname Jones.By 1811-1841 year about 145,000 people named Jones were livin’ in Wales,more than in England! So,your posulate that surname Jones had brought to Wales just by immigrants is absurd!
Your opinion,that Catherine as ethically Italian is just your imagination which not based on any facts and can’t be confirmed.
Why are some of you getting so upset. The simple answer is Migration. No matter how long ago it happened explains why it all. Saying a country doesn’t explain ethnicity and we really shouldn’t get angry when someone notices that someone doesn’t look like their fellow countryman. Their ancestors mixed in with the original countryman but their original DNA is still present and so what if we still see traces of it. If hundreds or more years didn’t irradicate it, how will getting mad change things?
This is an interesting site, many people have negative and emotional things to say when it comes to this over talked about issue.
Come on. Why can’t she be Welsh and Irish? Why does she have to be anything other than what she is? Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but honestly, in the times we live in, we really dont have to be embarassed to admit anything, because as the person stated at the top of the post, it is not the 1940s anymore.
Now back to the issue of her heritage, many Irish and Welsh have the same features, and as for wether or not that they have been invaded by these many eastern invadors, is left up to the historians, archeologists and scientists. The rest belongs to time.
If we stopped bothering ourselves with that age old question about guessing someone is who they are by looking at them, we’re putting them into a tired stereotype. Enough of it, isn’t anyone bored yet talking about the same thing?
She is what she is, why not let her just embrace that and not have to feel like she needs to be forced to say otherwise?
Does it offend you if she isn’t black, asian, or any other race for that matter?
There is no shame to be anything than what you are-you can be any race and be proud.
She is Welsh and Irish. Period.
well articulated!
Totally agree…here people are ridicolous!!!
@Trese This is not accurate. The physical appearance of Catherine Zeta-Jones indicates she has a large amount of Northern Spanish or Northern Italian admixture – which has changed the geometry of her face significantly away from the associated typology of the native Irish and Welsh. This can be explained by analyzing the immigration history of Wales, which received a large amount of immigration, from Southern Europe, circa 1830-1890. She still carries many features of the Irish and Welsh, including a near porcelain skin color, which suggests the Southern European admixture was from haplogroup R1b-S116, which originates from Northern Spain/Italy (i.e. historically Gaulish, also called “Italo-Celtic”). The Gauls were more related to the Irish, Welsh and Celts of Southwest England (Devon). The northern Spanish are distinct from southern Spain/Italy, which are haplogroup i2 and J (J-M304), which are not white.
Calm down idiot stop to write bullshts she can’t be like my countrymen Northern and Central Italians cause she isn’t Alpine she doesn’t have the light Nordic face of them she looks Mexican and other dark Hispanics, dark Spaniard aka a Southern and a Southern Italian.