Joseph Fiennes

Fiennes in 2013, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes

Place of Birth: Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 27 May, 1970

Ethnicity: English, Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish

Joseph Fiennes is an English actor. His roles include Stealing Beauty, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, as William Shakespeare, Enemy at the Gates, Killing Me Softly, The Great Raid, Running with Scissors, The Escapist, FlashForward, The Games Maker, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Strangerland.

Joseph is the son of Mark Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, a farmer and photographer, from Dalton, Northumberland, and Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a writer and painter, from Chichester, Sussex. The Fiennes are a prominent family. Among his siblings are actor, film producer, and director Ralph Fiennes; film director, writer, and producer Martha Fiennes; film director and producer Sophie Fiennes; and composer, record producer, and songwriter Magnus Fiennes. His nephew, Martha’s son, is actor and model Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Ralph stated during his interview on Inside the Actors Studio (2006) that the surname Fiennes is of Norman origin.

Joseph’s recent (as well as relatively recent) ancestry consists of English, Northern Irish, Irish, and Scottish. Many of his ancestors had been born in India, during the time of British colonialism there. Joseph’s third cousin, once removed, is explorer and endurance record holder Ranulph Fiennes.

Joseph is married to María Dolores Diéguez, a Swiss model of Spanish origin. They have two children.

Joseph’s paternal grandfather was Maurice Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (the son of Alberic Arthur Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes and Gertrude Theodosia Colley). Maurice was born in Brentford, Middlesex, England, and was a prominent industrialist. Joseph’s great-grandfather Alberic was the son of Wingfield Stratford Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes and Alice Susan Yorke. Wingfield’s father, Joseph’s great-great-great-grandfather, was Frederick Benjamin Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 10th Baron Saye and Sele; and Wingfield’s maternal grandfather, Richard Wingfield, was 4th Viscount Powerscourt. Alice’s maternal grandfather was Henry Cunningham/Conyngham Montgomery, 1st baronet of the Hall, County Donegal. Joseph’s great-grandmother Gertrude was the daughter of Henry FitzGeorge Colley, whose grandfather was John Pomeroy, 4th Viscount Harberton; and of Elizabeth Isabella Wingfield.

Joseph’s paternal grandmother was named Sylvia Joan Finlay (the daughter of David Finlay).

Joseph’s maternal grandfather was Henry Alleyne Lash (the son of Nicholas Alleyne Lash and Violet Maud Keely). Henry, a British colonial officer, was born in Bengal, India. Nicholas was born in India, the son of Augustus Henry Lash and Alicia Elizabeth De Clare Quinlan, who were both born in Ireland. Violet was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, to English parents George Philipps Keely and Angela Fisher.

Joseph’s maternal grandmother was Joan/Joanna Mary Moore (the daughter of Pierce Langrishe Moore and Muriel Strange). Joan was born in Madras, India. Pierce was born in Trichinopoly, Madras, India, the son of Lewis Moore and Edith Katherine/Catherine Johnston, who had English ancestry. Joseph’s great-grandmother Muriel was born in London, England, and was the daughter of Lumisden Strange, who had English, Scottish, and Northern Irish ancestry; and of Alice Sibylla/Sybil Rideout. Joseph’s great-great-grandmother Alice was also born in India, the daughter of John Ward/Wood Rideout and Amy Ledwell Taylor, and was also of English descent.

Joseph’s matrilineal line can be traced to Sibella/Sybilla Dickson, who was born, c. 1742, in Somerset, England, and to her mother, Anne Carteret Dickson.

Sources: Genealogies of Joseph Fiennes – https://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com

Genealogy of the Fiennes family – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com