Ralph Fiennes

Fiennes in 2011, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes

Place of Birth: Ipswich, Suffolk, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 22 December, 1962

Ethnicity: English, Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish

Ralph Fiennes is an English actor, film producer, and director. His roles include the films Wuthering Heights (1992), Schindler’s List, Quiz Show, The English Patient, The Prince of Egypt, The End of the Affair, Maid in Manhattan, The Constant Gardener, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the Harry Potter franchise, In Bruges, The Duchess (2008), The Reader, The Hurt Locker, Clash of the Titans (2010), Coriolanus (2011), which he directed; Great Expectations (2012), Skyfall, and subsequent James Bond films; The Invisible Woman (2013), which he also directed; The Grand Budapest Hotel, A Bigger Splash, Hail, Caesar!, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Lego Batman Movie, The White Crow, which he directed; The Dig, The King’s Man (2021), The Menu, and Conclave (2024). He is a Shakespeare interpreter, and is also known for his runs at the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is an ambassador for UNICEF UK.

Ralph 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 film director, writer, and producer Martha Fiennes; film director and producer Sophie Fiennes; composer, record producer, and songwriter Magnus Fiennes; and actor Joseph 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.

Ralph’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. Ralph’s third cousin, once removed, is explorer and endurance record holder Ranulph Fiennes.

Ralph has received Serbian citizenship.

Ralph’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. Ralph’s great-grandfather Alberic was the son of Wingfield Stratford Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes and Alice Susan Yorke. Wingfield’s father, Ralph’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. Ralph’s great-grandmother Gertrude was the daughter of Henry FitzGeorge Colley, whose grandfather was John Pomeroy, 4th Viscount Harberton; and of Elizabeth Isabella Wingfield.

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

Ralph’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.

Ralph’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. Ralph’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. Ralph’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.

Ralph’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: Genealogy of Ralph Fiennes – https://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com

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