Slovakia is also home to celebrities and well-known personalities of world calibre. Whetherit’s those who have shaped the world and influenced history from beautiful Slovakia, or thosewho were forced to leave – we bring you an overview of the most interesting personalitiesfrom the history of Slovakia.
Some of the famous personalities who have parents or grandparents from Slovakia include:
• Jon Bon Jovi (grandmother from Slovakia)
• Ivan Reitman (parents from Komárno)
• Paul Newman (mother from Ptič)
• Audrey Hepburn (grandmother born in Kovarce)
• Angelina Jolie (grandfather from Košice)
• Andy Warhol (mother from Mikova)
Others include:
Jessica Biel
Until recently, Jessica lived under the assumption that her roots were in Germany. So shedecided she wanted to find out.
And so, at her request, German genealogy expert Dr. Jürgen Udolph began searching and finally declared that she had to search for her ancestors in Slovakia, in the vicinity of Žilina.
It turned out that her great-grandfather was Moritz Biel from Porúbka near Žilina. In 1988 Jewish families from this part of Slovakia were not used to moving away, but the Biel family was an exception.
Steve McQueen
According to some sources, his ancestors come from the village of Jastrabie near Michalovce.
Andrej Ihnát, his father, together with his wife moved to the USA in the 1920s, where their son Štefan was born in March 1930. He later changed his name and adopted the pseudonym Steve McQueen.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The grandmother of the famous Jamie Lee Curtis, Helena Klein, emigrated to America from the village of Poltár in Slovakia sometime around 1920. According to some resources, however, she came from Michalovce, where she was born.
Helena was the mother of the famous actor Tony Curtis, who admitted to Czechoslovakian, Hungarian and Jewish ancestry. This famous actor starred, for example, in the film with Marilyn Monroe “Some Like It Hot”. As an actor, he was certainly a great inspiration to his daughter.
Slovakia is full of many interesting facts. Just stop and take in everything around you. Wondering why you should visit Slovakia? Or are you interested in attractions such as our national stone Opal? Read on, visit the fairytale, and arrange your trip itinerary with us today.
