Australia is notorious for claiming people born overseas as its own. Russell Crowe hails from New Zealand, Guy Pearce from England and Mel Gibson from New York state. But some ‘Aussies’ were born in altogether more unusual places – and we’ve tracked a few of them down.
But it’s not just Australians. Several A-List stars from the film and music industries have surprising birthplaces. So we’ve checked out some of the most unusual from around the world, and have come up with a few suggestions for if they go home as a tourist.
Nicole Kidman
Born where? ‘Our’ Nic is – like Mel Gibson – a Yank. Well, in terms of birthplace anyway. Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where her father was working as a visiting professor at the time. The family returned to Australia when Nicole was just four, but the American passport came in rather handy.
What she could do if she went back: Honolulu itself is a bit of a grot-hole, to be frank. It’s very Americanised and rather unPolynesian. But she could head to the other Hawai’ian islands for some awesome volcanic landscapes, rainforests and the chance to take on some seriously scary downhill mountain biking.
Emma Watson
Born where? The Harry Potter child star turned fashion icon is usually billed as a demure English rose in waiting. But the actress who plays Hermione Grainger is actually as French as a man going on strike in order to ride a bicycle with onions around his neck, clad in a beret and a stripy shirt.
Oh, OK, she’s not quite that French, but she was born in Paris to a pair of British lawyers who were working there at the time, and she also has a French grandmother.
What she could do if she went back: It seems a shame to visit the city of romance with an acne-ridden ginger kid on your arm, but Emma could take Ron Weasley to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre then hang out with arty types in Montmartre.
George Gregan
Born where? Australia’s most-capped rugby union player – and former captain – moved to Australia as a one year old. Bizarrely, he was born in the same hospital as his great rival, South African captain Corné Krige. And that hospital was in… Lusaka, Zambia. Gregan’s mother is Zimbabwean, but his father is Aussie.
What he could do if he went back: There are a few museums, the odd statue and a couple of decent-sized shopping malls. But, frankly, nothing you can’t get better somewhere else. Lusaka is reasonably close to Victoria Falls, however. And that is well worth seeing.
Natalie Portman
Born where? The Star Wars Parts Ropey, Ropier and Surprisingly Half Decent actress is the daughter of an Israeli fertility specialist. The family moved back to her mother’s homeland – the US – when she was three, but Portman was born in Jerusalem.
What she could do if she went back: Jerusalem has to be the world’s capital for religious tourism – it has key sites related to Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulchre), Islam (Dome of the Rock) and Judaism (Western, or Wailing, Wall). Distinct lack of theme parks and casinos, mind.
Isla Fisher
Born where? Her career may have started properly in Summer Bay before moving on to Hollywood flicks such as Wedding Crashers and Confessions of a Shopaholic, but Isla’s was Away more than Home in her early years.
Fisher’s dad was a banker with the United Nations, and was on a posting in Muscat, Oman when she popped out. They then moved back to Scotland – both of Isla’s parents are Scottish – before moving to Perth when she was six.
What she could do if she went back: Muscat has been the in-place in the Middle East for a couple of years now. It is low-rise and atmospheric – think souqs, palaces and mosques rather than the absurd, blingy building projects elsewhere in the Gulf.
Oman also has a great combination of desert, mountains and world-class diving.
Rihanna
Born where? She might be the multi million-selling face of poppy US R&B, but the umbrella-wielding shoulder pad fanatic only moved to the States when she was 16. And she only moved there after her soon-to-be manager had discovered her whilst visiting Rihanna’s native Barbados. Bizarrely, her mother is from Guyana and her father is part Irish.
What she could do if she went back: Well she does go back, and quite often. The Barbados Tourist Board has roped Rihanna in for all manner of promotional activity. And that means she’s plugging plush Caribbean resorts and some of the best beaches in the world.
Hugo Weaving
Born where? The ‘Aussie’ star of the Matrix and Lord of the Rings trilogies wins the random birthplace competition hands down. Weaving was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, where his father was working as a seismologist at the time. Both of his parents were English, and he only moved to Australia on a permanent basis at the age of 16. In other words, he makes Russell Crowe look true blue.
What he could do if he went back: From the admittedly sparse tourism literature on Ibadan, highlights include seeing Africa’s first skyscraper, and a colonial-style city hall. Fans of washed-up pop stars can also make pilgrimages to the birthplaces of Sade and Saffron from Republica. They were also born in Ibadan; clearly a hotbed of talent.
This article was originally written for Ninemsn.
Copyright David Whitley
