July 30 – Happy Birthday, Lisa Kudrow

Posted on July 30, 2017


Today is the birthday of a highly accomplished actor, producer, writer, and comedian. Lisa Kudrow is famous for everything from TV to movies, and from comedy to drama.

I wanted to highlight a reality program she produces: Who Do You Think You Are?

This TV show is all about genealogy. We can watch famous people researching their own families - and along the way, we can learn about how genealogists research family ancestry. Of course, being an hour-long show, we do not wallow in the parts of a family for which nobody can find any records - instead, we are treated to the best-of-the-best that genealogists were able to learn about each family.

 Like history? You will dip in and out of various centuries in this show.

 Like geography? You will follow the celebrities across the nation and the world.

 Like drama? Every family has is tragedies and its surprises. 
Kudrow was shocked to hear that
one of her ancestors was killed in
the Holocaust. But she was joyful
to meet a cousin she never knew -
someone who survived the Holocaust!
Kudrow's own family seems relatively boring and middle class. She was born in Los Angeles. Her mom was a travel agent, and her dad was a doctor. But her family ancestry - which she partially explored during the show - included hardships and tragedies. Her various ancestors immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus, Germany, Hungary, and Poland, and her paternal great-grandmother was killed by Nazis in the Holocaust.

 I liked this article about the series - it really lays out the kinds of things that I learned from Who Do You Think You Are?
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