Profile Text
Norton in 2012, photo by PR Photos
Birth Name: Edward Harrison Norton
Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Date of Birth: August 18, 1969
Ethnicity: English, smaller amounts of German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, Swiss-German, Irish, French, Belgian, Dutch, and Welsh, remote Cornish
Edward Norton is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His roles include the films Primal Fear , The People vs. Larry Flynt , Everyone Says I Love You , Rounders , American History X , Fight Club , Keeping the Faith , which he also directed; The Score (2001), Death to Smoochy , Frida (2002), Red Dragon , 25th Hour , The Italian Job (2003), After the Sunset , Kingdom of Heaven , Down in the Valley , The Illusionist , The Painted Veil , The Incredible Hulk (2008), Pride and Glory , Leaves of Grass , Stone (2010), Moonrise Kingdom , The Bourne Legacy , The Grand Budapest Hotel , Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) , Sausage Party , Collateral Beauty , The Guardian Brothers , Isle of Dogs , Motherless Brooklyn , The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun ; Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery , Asteroid City , A Complete Unknown , and The Invite ; the series The Simpsons , Extrapolations , Sausage Party: Foodtopia , and The American Revolution ; and the music video for “Spring Break Anthem.” For a time, he lived and worked in Osaka, Japan, and speaks Japanese.
Edward is the son of Lydia Robinson “Robin” (Rouse), a teacher of English, and Edward Mower Norton, Jr., an environmental lawyer, conservation advocate, and federal prosecutor. His grandfather, James Rouse, was an urban planner, real estate developer, civic activist, and philanthropist. James founded The Rouse Company, developed the city of Columbia, Maryland, where Edward grew up, and also helped develop Boston’s Quincy Market, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and Norfolk’s Waterside Festival Marketplace. Edward is married to Canadian film producer Shauna Robertson, with whom he has two children.
Edward was raised an Episcopalian.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2023) stated that Edward’s genetic ancestry consists of:
*50% England & North Western Europe *36% Scotland *13% Germanic Europe *1% Norway
*50% England & North Western Europe *36% Scotland *13% Germanic Europe *1% Norway
Genetically, he was found to have a common ancestor with actress Julia Roberts .
He is a twelve times great-grandson of Pocahontas (born Matoaka; c. 1596-1617), and of her husband, John Rolfe (c. 1585-c. 1622), making him of 1/16384 Powhatan Native American descent.
Edward’s patrilineal line can be traced to Thomas Frederick Norton, who was born, c. 1747, in London, England.
Edward’s paternal grandfather was Edward Mower Norton, Jr. (the son of Edward Mower Norton and Alice C. Baals). Edward’s grandfather Edward was born in Ashland, Boyd, Kentucky. Edward’s great-grandfather Edward was born in Maysville, Mason, Kentucky, the son of Seneca Hughes Norton and Josephine Elizabeth Weis, whose own father, Daniel K. Weis, was a lawyer and editor of the Ashland Express. Edward’s great-grandmother Alice was born in Indiana, the daughter of Franklin S. “Frank” Baals and Cora Anna Stewart.
Edward’s paternal grandmother was Betty Kent Harrison (the daughter of Joseph Kent Harrison and Cornelia Long Somerville). Betty was born in Pecos, Reeves, Texas. Joseph was born in Staunton, Virginia, the son of George Moffett Harrison and Bettie/Betty Montgomery Kent. Edward’s great-grandmother Cornelia was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, the daughter of Henry Wilson Somerville, whose paternal grandfather was Scottish; and of Mary Mercer Long.
Edward’s maternal grandfather was James Wilson Rouse (the son of Willard Goldsmith Rouse and Lydia Agnes Robinson). James was born in Easton, Talbot, Maryland. Willard was born in Creswell, Harford, Maryland, the son of John Goldsmith/Gouldsmith Rouse and Harriett/Hallie/Harriet Bayless Hanway. Edward’s great-grandmother Lydia was the daughter of Alfonso Robinson and Charlotte Emory, whose own father was German.
Edward’s maternal grandmother was Elizabeth Jamieson “Libby” Winstead (the daughter of William Henry Winstead and Helen Hope Privett). Elizabeth was born in Goldsboro, Wayne, North Carolina. William was born in Winston-Salem, Forsyth, North Carolina, the son of William Henry Winstead and Elizabeth Lindsay Jamieson. Edward’s great-grandmother Helen was born in North Carolina, the daughter of Burkett Morris Privett and Mary Howard Leitner.
Sources: Genealogies of Edward Norton – https://famouskin.com https://www.geni.com
Obituary of Edward’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Jamieson “Libby” (Winstead) Rouse – http://articles.baltimoresun.com
History of the Norton family – http://www.nortonfamily.net