Profile Text
Birth Name: Sophie Holloway
Place of Birth: Westminster, London, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 15 September, 1977
Ethnicity: * father – English * mother – Norwegian, some English, Irish, and Danish, Swiss-German, German, Dutch, Scottish, French, Swedish, and Welsh
Sophie Dahl is a British author and fashion model.
She is the daughter of author and actress Tessa Dahl and actor Julian Holloway (Julian Robert Stanley Holloway), and the granddaughter of actor, humourist, comedian, singer, poet, and monologist Stanley Holloway, chorus dancer and actress Violet Lane, novelist, short story writer, and poet Roald Dahl , and American actress Patricia Neal . She was partly raised in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, and East Preston, West Sussex.
Sophie is married to jazz-pop singer, songwriter, and pianist Jamie Cullum , with whom she has two children. Her maternal half-brother, Ned Donovan, is married to Princess Raiyah bint Hussein, the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and Queen Noor of Jordan .
Sophie is a niece of Olivia Dahl, social justice and health care advocate Ophelia Dahl, and screenwriter Lucy Dahl; a cousin of fashion designer, philanthropist, and activist Phoebe Dahl; and a first cousin, once removed, of art dealer Nicholas Logsdail, who founded and co-owns Lisson Gallery.
Sophie’s paternal grandfather was Stanley Augustus Holloway (the son of George Augustus Holloway and Florence May Bell). Stanley was born in London, England. George was the son of Augustus Holloway, a wealthy shopkeeper, and of Amelia Catherine Knight. Stanley’s mother was the daughter of parents surnamed Bell and Bernard. Stanley’s great-uncle was Shakespearean actor and theatre manager Charles Bernard, and Sophie’s first cousin, three times removed, Charles’s son, was architect, and scenic, graphic, and industrial designer Oliver Percy Bernard.
Sophie’s paternal grandmother was named Violet Marion Lane (the daughter of parents surnamed Lane and Elborn). Violet was born in Leeds, England.
Sophie’s maternal grandfather was Roald Dahl (the son of Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg). Roald was born in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, to Norwegian parents; with his father being from Sarpsborg, and having settled in Cardiff in the 1880s, and his mother moving to Wales in 1911. Harald was the son of Olavus Trulsen Krosby/Dahl and Elen Thorine Andersdatter Langengen. Sophie’s great-grandmother Sofie was the daughter of Karl Laurits Hesselberg and Elen Wallace.
Sophie’s maternal grandmother was Patricia Neal (born Patricia Louise Neal, the daughter of William Burdette Neal and Eura Mildred Petrey). Patricia was born in Packard, Kentucky, U.S. William was the son of William David Neal and Mary Lou/Lucy Fitzgerald. Eura was the daughter of Pascal/Paschal Grennings/Gennings Petrey and Florence Jane “Flora” Siler.
Source: Genealogy of Sophie Dahl – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Sophie’s mother (through her own sister Olivia) – https://www.wikitree.com
Sophie’s maternal grandmother, Patricia Neal, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org