We all love the queen of film and television, BAFTA and Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman. Be it her role as Queen Elizabeth II in ‘The Crown’, or her spite-inspiring characterisation of Godmother in BBC’s ‘Fleabag’, she has made all of us fall in love with her.
What many may not be aware of is that the actress has definite Indian roots. In a recent episode of the British documentary series ‘Who Do You Think You Are’, Colman (and the collective of us) discovered her very Bihari roots. The actress, who started the show with certainty that her people have never lived anywhere out of Norfolk, we see her excitedly uncover her Indian connection.
We learn that Colman’s great great great grandfather Charles had a wife of Indian descent called Harriot, who was from Kishanganj, Bihar. She was born in the 1800s when India was still under the control of the East India Company. The episode, which aired in July 2018, shows her undertaking a journey to Kishanganj where she receives more detailed information regarding Harriot.
What’s more? It is also revealed that Harriot’s father most likely lived with a local woman. Colman grows genuinely overwhelmed over the discoveries and at one point in the clip, she says, “I’m so much more interesting than I thought I was…I hadn’t got a clue that India played any part of my family.”
Colman is known for her performances in projects like ‘Fleabag’, ‘Flowers’, ‘The Father’, ‘The Lost Daughter’, and ‘The Crown’. She is currently filming the highly anticipated movie ‘Wonka’ alongside Timothee Chalamet. The film is touted as a prequel to the beloved ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.
