They are all Americans with Norwegian ancestry! You may not have realized that there were so many Norwegian-Americans who have become household names. Read on and find out how each person is connected to Gamle Norge.

  • Renée Zellweger’s mother Kjellfrid is from Ekkerøy in northern Norway.
  • Chris Pratt’s mother Kathleen Pratt (née Indahl) Pratt has Norwegian heritage.
  • Lindsey Vonn’s great-great grandmother came from the Norwegian town of Laudal, in Agder county.
  • Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, is half Norwegian. His mother’s maiden name, Wiggum, originated in Oppland County as Veggum. The animated series has a character named Chief Wiggum, and Norway is one of the countries most often referenced on the show.
  • Tom Brady’s mother Galynn (née Johnson) is part Norwegian. Brady and his siblings grew up spending summers on the Johnson family farm in rural Minnesota.
  • Jimmy Fallon’s maternal grandmother’s father, Hans Hovelsen, emigrated from Fredrikstad, in what is now Viken county.
  • Astronaut and physicist Sally Ride’s mother was of Norwegian descent.
  • Kristen Wiig’s paternal grandfather was Norwegian. The name Wiig hails from the area of Sogn og Fjordane (now Vestland) on the west coast of Norway.
  • Rick Steves’ mother was born to Norwegian immigrants Harold and Erna Fremmerlid in Edmonton, Alberta.
  • Josh Duhamel has Norwegian ancestry on his mother’s side.
  • Michelle Williams’ great-great grandmother Inge Jacobin stowed away on a ship from Norway to the U.S. at the age of 15.
  • Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have Norwegian ancestry on their father’s side.
  • Laura Dern was raised by her mother and her grandmother, who have Norwegian ancestry.
  • Chrissy Teigen’s father Ronald is Norwegian-American
  • Macaulay Culkin’s mother hails from North Dakota and has a Norwegian background.
  • Tippi Hedren is a quarter Norwegian, and passed that Nordic heritage on to her daughter Melanie Griffith and granddaughter Dakota Johnson
  • Paris Hilton’s great-great-grandfather Augustus Halvorsen Hilton was born on the Hilton farm at Kløfta, Ullensaker, Akershus outside of Oslo, and emigrated to the US at age 10.
  • Walter Mondale, Former U.S. Vice President and Senator, had paternal grandparents who came from Norway. His last name stems from Mundal, a town on the Fjærlandsfjord in Vestland County.
  • Josh Hartnett is half Scandinavian—both Norwegian and Swedish.