They Were Born Where?! Quiz | People

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1. Legendary American entertainer Bob Hope was in fact born outside the USA. Where did he spend the first 5 years of his life?

Answer: England

Bob Hope, who lived to the ripe old age of 100 years, was born in Eltham, London in 1903. His family moved to the US in 1908, where they settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Finding his love of entertaining at an early age, Hope busked in the streets performing singing, dancing and comedy routines. He also won a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest at the age of 12.

2. Madeleine Albright, the first female US Secretary of State, was actually born in which European city?

Answer: Prague

Albright was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) in 1937. Her birth name was Marie Jana Korbolova. Her family fled their home country when she was just two years old, following the invasion of Germany in 1939.

3. St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was actually born in Italy.

Answer: False

Patrick's precise birthplace is the subject of much scholarly debate; although it is generally accepted that he was born in Great Britain, most likely England or Scotland. What is also generally believed to be true is that he was born some time in the late 4th century, and that he was taken to Ireland as a slave after being captured by pirates.

He went on to France once he was free, joining the priesthood, only to return to Ireland later as a missionary.

4. Mel Gibson is considered an Australian actor. However he spent the first 12 or so years of his life elsewhere. Where was he born?

Answer: New York, USA

Mel came from a large Catholic family and was the sixth of eleven children. He was born in Peekskill, New York, in 1956, and did not move to Australia until he was 12 years old. Mel's first major role was in the Peter Weir film "Gallipoli" in 1981.

5. Musician Dave Matthews, actor Charlize Theron and author J.R.R Tolkien all share a common country of birth not associated with their later countries of citizenship. Which country is this?

Answer: South Africa

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in 1892 in the Orange Free State (now Free State Province), as his father was at the time working for a British bank in that country. Charlize Theron was born in Benoni in the Transvaal Province, and in fact spent most of her youth in South Africa.

She also lived in Italy prior to moving to the US, after winning a modelling competition at the age of 16. Dave Matthews was born in Johannesburg but moved to New York at the age of 2 with his family when his father changed jobs.

6. Despite Adolf Hitler's close association with Germany, which neighbouring country was he actually born in?

Answer: Austria

Hitler was born in 1889 in a town known as Braunau am Inn in Austria (in fact this was known as Austria-Hungary at the time). He was the fourth of six children, although all three of his older siblings died very young. Hitler's family relocated to Germany (Passau, Lower Bavaria) when he was three years old, but he also spent significant time in his youth living and studying in Vienna.

He moved back to Germany (Munich) at the age of 24 after receiving the remainder of his father's estate.

7. Legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and actor Hugo Weaving share a common continent of birth. Which?

Answer: Africa

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in 1949 in Zanzibar (which is now considered part of Tanzania). He also spent much of his youth in India, attending a bording school in Mumbai. Hugo Weaving was born in Nigeria in 1960 (a British protectorate at the time).

His family moved back to England when he was just one, but he also spent different periods of his childhood in Australia and South Africa.

8. Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium.

Answer: True

Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston in Brussels in 1929. Due to her father's British background and her mother's Dutch heritage (and the later breakdown of their marriage) she spent much of her childhood travelling between the Netherlands, England and Belgium.

She went on to speak five different languagues. After a long acting career spanning several decades, Hepburn died from a rare cancer of the appendix in 1993.

9. Keanu Reeves has lived in Canada, USA, Lebanon and Australia. But which of these was he born in?

Answer: Beirut, Lebanon

Keanu Reeves has a multicultural background, with a Hawaiian-American father and British mother. His parents met in Beirut when his mother was working there, and the city became his birthplace in 1964. Reeves was a gifted athlete in his youth, and had ambitions of playing hockey for Canada before he injured himself and gave up the dream.

10. What continent were Bruce Willis, Dominic Monahan and Tommy Lee all born on?

Answer: Europe

Bruce Willis was born Walter Bruce Willis in West Germany in 1955. At the age of two his family moved to New York following his father's retirement from military life. Prior to his acting career, Willis worked as a security guard and a private investigator. Dominic Monahan was born in Berlin in 1976, and lived in different parts of Germany until the age of 11, when his family relocated to England. Along with his TV and movie career, Dominic is an environmental activist and a member of PETA. Tommy Lee was born in Athens, Greece in 1956.

His family moved to Los Angeles when he was just one. Tommy was involved in the school marching band before discovering his love for heavy metal music.

Source: Author timence

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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They Were Born Where?! Trivia Quiz

Many famous people turn out to be born outside the country they are most associated with. Here are just 10 of them from various walks of life.

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