Angelina Jolie is French Canadian through her mother, Marcheline Bertrand. She descends from numerous French families that came to Quebec during the 17th century, including some of the founding families of New France. She’s also a descendant of some of Acadia’s original settlers. If you’re French Canadian, there’s a good chance you share common ancestors with the talented actress. Follow along as I explore Angelina Jolie’s French Canadian roots:
Angelina Jolie’s Mother’s Family
Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, is where she gets her French Canadian ancestry. Marcheline has significant French roots that go all the way back to early Quebec and early Acadia. She also has Dutch and German ancestry. Despite claims that she has Indigenous roots, I was unable to find any evidence in her family tree to support that.
Marcheline’s direct ancestor, Jean Bertrand, is first documented in Quebec City in 1683 as a labourer serving Sieur Le Breton. He married Marguerite Tessier, daughter of Marc Tessier and Jacquette Ledoux, in 1685 in Charlesbourg and had three children. Only Francois Bertrand survived to adulthood. Bertrand married a second time in 1696 to Jeanne Lavallée.
While the Bertrand family lived in Quebec during the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, Leon Bertrand eventually moved from Quebec to Illinois in the 1800s, where several generations of Marcheline’s family later settled. Marcheline was born in Illinois, though her family relocated to Beverly Hills, California, when she was in high school.
French Canadian Pioneer Roots
Through her mother’s family, Jolie connects to many other French-Canadian families, including several of Quebec’s founding families. These pioneers helped establish New France in the 1600s. Her pioneer ancestors include:
| Pierre Desportes and Françoise Langlois | Arrived between 1614 and 1620. |
| Marie Hélène Desportes | Born around 1620 in New France. First European child born in Canada. |
| Jacques Hertel de La Fresnière | Arrived as early as 1615 as an interpreter. |
| Robert Drouin | First appeared in Quebec records in 1633; however, the exact arrival date is unknown. |
| Zacharie Cloutier and Xainte Dupont | Settled in Beauport in 1634 with their five children. |
| Marin Boucher and Perrine Mallet | Arrived in New France in 1634 with their two children. |
| Henri Pinguet and Louise Lousche | Settled in Quebec in 1634 with their three children. |
Are you interested in the earliest settlers of New France? Check out New France’s Founding Families and Their Fascinating Stories.
Acadian Ancestry
Angelina Jolie doesn’t just have French-Canadian roots in Quebec — she can also trace her ancestry back to Acadia’s original French-Canadian settlers. Her Acadian ancestors include:
| René Landry the Elder | Settled in Acadia in the 1650s with his wife, Perrine Bourg, and his family. |
| Jean Thériot | Arrived before 1650, becoming a pioneer of the Thériot family and one of the earliest permanent French settlers. |
| Daniel LeBlanc | Settled in Port-Royal with his wife Françoise Gaudet before 1650, becoming the patriarch of the LeBlanc family. |
| Jean Gaudet | Arrived between 1633 and 1652. Known as the Abraham of Acadia for his many descendants and his early arrival in the colony. |
| Jacques Bourgeois | Settled in Port Royal in 1641, becoming the first Bourgeois ancestor in Acadia and the founder of the Beaubassin settlement. |
| Vincent Brun | Arrived before 1653 and is considered one of the pioneers of Acadia, along with his wife, Renée Breau. |
| Simon Pelletret | Believed to have arrived before 1641 and received one of the first land grants near the fort at Port Royal. |
| Guillaume Trahan | Arrived in Acadia in 1636 aboard the Saint-Jehan, becoming the ancestral patriarch of the Acadian Trahan family. |
Are you interested in learning more about Acadia’s earliest settlers? Check out Acadia’s Original French Canadian Settlers and Their Untold Stories.
Connection to Gillette Banne and Jacques Bertault
Angelina Jolie descends from Jacques Bertault and Gillette Banne, a 17th-century French Canadian couple who murdered their son-in-law, Julien de la Touche. They were later publicly executed for the crime.
Julien had married their daughter, Élisabeth Bertault, in 1671 when she was only 12 years old. He was thirty years old, struggled with alcoholism and was abusive towards her. Élisabeth’s parents tried to intervene, but to no avail.
Bertault and Banne decided to try to poison him, but when that failed, the following day, Banne confronted him in his barn, leading to an altercation, which ended with Jacques killing de la Touche with a hoe. Neighbours heard Julien’s cries and reported the crime.
Gillette Banne and Jacques Bertault were tried and convicted of Julien’s murder and sentenced to death in 1672. Élisabeth avoided execution but had to publicly apologize and witness her parents’ execution. Jacques punishment was particularly gruesome. Both his arms and legs were broken with an iron rod before he was hanged. After his death, his body was displayed on an execution wheel as a warning to others.
Banne was also hanged, but she was spared from having her limbs broken with an iron rod and her body displayed on an execution wheel afterward.
Want to learn more about Jacques Bertault and Gillette Banne? Check out Jacques Bertault and Gillette Banne – Heartless Killers or Completely Misunderstood?
Angelina Jolie’s French Canadian Cousins
Because New France’s population was relatively small, Angelina Jolie shares ancestry with several other celebrities of French Canadian descent. In this chart, I am only including connections through New France’s founding families, though many of these celebrities likely share additional ancestors beyond those listed here. Here are some of Jolie’s distant cousins who share at least one common ancestor with her:
Our Shared Connections
Angelina Jolie and I share several common French Canadian ancestors, but make no mistake, we are not that closely related. Here are some of our common ancestors:
Want to discover more celebrities with roots in New France’s founding families? Check out Celebrities You Didn’t Know Have French Canadian Pioneer Ancestors.
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