George Clooney Genealogy
(aka, George Timothy Clooney)Are You Related?
Known for his charm, charisma, and for being one of Hollywood's most lovable playboys, George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Born May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, Clooney comes from an entertaining family. His aunt was singer/actress Rosemary Clooney (best known for White Christmas), his uncle was actor Jose Ferrer, and his two cousins are actors Miguel and Rafael Ferrer. Clooney temporarily played baseball with the Cincinnati Reds but was cut from the team in the found round of player cuts. Odd jobs included selling insurance door-to-door, stocking shelves, and working construction before he made it big as an actor. His first role was in TV miniseries Centennial in 1978, though his big break wouldn't come until sixteen years later on ER. Oddly, in the interim between, he starred in another short-lived show called E/R, a hospital sitcom. Since then, he made a successful transition to film with films like One Fine Day, Batman & Robin, Out of Sight, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, and Syriana, for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award (the same year that he was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck). Off-screen, Clooney is known for his political activism, his philanthropy, and his serial dating. Though married once before to actress Talia Balsam, Clooney was considered Hollywood's preeminent bachelor, linked to everyone from Kelly Preston to Renee Zellwegger, though as of 2014 he is engaged to lawyer Amal Alamuddin.
George Clooney's last name, 'Clooney,' is a Scottish name, referring to someone who lived on the "Clunie" lands near Perthshire in central Scotland. Other spellings include "Clunie," "Cloon," "Cloone," "Clowney," "Clune," "Cluney," and "Clunis." The first known Clooney relative to come to America was Michael Clunie in Pennsylvania in 1810.
