Famous Daughters and Fathers

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Fame is not always inherited, but in certain cases the family background plays a pivotal role. Particularly when it comes to the performing arts, celebrities, and in cases of those who are famous, wealthy persons, the family background counts a lot. There have been many famous, wealthy daughters of wealthy fathers, and many famous celebrity daughters of celebrity fathers, but it is interesting to find that there is only one Nobel Laureate daughter of a Nobel Laureate father in history. Famous daughters and fathers have appeared in the scriptures, mythology, and in world literature. Shakespeare’s play King Lear is about a king who declared to give his kingdom to the daughter who loved him most. In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy was the daughter of Zeus, and she is famous for her abduction by Paris, which caused the Trojan War.

1. Indira Gandhi and Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru

Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, better known as Indira Gandhi, was born to Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru at Anand Bhavan, Calcutta, India on November 19, 1917 and died in New Delhi, India on October 31, 1984 at the age of 66 years. She was the third Prime Minister of India who remained in office from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was the daughter of the first, famous  Prime Minister of India, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru. She was also the mother of the Indian Prime Minister Rajev Gandhi. She was tutored at home until matriculation and then received her education at the British University of Oxford. She had met Mahatma Gandhi in her childhood. Her father, Pundit Nehru, had written 196 letters from different prisons to introduce and enlighten her on world history. The letters had been compiled in the form of a book entitled Glimpses of World History.

2. Benazir Bhutto, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was born to the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto in Karachi, Pakistan on June 21, 1953 and died in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on December 27, 2007 at the age of 54 years. She was the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan and remained in office from November, 1988, to November, 1990, and again from 1993 to November, 1996. She received her early education in Pakistan and then attended the Radcliffe College at Harvard University in the USA from 1969 to 1973 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1989, the Harvard University awarded her the Honorary Doctor of Law degree. From 1973 to 1977, she studied in the U.K. at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and St. Catherine’s College, Oxford. She became the chairwoman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and in 1988 she became the first elected Prime Minister of a Muslim state. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, is currently the President of Pakistan, and her son, Bilawal Bhutto, is the chairman of the Peoples Party of Pakistan. ‘Benazir’ and ‘Bhutto’ are among the most familiar names in Pakistan.

3. Jane and her dad Henry Fonda.

Jane and her dad Henry Fonda
Jane and Henry Fonda

Lady Jayne Seymour Fonda was born to Henry Fonda and Frances Ford Seymour in New York City, New York, U.S. on December 21, 1937. She received her education at the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York and Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. At the age of 15, she taught dance at Fire Island Pines in New York. She is a famous American actress, fashion model, and a political activist known for her opposition to the Vietnam and Iraq wars. In addition to many other awards, she had won two Academy and Emmy Awards. She has appeared twice on the cover of Vogue. Her father, Henry Fonda, was the head of a family of famous actors including his daughter Fonda, granddaughter Bridget Fonda, grandson Peter Fonda, and grandson Troy Garity. The American Film Institute named him the sixth Greatest Male Star of All Time.

4. Nancy and Frank

Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra

Nancy Sinatra was born to Frank Sinatra and Nancy Barbato Sinatra, in Jersey City, New Jersey on June 6, 1940. She is a famous American singer and actress, and her father, Frank Sinatra, is also a famous singer, best known for his 1966 hit song ‘These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’ She started her career in 1960. She received a Special Classification of Individual Achievements Award for choreography because there was no category for choreography in the Emmy Awards.

5.  Madonna and Silvio Anthony Ciccone

Madonna
Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born to Silvio Anthony Ciccone and Madonna Louise in Bay City, Michigan, U.S. on August 16, 1958. Her father was a design engineer for the famous companies Chrysler and General Motors. Madonna is a famous American singer, songwriter, actress, director, and entrepreneur. She received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. She also received Grammy Awards for Ray of Light and Confessions on a Dance Floor. Having sold over 300 million records, she is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records. In 2008, she ranked #2 on Billboard and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

6. Jennifer Ehle and John Ehle

Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Ehle

Jennifer Ehle was born to John Ehle and Rosemary Harris at Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States on December 29, 1969. She debuted on stage as a toddler in 1973. She is best known for her BAFTA winning role in Pride and Prejudice as Elizabeth Bennett. She won a Theater World Award and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in Tom Stopper’s The Real Thing. Her father, John Ehle, was a famous writer who had also been an advisor on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s White House Group for Domestic Affairs from 1964 to 1966.

7. Brigitte and Louis Bardot

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot
Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born to Anne-Marie Mucel and Louis Bardot in Paris, France on September 28, 1934. Her father was an engineer and looked after the family business. Brigitte Bardot was the most famous actress in the 1950s and 1960s. During her career, she starred in 47 films and recorded more than 50 songs. She was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 1965 for her performance in the 1965 movie Viva Maria! In 1985, she was awarded a Legion of Honor, but she did not accept it. She has also won a
David di Donatello Award.

8. Irene Joliot-Curie, Pierre Curie

Irene Joliot-Curie
Irene Joliot-Curie

Irene Joliot-Curie was born to Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie in Paris, France on September 12, 1897 and died in Paris on March 17, 1956. Her father, Pierre Curie, was a French scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics, sharing it with his wife Marie Salomea Sklodowska-Curie and Henri Becquerel. The Nobel Prize was awarded in recognition of research in radiation phenomena. Irene Joliot-Curie also received a Nobel Prize along with her husband Pierre Curie in 1935 for the discovery of artificial radiation. Both the daughter and father, being Nobel Laureates, occupy a unique position in the history of science.

9. Diana Spencer, Edward John Spencer

Princess of Wales
Diana Spencer

Princess of Wales, Duchess of Rothesay, Diana Spencer, was born to John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and the honorable Frances Shand Kydd. She was born at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk, England on July 1, 1961 and died at Pitie-Salpetriere in Paris, France. Princess Diana became Lady Diana Spencer after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and heir to the British throne. Her wedding was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral and seen by more than 750 million viewers all over the world. She was known for supporting International campaigns to ban landmines. Her accidental death was mourned globally.

10.  Liliane Bettencourt, Eugene Schueller

Liliane Bettencourt
Liliane Bettencourt

Liliane Bettencourt was born to Eugene Schueller and Louise Madeleine Berthe in Paris, France on October 21, 1922. Her father owned L’Oreal, one of the largest cosmetic companies in the world. After the death of her father in 1957, she inherited the L’Oreal fortune. As of March, 2013, she has been listed as the third wealthiest woman in the world with an estimated net worth of $30 billion. In support of medical, cultural, and humanitarian causes, she founded the Bettencourt Schuler Foundation in 1987.

Conclusion:

A family is like a multi-faceted diamond with its each facet reflecting a different color of the light spectrum. Each of these colors symbolizes a great virtue; like a wife for happiness, a son for worldly pride, and a daughter for an angelic love and respect. According to Joseph Addison, the famous English essayist, poet, and playwright ‘Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express.’

 

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