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Finding Your Roots
Larger Than Life
Season 11
Episode 1
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Lea Salonga and Amanda Seyfried to ancestors who are every bit as dramatic as the characters they’ve played on stage and screen. Moving from a naval base in the Philippines to a small town bakery in Pennsylvania to steamships on the Atlantic Ocean, Lea and Amanda hear stories of relatives who survived wars, murders, and heart-wrenching ordeals.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the roots of actor Jane Lynch and comedian Jim Gaffigan.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discovers the lineages that claim Andy Cohen and Nina Totenberg.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discovers the lineages that claim Glenn Close and John Waters.
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Nancy Pelosi, Norah O’Donnell, and Zac Posen discover surprising roots.
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Gayle King, Jordan Peele, and Issa Rae discover surprising roots.
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52:40
Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Lidia Bastianich discover surprising roots.
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Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, and Kehinde Wiley discover surprising rates.
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52:45
Téa Leoni and Joe Madison discover surprising roots.
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52:46
Diane Von Furstenberg, Narciso Rodriguez, and RuPaul Charles discover surprising roots.
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Laura Linney, Lisa Ling, and Soledad O’Brien discover surprising roots.
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52:41
Jimmy Kimmel, Marisa Tomei, and John Turturro meet ancestors who made immense sacrifices.
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52:41
Ava DuVernay, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Questlove discover unexpected family histories.