Celebrities who speak a foreign language
While we almost take it for granted that foreign actors, singers, sportspeople, etc. speak English, you may be surprised by the number of native English-speaking celebrities who speak another language!
And it’s not just foreign celebs who speak foreign languages. We don’t have to look very far to find our own examples. Actor Cillian Murphy and rugby player Trevor Brennan who are both French-speakers; sports commentator George Hamilton who is a German-speaker; TV presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin and actor Colm Meaney who speak Spanish; ... and there are many more.
Looking further afield, singer Alanis Morissette, actresses Jodie Foster and Ashley Judd, actors Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and Hugh Grant, and model Claudia Schiffer are all French-speakers.
And what about German-speakers? Actresses Kim Cattrall and Renée Zellweger, comedian and impressionist Rory Bremner, and ex-US President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea all speak German.
Furthermore, actress Sigourney Weaver and athlete Paula Radcliffe speak both French & German, and Gwyneth Paltrow speaks French and Spanish.
Spanish is spoken by many other celebrities, such as actor Will Smith, and by sports broadcaster and former England footballer Gary Lineker, who also speaks Japanese. Italian is another popular language amongst celebs, and one of its many speakers is Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant.
What is also fascinating is the number of celebrities who are raising their children to be bilingual, even if both of them are not bilingual themselves. Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, Madonna and ex-husband Guy Ritchie, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, to name but a few.
So why not add your name to the long list of learners who recognise the importance of speaking a foreign language.