Of course, we Aussies have some big names in the entertainment industry who’ve taken the world by storm. Think: Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe (who technically hails from New Zealand), Michael Hutchence and Kylie Minogue.
But there are some other, and rather surprising, major stars who have their very own unique – and at times “painful” – connections to Australia that you may not even be aware of.
From a British rock icon whose mother was born in Australia to the Hollywood heavyweight who spent a life-changing gap year Down Under, read on to find out which international stars have a strong affiliation with our country.
Mick Jagger
We could have had our very own Rolling Stone.
Mick Jagger, 82, was born in Dartford, Kent, but his mother Eva Scutts was actually born in Sydney’s Marrickville.
She moved back to the UK as a child with her family, but the iconic rocker still has cousins in Australia.
In 2012, Mick’s brother and fellow musician Chris Jagger, 77, wrote a moving piece about their family’s Australian history in The Sydney Morning Herald.
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“My grandparents, Gertrude and Alfred Scutts, had arrived in Australia in 1912 in search of a new and better life,” Chris wrote.
Another relative had previously gone to Australia in the 1880s.
Chris said their grandmother, their mum (who was a child at the time) and their mother’s siblings) moved back to the UK during the war in 1917.
Their boat builder grandfather stayed behind, and despite apparently pledging to go back to the UK, he never did.
“Had my mother and grandmother stayed there, my life would have been completely different – and the Rolling Stones might never have happened,” he wrote.
“My mother had never spoken to me of her feelings and I think they remained painful for her until the end.”
Legends of the music world, then and now
David Bowie
Late English rocker David Bowie had a strong affiliation with Australia before his death in 2016 at the age of 69.
He filmed two music videos here: Let’s Dance, filmed in the NSW outback town of Carinda, and China Girl, which was shot in Sydney.
He also reportedly owned an apartment at Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay before his death and spent a lot of time in the country in the ’80s and ’90s.
However, he did say, per reports: “As much as I love this country, it’s probably one of the most racially intolerant in the world, well in line with South Africa. I mean, in the north, there’s unbelievable intolerance.”
Matthew McConaughey
Alright, alright, alright.
Matthew McConaughey, 55, known for films including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch, spent time working on a farm on the Central Coast before he made it big in Hollywood.
According to reports, the Texan-born star lived and worked at Warnervale, New South Wales, north of The Entrance.
He reportedly came to Australia in the late ’80s as an exchange student, when he was just 18, and then worked various jobs.
He didn’t mince his words in his 2020 memoir Greenlights, saying the experience for him was a “livin’ hell”.
“No one wanted to party and the chicks were not digging me,” he reportedly wrote in the book.
But, speaking about the experience to Stellar, he mused, “Those are priceless memories and lessons that I needed at that time in my life.”
“I wouldn’t say I’d change anything because, after all, living there made me who I am today, all those years later.”
He previously said of Australia, before helping raise funds for the Australian Wilderness Foundation: “Australia has always had a special place in my heart.
“I lived there for a year out of high school and have worked there many times making movies.
“An original Australian initiation is its rugged beauty.
“Mother nature demands you engage with her. Whether it’s the outback, the Barrier Reef, or the farms on the Central Coast, I’ve enjoyed the natural beauties of Australia for years.”
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart may be American, having been born in Los Angeles, but the Twilight star’s mother is actually Australian.
Her mother, script supervisor, filmmaker and writer Jules Mann-Stewart, 65, hails from Queensland’s Maroochydore.
Mann-Stewart was previously married to the actress’ father, American stage manager, director and TV producer John Stewart.
Kristen, 35, who is known for her roles in Twilight, Spencer and Snow White and The Huntsman, gushed about Australia in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.
“I love Australia and we have a lot of great family and friends down there. I can’t wait to get back,” she told the publication back in 2009.
Stewart also said she “likes” Vegemite, and reportedly has a border collie called Oz, in a nod to her background.
Kate Walsh
Following an Antarctica trip in February 2020, where she met her Australian fiance, WA farmer Andrew Nixon, actress Kate Walsh moved to Perth during the COVID-19 lockdowns the following month.
And she hasn’t looked back.
“I have to say, I love it. I really love Perth,” the Grey’s Anatomy star previously told 9Honey Celebrity.
“I love the city, I love the people and I feel very, very fortunate, obviously, to have quarantined there and be in WA during this kind of crazy time in the world.”
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All the celebrities that have called Australia home
She added: “One of the first thoughts I had when I looked around Perth was, ‘Why aren’t we shooting movies and television here?'”
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