Ancestry of
Benedict Cumberbatch
Movie, Television and Stage Actor
Who is Benedict Cumberbatch?
Benedict Cumberbatch is a British movie, television and theater actor. He is probably best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC and PBS co-produced television show Sherlock. Some of his more memorable movie roles include those in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), and Marvel Comics’ Doctor Strange (2016).
Benedict Cumberbatch’s family tree has occasionally made headlines when it has been revealed that the actor has a family connection to a role such as his kinship to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author who created Sherlock Holmes) and Alan Turing (subject of The Imitation Game). The one connection for the British actor that apparently hasn’t been revealed until now is Benedict Cumberbatch’s American ancestor who descends from Mayflower passenger John Alden. With the 400th anniversary in 2020 of the Mayflower’s arrival in New England, perhaps the role of John Alden is in his future.
Famous Kin
Benedict Cumberbatch has significant royal and magna carta ancestry with descents from King Edward I and a number of Magna Carta sureties. Surprisingly, the British actor also has an American connection with a Mayflower descent from Mayflower passengers John Alden, Priscilla Mullins, and her parents. Some of Benedict Cumberbatch’s famous kin through his Mayflower connection include U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Calvin Coolidge, Irish President Erskine Childers, American “Fireside” poets William Cullen Bryant and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author Emily Post, and fellow actors Orson Welles, Dick Van Dyke, Jodie Foster, and Raquel Welch.
Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for Benedict Cumberbatch
George Albert Smith
8th President of the Mormon Church
20th cousin 1 time removed
via Sir William de Ros
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz
1st President of Radcliff College
6th cousin 6 times removed
via Katherine Myles
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz
1st President of Radcliff College
18th cousin 2 times removed
via Sir William de Ros
Brig. Gen. Henry Clay Wood
Medal of Honor Recipient
U.S. Civil War
6th cousin 5 times removed
via John Alden
Porter Goss
1st Director of the C.I.A.
19th and last Dir. of Central Intelligence
17th cousin 1 time removed
via Sir Lionel de Welles
Porter Goss
1st Director of the C.I.A.
19th and last Dir. of Central Intelligence
16th cousin 2 times removed
via James Butler
View entire list of famous kin for Benedict Cumberbatch
Please note: The ancestor reports on this website have been compiled from thousands of different sources, many over 100 years old. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources.
Benedict Cumberbatch photo by Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)
