Welsh diaspora: Celebrities with Welsh heritage flying the flag worldwide

Wales has always punched well above its weight when it comes to singing and acting talent, but you might be surprised by some of the celebrities with Welsh connections smashing it on the world stage.

With over 3 million of us living outside of Wales as part of a global Welsh diaspora, there are countless artists with Welsh ancestry flying the flag, or going under the radar, but here are some of our current favourites who prove that Cymru really is the land of stage and song (and dare we say… looks!)

Lily Allen

With Lily Allen set to bring her comeback album detailing the breakdown of her marriage to Stranger Things star David Harbour to life on tour in Cardiff next year, many will be surprised to know that, despite her proud London accent, Lily is one of many global artists with Welsh ancestry.

Known for her witty, ‘confessional’ lyrics, Allen was born in 1985 in Hammersmith, west London, to Keith Allen and British film producer Alison Owen.

Lily Allen​’s accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.

Allen’s musical career began in 2005 when she was signed to Regal Recordings and began publishing her vocal recordings on the social networking site Myspace.

Along with her famous actor sibling, Alfie, Lily can trace her Welsh ancestry back through her dad, Keith Allen.

Keith Allen was born on 2 September 1953 in Gorseinon. He spent his early years near Swansea and in Malta, and most of his childhood in Gosport, Hampshire, while his father served in Portsmouth or away at sea.

Although he spent much of his life in England, he has never once thought of himself as anything but Welsh (along with his Trainspotting-creator brother Kevin) despite taking part in various songs for the England football team.

Lily also worked with a Welsh writer on the making of her critically acclaimed new album.

Violet Skies, from Chepstow, Monmouthshire, said that “in a crazy turn of events”, she co-wrote songs including Madeline on the break-up album, which documents the end of Allen’s four-year marriage.

Those who managed to get a ticket for Lily’s sold-out performance at the New Theatre, Cardiff in March 2026 are in for a treat.

Adele

Another surprising artist with direct Welsh lineage is none other than singer-songwriter, and perhaps the world’s most beloved vocal talent, Adele.

Adele is regarded as a British icon, and is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting.

Her accolades include 16 Grammy Awards, 12 Brit Awards (including three for British Album of the Year), an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on 5 May 1988 in Tottenham, London, to an English mother, Penny Adkins, and a Welsh father, Marc Evans.

After Evans left when Adele was 2 years old, she was brought up by her mother.

Adele remained estranged from her father for much of her life, but opened up about her relationship with him after reconciling shortly before he died from cancer in 2021.

Syml

Although perhaps not too-well-known this side of the Atlantic, indie-pop artist Syml is a favourite of critics, and his music and videos have helped him gain an ever-growing global fanship.

Syml is the solo venture of Brian Leseney Fennell, an American musician from Issaquah, Washington. He was previously part of the indie band Barcelona.

Syml released his eponymous debut album on May 3, 2019, through Nettwerk Records.

Growing up in Seattle he always knew he was adopted, but it wasn’t until he was given his adoption records at 18 that he learnt his birth parents were Welsh.

He said his artist name was a way of honouring his heritage.

“It’s saying that this is where I come from on some level,” he explained.

From the moment he discovered his heritage Fennell embraced his Welshness. He told the BBC: “It was the first moment that I was like ‘I have a bit of a country of origin -I sort of wrapped myself in it.

“I got like a Welsh flag to hang on my wall. I was Googling ‘Welsh people – what do they look like? What are they?’.”

“In choosing a Welsh name – Syml – that was a bit of an honouring, at least an honouring from my perspective, and saying that this is where I come from on some level,” he said.

Joanna Scanlan

Bafta award-winning actress Joanna Scanlan was born in 1961 in West Kirby, then in Cheshire, the daughter of hoteliers Michael and Patricia Scanlan.

Although Joanna was born in England, her family comes from north Wales. At the age of three she moved with her parents to north Wales, where she grew up.

Scanlan learned Welsh as part of S4C’s fantastic Iaith ar Daith series, and in March 2022, she received the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film After Love (2020). Touchingly, she gave thanks in Welsh, saying: “Diolch yn fawr iawn as we say in my country! BAFTA thank you so much…some stories have surprising endings don’t they.”

Joanna is set to star alongside Welsh actor Luke Evans in a new TV drama, with the story based on a novel by Elizabeth Day.

The Party began filming in Wales last month, with the five-part series due to be broadcast on ITV1 and STV on a date yet to be revealed.

The plot will see Nine Perfect Strangers star Evans as Martin Gilmour, a journalist shaped by his lifelong friendship with the wealthy and charismatic politician Ben Fitzmaurice who is played by Downton Abbey actor Tom Cullen. We can’t wait!

Kylie

Kylie Minogue is one of Australia’s most famous faces – but the pop icon and former Neighbours star is half Welsh, and fully proud of that side of her family tree.

Minogue’s mother, Carol Jones, was 10 when she and her mother, Millie Jones, moved to Australia from Maesteg in Bridgend.

Kylie has consistently talked about her love for Wales and the Welsh. Speaking to Rylan on his BBC Radio 2 programme in 2024, Minogue, said she thinks it’s crazy the change her family would have experienced moving to Australia from Wales.

“I just think of my grandparents going from like the valleys of Wales to, first they moved to the North Queensland, where there’s mangos falling off trees and a snake in the letterbox,” she said.

“What a change.”

She also said she refers to her grandparents as “nain” and “taid”, the Welsh words for grandmother and grandfather.

Damian Lewis

One of the UK’s greatest acting talents, Damian Lewis was born in 1971 at St John’s Wood, London, the eldest son of Charlotte Mary (née Bowater) and John “J.” Watcyn Lewis, a City insurance broker with Lloyd’s.

His paternal grandparents were Welsh, and he says he considers himself “London Welsh”.

He rose to prominence portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Lewis won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland, and received nominations for his performance as Henry VIII of England in Wolf Hall.

He shared previously: “On both side of his family, like so many of the Welsh did, they went across to Liverpool and Birmingham looking for work and all fell into Welsh communities and all married each other. My grandmother was a Welsh speaker. It’s in the blood…

I’m quite romantic about my Celtic roots. And although I went to school in England, grew up in London, we’ve always been made aware of Welsh roots by dad, who’s been very keen to stay in touch with his Welshness, even though he can’t speak more than five words of Welsh… It’s London-Welsh, I guess!”

Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse was born in 1958, in Stanleytown, Glamorgan. His father, Harry, worked for the National Coal Board and his mother, Anita (née Jones), was a singer with the Welsh National Opera.

The family moved to Enfield, Middlesex, when he was four years old, which led to his discovering his talent for mimicry.

He shared previously: “At school I didn’t say a word for the first four weeks – I called it my Silent Month. I think it was because everyone was speaking so differently from how it had been in Wales.

“Then, after four weeks, I came home one day and said, ‘Muumm, I wanna go to Sarfend!’ For her that was the end because I had lost my lovely Welsh lilt. So I became very conscious of speech and the effects it can have.

“But when I went back to Wales I would start talking all Welsh, ‘like that, you see’ before going all Alf Garnett while coming back the other way.”

Known primarily for his work on The Fast Show, he has been officially confirmed among the cast for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, playing magic-less Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry caretaker Argus Filch

Tom Ellis

Star of Lucifer and Miranda, the dashing Thomas John Ellis is another Welsh celebrity whose family left the nation for England during his childhood – but his handsome Silurian genes are unmistakeable.

Tom was born at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on 17 November 1978. He has three sisters, one of whom is his twin; when they were born, they broke the Welsh record for heaviest twins. How’s that for a claim to fame.

His father, uncle, and one of his sisters are all Baptist ministers. Shortly after his birth, the family left Wales for England and settled in Sheffield, where he attended High Storrs School.

Watch his star continue to rise!

There are countless others we haven’t mentioned, but let us know any you’d like us to include in follow-up articles below.