Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 1.05 Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children, but growing up for Brooke was very different from her home life now. When Brooke was only five months old, her parents divorced, dividing the family and leaving Brooke to question where she really belonged. Brooke's father, Frank, came from wealth and New York, Park Avenue aristocracy while her mother came from the working class of Newark, New Jersey. In this journey, Brooke hopes to uncover a family mystery that will help her understand a lifetime of resentment between her grandmother and mother. What Brooke doesn't know is that her search will lead her back in time through centuries and reveal a royal link in her family chain.

Brooke's father, Frank, moved down to Florida and died in 2003. Brooke grew up with her mother, who had gotten Brooke into modeling at 11 months old, which then led to Brooke's career in movies, television and theater. Brooke begins her journey with the search for her maternal roots. She travels to her mother's home state of New Jersey. Brooke's mother wanted a better life and left Newark at a young age, something Brooke's grandmother could never do. As a child, Brooke grew to hate her grandmother because of the way she treated her mother. Brooke has always wanted to know what made her grandmother a bitter, scared person. The only thing Brooke knows is that her grandmother, Theresa Dollinger, had a younger sister, Lillian.

Brooke meets with Michelle Chubenko, a genealogist, to help her find the birth certificates of Theresa and Lillian Dollinger. Theresa's birth certificate doesn't tell Brooke much, but Lillian's birth certificate shows that Brooke's grandmother had three siblings, not just one. Michelle finds the birth certificates of John William Dollinger (Theresa's younger brother) and Edward William Dollinger (Theresa's other younger brother). However, John's birth certificate shows that he died in infancy before Edward was born in 1914. Although Brooke can understand why her grandmother ever mentioned John, she wants to find out more about Edward, the brother who survived and was still alive by the time Lillian was born in 1915.

Brooke visits Newark, New Jersey and meets with Tom McCabe, a local historian who shows Brooke where her grandmother lived and where John and Edward were born. Brooke realizes that she grew up in a very different world from her grandmother--who basically struggled through poverty most of her life. Brooke learns that her great-grandmother, Ida Dollinger, died of uterine cancer at the age of 38 in 1918, when Brooke's grandmother was only 10 years old. This meant that Theresa, being the eldest in the family, had to take the role as "mother" to her three younger siblings. Brooke also studies Edward's death certificate and learns that he died in an accidental drowning when he was only 13.

Brooke further investigates Edward's death using an article from 1927. She learns that Edward and a few of his friends went swimming after school in the Passaic River and that Edward could not swim. Brooke feels the deep losses that her grandmother went through and gains a new understanding of who Theresa was. Brooke finally empathizes with her grandmother and how she would come to resent Brooke's mother, Teri, since she left Newark as soon as she was old enough, whereas Theresa had no choice but to stay and take care of her siblings.

Now that Brooke has a better understanding of her maternal grandmother, she journeys back to New York to explore her father Frank's roots. Brooke knows that her paternal grandmother, Donna Marina Torlonia, had noble roots. She visits the New York Historical Society and meets with Gary Boyd Roberts, who has drawn up a family tree for the Torlonia side of Brooke's family. Using this, Brooke sees that one branch of the Torlonia line dates back all the way to a Giovanni Raumondo Torlonia, (1754-1829) who was recorded to be a banker to the Vatican and of the Italian aristocracy. He is Brooke's fourth great-grandfather. The line stops at Giovanni's father, Marino, who was a cloth merchant. Gary tells Brooke that Torlonia is not an ancient Italian name, and that Marino could have changed it.

Brooke travels to Rome, where her fourth great-grandfather, Giovanni, was banker to the Vatican and then bought into the Italian nobility. Daniela Felisini, a professor at the University of Rome who has written a book about the history of the Torlonias, meets with Brooke and shows Brooke the beginnings of Marino and Giovanni. Giovanni eventually took the small textile shop and made it into a large bank--in fact Giovanni built the first private bank in all of Italy and then had branches in almost every town in Italy, Switzerland, France and Austria. On top of this, when Napoleon and the French army invaded Northern Italy, Giovanni was their supplier in addition to being the pope's banker.

Brooke learns that her fourth great-grandfather, Giovanni, bought important properties in Rome, one of them being what is now called the Villa Torlonia. Villa Torlonia was the summer home for Giovanni and his family. The villa itself dates back to ancient Rome. Daniela takes Brooke on a tour of the gorgeous villa, through the ballroom and the gallery of kings and queens and old Roman statues. Daniela shows Brooke a wedding certificate for Marino (Brooke's fifth great-grandfather) that shows that he came from Giralo--which is Italian for Augerolles, a town in France. Brooke is fascinated that she has French roots, realizing that somewhere deep inside she may have felt this connection since she studied French literature in college.

Brooke follows the trail of her fifth great-grandfather, Marino Torlonia, to Augerolles, France. Here, Carene Rabilloud, a historian from Ancestry.com, helps Brooke discover that Marino was actually born Marin Torlonias. Marino's father, Antoine Torlonias (Brooke sixth great-grandfather) was born in France and this confirms Brooke's French roots. Carene tells Brooke that Marino helped mastermind an escape plan for an accused abbot and that is how he ended up in Rome and why he changed his name.

Brooke's sixth great-grandfather, Antoine, and his wife stayed in France. Brooke visits the house that her ancestors lived in almost 300 years ago and she sees that they came from humble beginnings. She is impressed that Marino and Giovanni eventually worked their way up to be one of the most powerful families in Rome. Brooke feels linked to this family and it's a great feeling for her, since she never knew any of it existed.

Brooke uses the Torlonia family tree to explore another branch in her father's family that stretches back almost 400 years to a Christine Marie (1606-1663), who has the title "Madame Royale," and Brooke wants to find out where this "royale" comes from. Using Ancestry.com, Brooke learns that Christine Marie de France was born in the Palias du Louvre (the Louvre), which used to be a former royal palace. Brooke's next stop: Paris, France and the Louvre.

Brooke meets with Charles Mosley, a genealogical expert in royal families, and learns that Christine Marie's father was Henry IV (the king of France) and Brooke's direct ancestor. Brooke visits Saint-Denis Cathedral where the remains of the kings of France are kept, and pays her respects to her royal ancestor and literally touches his heart.

At the Palace of Versailles, Charles introduces Brooke to her other relative and Henry IV's grandson: King Louis XIV, the most powerful king of his time and Brooke's first cousin (after many generations removed). In addition, dating back almost 25 generations, Brooke is related to Saint Louis (Louis IX) who was the only king of France to have been canonized. Brooke is awestruck and she can't believe all the royal blood she has running through her veins.

From New Jersey to France, Brooke has ventured on a journey that has left her with a sense of empowerment and fulfillment. To Brooke, it is freeing to know that she doesn't just come from one side of a family and now feels connected to both her maternal and paternal roots. These stories will be a huge piece of her daughters' lives and she can't wait to share everything she has learned with them.