Of course, many great films and TV shows have been set and shot in our wonderful county. But can we surprise you with a few familiar names that spent their formative years here? We’ve collected 10 famous people who you might not have known were either born or raised in Cornwall. Did we miss someone? Let us know in the comments!
Phillip Schofield
TV presenter Schofield has been a regular on British television for more than three decades, and continues to co-present This Morning. Although he was born in Lancashire, he grew up in Newquay and attended Trenance Infant School and Newquay Tretherras School. He still refers to Cornwall as his home.
Roger Taylor
Roger Taylor was the drummer in the legendary band Queen and he formed his first band at a Truro primary school aged just 7. He even briefly attended the cathedral school, before attending Truro school in his teens. He still has a house in Helford near Falmouth.
Ben Ainslie
Sports fans will know Sir Ben Ainslie as the most successful sailor in Olympic history, winning medals at 5 consecutive Olympics. However, they may not know that was yet another alumni from the Truro school and so spent much of his teenage years in Cornwall.
John Nettles
The actor played the titular character in the series Bergerac and more recently was one of the few cast members of Poldark to be a local. He moved to St. Austell at a very young age, attended St Austell Grammar School, and now lives not far from us (though across the border in Devon!)
Mick Fleetwood
The drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac was born in Redruth in 1947. His family moved briefly to Egypt and Norway, following his father’s RAF work, and these days Mick is a US citizen. As far as we’re concerned, he’ll always be Cornish.
Robert Shaw
Renowned actor Robert Shaw was well known for playing Quint, the shark-hunter, in Jaws, and played the villain in James Bond film ‘From Russia With Love’. He had a turbulent and varied upbringing, living in Lancashire and Scotland, but studied at Truro Independent school in his early teens.
Dame Kristin Scott-Thomas
This English actress played lead roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Mission:Impossible. Although she lived in many different places in her childhood, she is very proud to have been born in Redruth and considers herself a local girl.
John Rhys-Davies
6 foot Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies is best known for playing the cantankerous dwarf Gimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, not many people realise he was educated in part at Truro grammar school and was Head Boy in 1962!
Thandie Newton
Although born in Westminster, Actress Thandie Newton spent much of her childhood in Penzance. She has been in countless films, from ‘Run Fatboy Run’ to ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, but more recently she will be recognised for playing a part in the Westworld series, and for play Roz Huntley in BBC’s Line of Duty.
Florence Cameron
Most of us have noticed that David Cameron and family are rather partial to visits to Cornwall, but did you know little Florence Cameron was born at the Royal Cornwall Hospital? She was several weeks premature and was born in the county during the Camerons’ summer holiday. Her middle name is even Endellion after the Cornish village.
