“My Mom Has No Idea”: People Are Sharing Their DNA Test Drama Stories And These 37 Are Wild

I watched a video the other day of Trevor Noah interviewing Idris Elba about his roots. The actor, who was born in Britain, revealed that he thought he knew who he was... until he decided to do a DNA test. Elba told Noah that he knew his mother had an American father and that his own father is proudly Sierra Leonean.

Naturally, the actor believed the DNA test results would confirm that he too is "mostly from" Sierra Leone. But no, that test instead showed that Elba is in fact 10% Ghanaian, 10% Nigerian, 20% Bantu, 5% Togolese, 5% Senegalese, and Cameroonian.

"This thing was a map," he told Noah, expressing how shocked he was when he received the result. So shocked actually, that Elba decided to take the test again. But surprise, surprise... the results were exactly the same.

Elba is not the only celebrity who has turned to DNA testing to learn more about their roots.

According to several media outlets, Oprah Winfrey's DNA test revealed that she's 89% Sub-Saharan African, 8% Native American, and 3% East Asian. "Her African roots trace back to three tribes, the Bamileke people of Cameroon, the Kpelle people of Liberia, and the Bantu people of Zambia," reports Business Day Nigeria.

Samuel L. Jackson, meanwhile, learned through a DNA test that he has ancestral ties to the Benga people of Gabon. The actor visited Gabon after receiving the results. And in 2019, he met President Ali Bongo Ondimba and was granted citizenship, as well as a Gabonese passport.

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, faced a lot of hatred and racism for her mixed heritage. Certain quarters were appalled that Prince Harry would dare to marry a woman who isn't Snow White, so to speak.

While it was no secret that Markle's mother is Black and her father is white, it took a genealogy test to reveal that the Suits actress actually has 43% Nigerian ancestry. Markle visited Nigeria in 2024, calling it “my country.”

“Never in a million years would I understand it as much as I do now," she said at the time. "And what has been echoed so much in the past day is, ’Oh, we are not so surprised when we found out you are Nigerian.”

“A Nigerian woman is brave, resilient, courageous, beautiful,” Markle added.

So many Hollywood celebrities have traced their roots back to Africa through DNA testing that certain countries saw a tourism boom around 2019 as celebs made the trip "back home" to the continent.

"Africa’s cultural and tourism economy is experiencing a surge in interest from the global diaspora, driven by a booming ancestry testing market that is guiding a wave of celebrity-led homecomings," African News Analysis reported last year. "New figures from market analysts show that the global DNA testing industry—valued at over $10 billion by 2022, according to Grand View Research—is catalysing a profound 'roots movement.'"