The Internet at the Speed of Thought

Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Refugees

at11:12 am | By

9. Madeleine Albright

celebrity refugees madeleine albright

Source: wikipedia.org

US Secretary of State under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Madeleine Albright and her family fled Czechoslovakia around 1940 because of their Jewish ancestry and political history during the rise of Nazi influence. Though they returned to Prague after WWII, the family once again left the country when communists took over. During her first exile in London, Albright appeared in a film about refugee children.

10. K’Naan

celebrity refugees knaan

Source: Twitter @CKOI_Musique

We have K’naan to thank for the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem “Wavin’ Flag.” Born Keinan Abdi Warsame, this Somalian artist was forced to flee his home when he was a teenager to escape the civil war. He came close to death several times before his family moved to New York and then settled in Canada.

11. M.I.A.

celebrity refugees mia

Source: Twitter @gringatears/ Getty Images

Mathangi Arulpragasam is an English rapper and recording artist known for songs like “Paper Planes.” Though born in west London, her family relocated to Sri Lanka when she was just six months old. For a large part of “Maya’s” childhood, her family had to live in extreme poverty while in hiding from the Sri Lankan army. They also lived in India before returning to England as refugees.

Share