Russell Ira Crowe was born on 7 April 1964 in Strathmore Park, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, to film and television set caterers Jocelyn and John Alexander Crowe. His Welsh connection comes through his father's side of the family: his paternal grandfather, John Doubleday Crowe, was born and raised in Wrexham, north Wales, where the Crowe family ran a fruit and vegetable business in the town centre.
When John's own parents, Fred and Kezia Crowe, emigrated from Wrexham to Calgary, Canada, in 1925, John chose to stay behind and keep the family shop going. The business later struggled, and John eventually emigrated to New Zealand, where he married and had two sons, one of whom, Alex, became Russell Crowe's father.
Crowe moved to Australia with his family at the age of four and began his acting career as a child, making his television debut at six years old. He went on to become one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Gladiator (2000) and earning further nominations for L.A. Confidential (1997) and A Beautiful Mind (2001).
His other major films include Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), Cinderella Man (2005), American Gangster (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and Les Mis\u00e9rables (2012). While Crowe was born and raised in New Zealand and Australia, his Welsh roots through the Crowe family of Wrexham remain a genuine, documented part of his ancestry.