20 Celebrities That Speak More Languages Than You Think
How many languages do you think your favourite stars can speak? We often don’t really think about it, but if we should guess, we’d say only one. English, that is. It’s the required language to triumph in Hollywood, after all, but a lot of people know more than one language. Most people we know speak at least two.
That means that, statistically, most Hollywood stars speak more than one language. But what could that language be? It depends on the celebrity, so here we’ve gathered just a few stars that, beyond English, are also fluent in other languages.
Shakira Can Speak Six Different Languages
The Colombian star is fluent in native Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Catalan. She absorbed these European languages through years of international touring, producing music globally, and spending significant time living in Catalonia.
Jodie Foster Speaks French And Italian
She actually attended Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles for her education. By 1980, she graduated as the valedictorian of the French division, proving her early mastery of the language long before her adult film career.
Tom Hiddleston Knows Several European Languages
He shows off impressive skills in French, Spanish, Italian, and Greek. Whenever he travels for promotional tours, he makes a point to conduct interviews and greet huge crowds of fans using their own native languages.
Colin Firth Learned Italian For His Wife
He decided to learn Italian after marrying film producer Livia Giuggioli back in 1997. His dedication to the language eventually helped him secure dual British and Italian citizenship through his marriage in September 2017.
Mila Kunis Grew Up Speaking Russian
Born in Ukraine, she spent her first 7 years speaking Russian before moving to the United States. It remains her native tongue, and she still actively uses it to communicate with her family today.
Sandra Bullock Is Fluent In German
Living in Nuremberg until age 12 with her German mother and American father made her completely bilingual. She is so comfortable with the language that she has delivered entire television interviews and award speeches in German.
Joseph Gordon Levitt Speaks Perfect French
Before returning to acting full time, he studied French poetry and literature at Columbia University. Those high-level language skills were crucial when he played the real French high-wire walker Philippe Petit in the 2015 movie The Walk.
Gwyneth Paltrow Learned Spanish In High School
At age 15, she went to Spain for a 10th grade student exchange program. Living with a host family made her perfectly fluent, and the town even named her an adopted daughter in 2003.
Viggo Mortensen Speaks Seven Different Languages
Raised in Argentina and Denmark, he is fluent in English, Danish, and Spanish, plus proficient in French. On top of that, he understands or speaks conversational Italian, Catalan, Arabic, Swedish, and Norwegian.
Salma Hayek Knows Four Different Languages
Her multilingual background gives her a strong command of native Spanish, fluent English, Arabic, and Portuguese. She also speaks French regularly at home with her husband, the business executive Francois-Henri Pinault.
Will Smith Can Speak Fluent Spanish
He learned it as a second language and practiced conversationally with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. When promoting his movies to Hispanic and Latin media outlets, he often chooses to handle his press junket interviews in Spanish.
Johnny Depp Learned French While Living There
He picked up the language while living in France with his former partner, Vanessa Paradis. To keep up with their bilingual children, Jack and Lily-Rose, he actually took intense crash courses to improve his conversational skills.
Charlize Theron Speaks Afrikaans As Her First Language
Born in South Africa, she grew up in an Afrikaner family speaking Afrikaans as her native tongue. She knew very little English until her teens, deliberately practicing an American accent after moving to the United States.
Christoph Waltz Acts In Three Different Languages
The Austrian-German actor is completely fluent in German, English, and French. He famously used all 3 of these languages on screen in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, a performance that earned him an Academy Award.
Penelope Cruz Speaks Four Different Languages
While she is widely known for her Spanish cinema roots, she is highly multilingual. Along with her native Spanish, she has mastered English, French, and Italian, allowing her to work across various international film industries.
Rita Ora Speaks Fluent Albanian
Born in Kosovo to Albanian parents, she spent her childhood speaking, reading, and writing the language at home. She stays highly fluent today by chatting with her relatives and giving interviews to European press outlets.
Lupita Nyong’o Speaks Fluent Spanish And Swahili
Because she was born in Mexico City to Kenyan parents, she grew up surrounded by different cultures. She even mentioned that getting to speak Spanish in a massive Marvel movie felt like a “straight gift.”
Edward Norton Learned Japanese While Working In Osaka
After finishing his studies at Yale University, he moved to Osaka to work for his grandfather’s non-profit organization. Spending that time living and working in Japan allowed him to develop a strong conversational fluency in Japanese.
Leonardo DiCaprio Speaks German With His Mother
The famous actor has deep roots in Germany thanks to his mother, Irmelin Indenbirken. She was born there before eventually emigrating to the United States, giving him a direct family connection to the language and culture.
Timothee Chalamet Is Fluent In French
He holds dual citizenship in the United States and France thanks to his French father. Spending his childhood summers across the Atlantic and speaking the language with his family helped him achieve total fluency.