Finding Your Roots

Three guests know almost nothing about their fathers' past.

Three of America's greatest athletes, whose determination and love of sports were deeply shaped by their families, were all cut off from their true origins.

Three iconic American storytellers have spent their lives chronicling the lives of others, while knowing almost nothing about their own family history.

Three celebrity chefs who cook the food of their ancestors discover family members who have shaped their lives - and America's cuisine.

Trace three guests' roots into the heart of slavery, revealing that there is no singular narrative and challenging preconceptions of an era that profoundly shaped our nation's sense of itself.

Sally Field learns that she descends from William Bradford, who arrived on the Mayflower and helped his fellow Puritans establish their new lives in colonial America.

"Ancient Roots" traces the family histories of three quintessential voices in American life.

Discover the unsolved mysteries behind the family stories of political organizer Donna Brazile, actor Ty Burrell and artist Kara Walker as they learn how the legacy of slavery has shaped their identities.

Explore the shared Irish ancestry of Soledad O'Brien, Bill O'Reilly and Bill Maher and how they have been deeply influenced by their Irish roots.

Learn how the ancestors of Maya Rudolph, Shonda Rhimes and Keenen Ivory Wayans struggled for freedom, and how each of these cultural trailblazers gains a new understanding of how they fit into this proud trajectory.

Uncover a history of tragedies and triumphs in the families of three of America's funniest men-Jimmy Kimmel, Norman Lear and Bill Hader-as they learn how comedy truly has its place in all aspects of life.

Discover how the ancestors of business mogul Richard Branson and architects Maya Lin and Frank Gehry took audacious risks to create opportunities, and how their luck, ingenuity and chutzpah was passed on to these three visionaries.

Uncover a long history of military service in the families of Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore and John McCain, and how this has instilled in each of them an enduring spirit of strength and integrity.

Uncover family mysteries about two legends of hip hop, Sean Combs and LL Cool J, through the use of DNA technology that reveals information that shakes their very foundations.

Discover how Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Steinem and Sandra Cisneros are connected to pioneers who broke new ground and paved the way for their modern-day descendants to continue shaping our culture.

Discover how actress Julianna Marguiles, author Azar Nafisi and chef Lidia Bastianich are bound together by their ancestors' singular and deeply human desire to preserve their most cherished traditions.

Learn how Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow, who last shared the screen together in 1969, also share a history of tragic deaths in their families that played major roles in shaping future generations.

Comedian Larry David and politician Bernie Sanders discover they have more in common than they thought as they trace their roots from 1940s Brooklyn back to Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.

Actors Fred Armisen and Christopher Walken and musician Carly Simon each learn about a grandparent whose real identity and background had been a mystery to them ? redefining how they see themselves.

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, and author and activist Janet Mock see their basic assumptions about their families challenged, placing their ancestors - of all colors - into the greater context of black history.

Bryant Gumbel, Tonya Lewis-Lee and Suzanne Malveaux discover a tapestry of the unexpected in their ancestry, revealing slaves and free people of color, Civil War legacies and forgotten European origins.

Actresses Tea Leoni and Gaby Hoffmann's lives have been shaped by family mysteries.

Three guests of disparate Southern backgrounds, DJ and producer Questlove, talk show host Dr.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actor Andy Samberg and author George R.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Felicity Huffman and Michael K.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry and Lisa Ling that the stories within their own family trees are every bit as compelling as the news stories they have been covering for the world.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores with Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn the tremendous challenges faced by their immigrant forebears.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delves deep into the roots of two African American guests, actor S.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the diverse family histories of politicians Paul Ryan, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows comedians Seth Meyers, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman that their family tress are filled with people whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family stories of filmmaker Michael Moore and actors Laura Linney and Chloe Sevigny -- three people whose distant ancestors overcame great hardships in ways that resonate with their lives today.

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shares the family histories of director Alejandro G.

Radio host Joe Madison receives startling family news, and series host Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Isabella Rossellini, Anjelica Huston and Mia Farrow unearth surprising new revelations about their family histories, taking them generations beyond their famous cinematic forebears.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the humble roots of comedic actors Melissa McCarthy and Eric Stonestreet, retracing the ancestral journeys that laid the groundwork for their success.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actor Sterling K. Brown, comedian Sasheer Zamata and musician Jon Batiste discover the unexpected places their ancestors called home, providing new insight into the people and places that made them who they are today.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the unexpected family trees of entertainer Queen Latifah and actor Jeffrey Wright, redefining their sense of the black experience -- and challenging preconceptions about America's past.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the Jewish heritages of actor Jeff Goldblum, radio host Terry Gross and comedian Marc Maron, uncovering previously unknown stories that show each shares much more with their ancestors than a religious tradition.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Sigourney Weaver, Justina Machado and Amy Ryan unearth surprising revelations about their family histories, forever altering how they see themselves.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the family trees of Francis Collins, Shirley Ann Jackson and Harold Varmus, three pioneering scientists who've made dramatic contributions to our understanding of the world while knowing little about their own ancestry.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with film director Ava DuVernay, actor S.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the roots of actor Laura Linney and journalists Lisa Ling and Soledad O'Brien, telling them stories of tricksters, scoundrels and outright criminals, who nevertheless laid the groundwork for their success.