A hairdresser form Nottinghamshire has travelled to Wrexham to pay homage to her long-lost relative – Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe.<\/p>\n
Tarnia Rodgers, from New Houghton, near Mansfield, had the shock of her life when she made the exciting discovery that she is a long-lost second cousin to the Gladiator icon, recalling her exact words to be \u2018Don\u2019t be so ridiculous\u2019.<\/p>\n
After months of tracing her family history, she unearthed links to Canada and New Zealand, and now new connections in Wrexham thanks to research carried out by the owners the Pendine Park care organisation that\u2019s celebrating its 40th<\/sup> anniversary this year.<\/p>\n Pendine proprietors Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, were investigating the history of one of their homes, Hillbury House, when they found the incredible link with the New Zealand-born Australian actor.<\/p>\n The house itself, a red brick Victorian villa, was originally built in 1864 for a wealthy local businessman, John Bury.<\/p>\n Fast forward nearly a century and it was bought by Russell Crowe\u2019s great uncle, Frank Crowe, Tarnia\u2019s grandfather Eric\u2019s brother, who ran a successful fruit and veg company called Crofruit.<\/p>\n Russell\u2019s great grandparents, Shropshire-born Fred and Kezia, from Wrexham, emigrated to Canada in June 1925 along with 12 of their 13 children.<\/p>\n His grandfather, John, stayed behind to run Crofruit. His older brother, Frank returned from Canada in 1927 to help John run the business.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems that John decided to emigrate himself, to New Zealand where he married and had two children, David and Alex, Russell\u2019s father. The family later moved to Australia when Russell was still a child.<\/p>\n Mario found Hillbury House\u2019s link with the Crowe family when he was studying the deeds.<\/p>\n The document signed by Frank Crowe on May 31, 1954, reveals he paid \u00a36,000 for the property.<\/p>\n The Crowes lived there until 1965 when they sold Hillbury for \u00a312,500 to the Sisters of Nazareth who established a care home there.<\/p>\n After making the exciting discovery, Mario launched a search to find any long lost relatives of the Crowe family to help them mark a celebration of 60 years of care at Hillbury which became part of Pendine in 2003.<\/p>\n Tarnia\u2019s partner Nigel Oliver stumbled upon the news story when telling a friend about her links to Hollywood, later making contact with Pendine to find out more information.<\/p>\n Her late father Glen Rodgers – who was born Roger Barry Crowe – and her mother Barbara ran a guest house. Roger used to be in the forces and served in Germany from the age of 20 and later became a singer in the pubs and clubs.<\/p>\n She was born in Nottingham, however the family relocated to Sunderland and she now lives in New Houghton with Nigel and her two sons, Cole and Owen.<\/p>\n Tarnia, 51, who has also traced her fascinating family history back to world famous cricketers Jeff and Martin Crowe, said: \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it when I found out I was a second cousin to Russell Crowe.<\/p>\n \u201cMy client Ian had been helping me to trace my roots and when he told me about the link I said \u2018Don\u2019t be so ridiculous\u2019. When I realised it was true I had to have a very large brandy!\u201d<\/p>\n Tarnia – who was a huge Russell Crowe fan even before making the discovery of family links in 2021 – says her favourite film of all time is Gladiator.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cNow I know about the link I can really see the resemblance in my sons and nephews. They definitely have a look of Russell about them!<\/p>\n \u201cWe love North Wales and visit often but this has been our first time in Wrexham. It has been lovely and we have received a fantastic welcome from everyone and it has been fascinating to see where my relatives lived.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if she had a message for her long-lost second cousin, Tarnia said: \u201cI would say to him \u2018Please can I come to your next film premiere\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n Tarnia and Nigel, who have been together for 28 years plan to move to North Wales to enjoy their retirement together and are considering setting up home in Wrexham.<\/p>\n Mario, who along with wife Gill, operates nine care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon, with 440 beds and more than 860 employees, said: \u201cIt is a great privilege and pleasure to welcome Tarnia and Nigel to show them around the property and help them to explore Tarnia\u2019s links to the Crowe family.<\/p>\n \u201cWe put out the appeal following our research and can\u2019t believe that someone got in touch so quickly. It\u2019s a bit surreal but very exciting.<\/p>\n \u201cMeeting Tarnia has been yet another opportunity to find out more about the history of Hillbury. Our residents and staff are fascinated by the story of yet another Hollywood link for Wrexham in addition to the celebrity owners of our resurgent football club.<\/p>\n \u201cRussell Crowe and his family, and of course any other relatives, would always be welcome at Hillbury to find out more about their family\u2019s roots.\u201d<\/p>\n Residents and staff at Hillbury were thrilled to hear about the home\u2019s connection with the movie legend, including manager Cindy Clutton.<\/p>\n Cindy started working at the home as a Saturday girl in 1982 and went to work there when it was called Nazareth House and run by the nuns.<\/p>\n She left to further her career in social care and worked for Wrexham Council before being recruited by Pendine 25 years ago to manage care services and Hillbury and she now also manages the Gwern Alyn home next door.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cIt has been lovely to welcome Tarnia and Nigel here and to find out even more about the house\u2019s history.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be really nice if Russell could come and visit \u2013 we\u2019d be delighted if he came to Wrexham to retrace his family roots.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019d be more than welcome \u2013 we\u2019d give him a cup of tea and a Welsh cake.\u201d<\/p>\n