As the only singer in her immediate family, Delta Goodrem always wondered where her chart-topping voice came from.
Now she has the answer courtesy of her appearance on the hit SBS series Who Do You Think You Are? this week.
The 31-year-old actress and singer has discovered show business runs in her family, with her great-grandmother Florence Bay being a theatrical performer in the early 1900s.
“It was so fascinating to know Florence travelled with the theatre and that I had music firmly in my history,” she tells news.com.au.
But Delta also discovered a darker side to the connection as she delved deeper into her genealogy.
There was a devastating side to Florence’s back-story – she gave birth to an illegitimate son Tom, fathered by Thomas Park who was involved with “multiple criminal convictions for larceny and fraud”.
Delta explained that she sat down with her mother Lea and the pair discussed the sordid family history, and it took some time for Lea to process all of the information.
“My parents taught me such a good value system … the fact that my mum’s father’s father was not a respectable man was confronting. We went out to dinner and sat down with a glass of wine and it was like, OK, we need to talk,” Delta laughs.
“It was a lot for her to take in. There were all these fascinating revelations. But at the same time, much has passed. And there was a strange coincidence between her family and my dad’s family.”
Meanwhile, Delta has just wrapped filming on Channel Nine’s series House Husbands, which marks her long-awaited small screen drama return.
“I’m in a really good place and it’s been a great year,” adds Delta, who also hosted the recent Nickelodeon Slimefest in Melbourne.
“It’s been all about diversity. I started 2016 doing Cats, from there I went to The Voice, then straight into finishing my album, to the intensity of going on tour, then returning to TV acting.
“Acting has always been a part of me and it’s nice to get all those muscle memories going again. I get to learn new things from this incredible cast too. I’m excited to be back.”
- Who Do You Think You Are, SBS, September 27, 7.30pm.
