Oops, Britney has some Maltese blood

What an insult to the Maltese culture. Opps, she did it again. Only now she embarrassed us all.

its an honour for me to know that britney my favourite pop singer has maltese blood . I am really proud of it !! maybe one day shell come to malta wouldnt it be great having a visit from britney wow i wouldnt miss it for the world

Yes, Britney IS a misfit, you only have to hear the amount of jokes Jay Leno says about her.

Since I have lived in the USA for the last 40 years I think I am qualified to comment about this topic. Quite frankly nobody here gives a hoot about Britney's ancestry and if Britney took residency in Malta nobody would care less. She is considered a misfit of society and even lost custody of her two kids. And her sister Jamie Lynn isn't much better. She just gave birth to a baby at the age of 17 and out of wedlock. And the Mc Cain's political campaign ran ads saying that many of the Obama's supporters probably like Britnet too. In other words having something in common with Britney is nothing to be bragging about.

To have Sir Anthony Hopkins claiming maltese blood would have made me more patriotic, but BS.......please - spare me the family tree details!!!

@ justin Borg
Incredible but true! your mention of Amy Winehouse has sent me delving into this personality's past.
By misspelling her surname you have unknowingly brought to light a very little known fact about her childhood. Believe it or not Amy used to live in malta with her parents in the early nineties. When she was quite young she used to cry a lot (perhaps that was the start of her singing career) and the neighbours coined a nickname for her. Il-qerrieda, the whiner. in time her house became known as id-dar tal qerrieda. after emigrating back to England she decided to use this nickname as a stage name but she changed it to winehouse for obvious reasons! Honest!

If we're wishing for notorious women to have Maltese blood, why not wish for Amy Whinehouse? she's dark, short and swears like a football fan at Ta Qali during an important final. She'd be perfect.

These forums have surpassed Xarabank for humour, I mean!!

I have a strong feeling that we have seen nothing yet....people should advertise more on this site because it is going to grow, mark my words.

There, a small help to the Times for doing such a good job.

Hey Victor Vella, is Michael Phelps related to the Maltese?

Cheers and thankyou Mr V Vella, the details you're giving are entertaining.

At least we Maltese have Dr Nicholas Sammut from the Big Bang Experiment to cheer us up and make us proud. He compensates for Britney & Madonna, and for any other personality you, sir manage to honestly dredge up.

@ Antoine Vella

I’m sorry but I have to prove you wrong. I’m not a fan of Madonna, but neither am I of Britney. (Even though I would by far prefer Madonna) It really bothers me, however, that some obnoxious persons want to affirm their opinion as if it were some cast-iron fact.

Nonetheless, I guess that if Madonna “could easily pass muster as a prime Maltese hamalla”, you could easily pass for the epitome of ignorance. Please note the “I guess” which makes it an opinion, since I’m not presumptuous as you and Ms. Therese Vella are.

Some more information about madonna's connection with l-Isla.
The song Dear Jessie is dedicated to jessie il-hassiela her grandfather's neighbour in Senglea. and the album I'm Breathless is named after the streets of steps found in Senglea which leave one quite out of breath! If ever there was proof that Louisa Veronica Ciccone alias Madonna has maltese connections here the are. Honest!

Hey, I'm Maltese and very proud of it too! Of course, a Canadian also and very proud of that too.

Don't get too excited about Britney - there are far more of us who are very successfull all over North America, but wisely keep a much lower profile.

Perhaps some of you guys can tell me how to search my ancestory several generations next time I visit that gem of an island of ours!

Cheers,
Lewis Cassar
Toronto.

do you know that we have 16 great great grandparents.. no i don't think that it is such a big deal that one of them is maltese.. fuss about nothing

Keith Borg Micallef
I take it you're a fan of Madonna then. Don't worry, your idol could easily pass muster as a prime Maltese hamalla so, who knows? there's hope yet.

Is this for real? Madonna has Maltese blood? Now i'm really ashamed, but knowing that Brian Adams also has connections with Malta compensates, phew!
About "La Isla Bonita", this is the first i heard of its association to Isla, and without wanting to offend you, i find it hard to believe. Sorry but i think people in general say just about anything to connect tiny, "insignificant" Malta to highly-successful, famous personalities (even if they are notorious) such as Madonna.

The Italian actress Edwige Fenech is also connected to Malta . Google: Biography of Edwige Fenech
(Bona, Algeria, 1948)
Her father was Maltese and her mother was Italian.
may also be related to the afore mentioned Brian Adams! In fact her grandmother's cousin twice removed was a Fenech Adami living in Qormi although this is not mentioned in the bio! Honest!!!!

Britney is one of many celebrities with maltese connections. Brian Adams has roots in malta. In fact his real surname although few people know this, is Adami which is quite a common name in Malta. He spent some of his chidhood here and I'm convinced he has realtives still living here.

@ Therese vella
About madonna. Funny you should mention her! did you know that Madonna had relatives living in Senglea up till the last war? In fact her song 'La Isla Bonita' was dedicated to her memory of this city as recounted to her by her father. Old folk living in Senglea remember the Cicciones as they had a sweets shop near the church. As children they used to go and buy sweets before going to school and Madonna's grandfather used to get angry with the rush of children and he used to invoke the Madonna to help him cope. he used to pray"Holy Mother help me to cope" honestly!

It is undeniably true that everyone is entitled to express an opinion. Nevertheless, the opinion posted by Ms. Therese Vella is simply pitiable. Balderdash I’d say!

Dear Ms. Vella, you have every right to think that it’s better to have Britney with Maltese ancestors rather than Madonna. What is unbelievable, however, is that you said it as if it were some statement. Do bear in mind that expressing an opinion is one thing and stating a statement is another!

Although we have a lot of Aquilinas in Malta undoubtedly the surname is Italian. In the case of mike Aquilina it could be that his ancestors emigrated to Malta and then their descendants returned to Italy and settled in caltanisetta from where their descendants emigrated to the USA. But their origins were certainly not in malta

LOL - what funny comments, especially the one about Bill Gates and Austin Gatt..hehe
Well, better Britney than Madonna - wouldn't that be worse?

That some of these celebrities claim that they are actually of italian decent instead of maltese does not mean that anybody is at fault. i will quote from an email i have received from Mike Aquilina a renowned american author specialising in early Church history when i inquired if he is of maltese origin
quote All four of my grandparents came to the United States from two villages near Caltanissetta, Sicily -- Serradifalco and San Cataldo.
A priest from that area told me that one of the villages was (or maybe both were) known as "The Maltese," and that residents there were probably descended from Maltese refugees from the time of Napoleon.unquote
as to Troy Cassar Daley who someone mentioned, I heard a country and western cd a couple of years ago it was really excellent. i i got info from an australian radio that he is maltese from his mother's side I believe.
charles

So somewhere along the line there is a bastard in your family Britney, what an Stop press issue. isnt there one in every family, and before you all start screaming remember the time of the knights and british forces in Malta

I only hope that her crazy side has not been inherited from the Maltese descendency

I am very proud to be Maltese but there is nothing to be proud of here. Of all, Britney Spears, such a big failure!!!

@Alex Spiteri. You are right, these so called manufactured celebrities are nothng more than 'bread and circuses' for the masses. The cult of the celebrities, no matter how talentless, is being hoisted on people from all background and cultures, keeping them mesmerized and living vicariously through them.

This way they will not notice nor care about issues that will directly affect them and their daily lives and their future.

It is an old formula but people fall for it time everytime. In this way, people, especially the young generation who should be the the catalysts for change and improvements in our society, are reduced to banal, mindless, mass-consuming robots who follow all the celebrity trends and emulate their worst excesses. Engineering society in this way only serves the goals of the few, against the best interests of the many.

@ Mr. Said-Vassallo:

Interesting link, but you forgot to list people such as Brian Adams, Nathalie Gauci, and Sharleen Spiteri (ex-Texas). Try search in Wikipedia, it will facilitate your life a lot.

Regards
Kurt

So that is why one of her dogs is a Maltese terrier! Seriously, the Maltese genaeology titbit of information is the only thing that is missing from her family tree in
http://landing.ancestry.com/famoustree/Tree.aspx?name=spears&sourceCode=8975

Talking of acknowledging one's roots, what truly riles me is Trezza Azzopardi having the Maltese characters in her book 'Hiding Place' (2000), speak Italian instead of Maltese. When questioned about it she gave some lame excuse I cannot remember, possibly to hide the fact that she may not have learnt Maltese.

I must add that in all other respects, the book is outstanding.

I bet should would have had the same success had her family kept living on these islands....NOT!!!

Britney, Lohan and all the other so called celebrities are today's worst drug for the upcoming generation! we get annoyed everyday, listening to news that britney had a car accident, lohan went to rehab and amy whinehouse had sex yday night...but as gerald fenech and some others said earlier, who cares?!?!

britney, lohan and co. are only a media manifactured escapism product. instead of get concerned and talk about the real issues that affect our everyday life, people 'escape reality' but getting into these divas!

@ Edward Grech,

Oh that figures, I still listen to The Shadows.

Wow..quite a match for Joseph Calleja....

Can you help us on Brand Malta

Well she is the second international singer who has a Maltese ancestry and says that she is of Italian descent, maybe it is more chique. Some ten years ago Charlene Spiteri of Texas in an interview n a magazine which I remember well was GQ she said that her father is Italian, and he is Maltese and if I am not mistaken he is Gozitan. Charlene Spiteri must be ashamed of herself she denied her roots.

honestly, who cares?

Ferferlanza LOOOOL

You really made my day :)

I guess even Wentworth Miller has some Maltese blood running........1. he's always on the run & 2 he's crafty! :)

Portelli means small gates in Italian. I bet Bill Gates has some maltese blood too! or more likely Gozitan blood which also explains why Austin found it so easy to strike those microsoft deals with him!!!

Told you so Britney!
Ehe yess tal-Bigilla Spears. they had a grocer in Sliema.

Hey! come to think of it Spears in Maltese is Lanez (plural of Lanza) could the great tenor Mario Lanza be maltese too? Could The Bard himself William Shakespeare (Ferfer lanza in maltese) be maltese?! The list is never ending!!

Guze Xerri, the “Oops” in a pun on the title of Britney Spears’ famous song “Oops, I did it again”.

Charles Said Vassallo, thanks for the links. By any chance, do you know whether there is any link between Antonio Portelli and the military surgeon Gavino Patrizio Portelli (1795-1865) ? Thank you!

That explains her ability to sink and surface and come up smiling!!!!

Must say she seems to be developing a true Maltese derriere!!!!!

Who is this Britney? There are a couple of brats called Britney in our street.

therefore the Princess of Pop and King of Maltese Rock Freddie Portelli might even be related!!!! lool

nothing bad with having a maltese ancestry:)

well at least now we know why she's always in the headlines!

Who cares! So one of her ancesters was Maltese. Is that a news story?

Britney's sister Jamie Lynn just had a baby and she is barely 17. I guess she could also be lumped with Britney as having Maltese ancestry. Surely nothing to go gaga about..

Hmmm...could this be our best bet at coming last in the Eurovision Song Contest and truly deserving it? I think yes hehe

Could this be the beginnning of a new duet with Enzo Guzman??

@J.Jibiri I am a Portelli and very proud of it too.

I can already imagine a bright spark at Maltasong trying to 'recruit' her for yet another stab at Eurovision 'glory' :-D

Before making any negative comments about Britney, maybe we should all take a good look at ourselves, and our families to see that it's quite an easy feat to fall off the wagon once or twice. Imagine how difficult it must be to be put under a microscope and have the whole world look down at you with scrutinising eyes.

Anywho, very interesting news, however I do recall Britney saying her ancestry was mostly Irish and Italian.

This is hardly a surprise. I always thought that Britney has a figure similar to a Maltese. What can I say? She's very lucky to have our genes ;)

To top it all off, here is a link:

1. Antonio Portelli, married with issue.
1.1. Edward Richard Portelli, (1873 Malta -), (Migrated to UK), married 1896 in Essex Uk to Alice Taylor, with issue.
1.1.1. George Anthony Portelli, (later Portell), (1898 -), married Middlesex Uk 1923 to Lilian Esther Lewis, with issue.
1.1.1.1. Lilian Irene Portell, (1924 Middlesex UK - 1993 USA), married 1945 Hendon Uk to Barney O'Field Bridges, with issue.
1.1.1.1.1. Lynn Bridges, (1956-, married to James Parnall Spears, with issue.
1.1.1.1.1.1. Britney Spears, (1981

Way to go Britney. You have the Gahan and Zeza genes!

Though I'm far from fond of Britney or the culture that promotes "talent" like hers, please people, keep in mind that she's still a human being. Let's do away with the sour grapes and stop being so high and mighty.

Britney is human, and yes she made some mistakes. Not too many off us can say we are perfect. We should go to Paceville and see Maltese 14 year old kids making Britney look like an angel. Now I know where she gets her good looks. If Britney announces a show in Malta, she will sell 50,000 seats.

You want a real Maltese Star!!! check out Troy Cassar Daley who has ARIA Awards in Australia ... now that is the real Maltese pros..

So what?

Geez, give her the MIdalja ghall-gieh tar-Reupubblika !

Three awards, all related to a video, thus not really confirming her Pop abilities, but rather the video director's ability!

Well! That explains SOME of Britney's behaviour...... :)

Thanks for the info, Mr. Said-Vassallo, that's very interesting. Some very intriguing personalities too....

Pity no Micallefs are mentioned....

Cheers,

JCM

hahahahahahaa! pleassssse... I can think of a few ROYAL titles to bestow upon her but they are all far from Noble!

Dear Mr. Said-Vassallo

I hope that your comment was tongue in cheek otherwise i would really be shocked.

Do you seriously have nothing better to do then check Ms. Spear's ancestry??!!!!!

p.s. i really don't think that any member of noble geneologies will be grateful to you for adding Ms. Spears to their club

however 10 points for pick up stunts, i am sure that Ms. Spears would ask you out on a date if she ever had to read this.....in between her rehab stints obviously!!!!

Why the" Oops "in the title ?

this is hardly news, but having a Maltese ancestor is not a mistake or a bad thing.

he he he this is good. thank god im not a portelli. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Royal or noble connection? Not that anyone is bothered any more but im sure most people would have some noble connection if you look far enough. Quite interesting to hear of her links to malta though. Small island but far reaching!! I wonder if her family is still living in malta?

@ Charles Said- Vassallo

Your link was very interesting, thanks for that.

Charles, your list is really interesting, it is worth a look!
I wonder if she would be interested in finding more about her Maltese roots and visiting the island

Genealogy is a fascinating and at times addictive hobby that can lead one into all matter of interesting an sometimes sad areas of Family History. It has become one of the most popular pastimes in the United Kingdom. Can someone explain as to its popularity here in the Maltese islands, and where does one begin here? Anyone with an interest might like to try the Family Search web site.

How interesting is that!!!, who is next to claim Maltese genes.. I think it will be interesting to see how Britney is linked to this Portelli chap and where he is from in Malta.

I ve complied a list of interesting people connected to Maltese ancestry.
http://www.maltagenealogy.com/libro%20d'Oro/Chapter11.html

Maltese ancestry is far interesting due to the diverse connections of many different nationalities settling in Malta over the many centuries. I would love to look deeper into this Portelli's ancestry and maybe or hopefully find Britney a Noble connection and just maybe a ROYAL link..