There are days when you can feel that “today is going to be a great discovery day.” Well… I just had one of those!

I had been wanting to do John Barry’s genealogy for a long time, especially every time we watch a movie with music he composed. This amazing man created so many unforgettable music themes!! 

11 James Bond films, the “James Bond Theme”, “Dances with Wolves” (1990), “Out of Africa” (1985), “The Persuaders!” (“Amicalement Vôtre” in French), a great series I grew up with, just to name a few of my favorites!

This morning, at breakfast, my husband played the James Bond theme tune composed by John Barry. “That’s a sign! Today is the day!”, I told myself. 

I couldn’t wait for my husband to leave for his Sunday mountain-bike ride (sorry, Honey…! You know what I mean…) So here I am, finally starting John Barry’s genealogy! 

First, I entered his name and a little bit of information about him on my tree. Then I remembered that he had been Jane Birkin’s first husband. Jane Birkin, English-French actress, singer, and designer, was very famous in France. I grew up listening to her songs and watching some of her movies. So… I entered Jane on my tree, of course, married to John Barry, promising myself to come back to John Barry “right away”.

However, I kept being pushed to do Jane Birkin’s genealogy. As usual, I followed my intuition and continued her lineage.

And where did this lead me, a few hours later? Jane Birkin, the English-French singer with the soft voice and very laid-back look, is a direct descendant of Henri IV of France (1553-1610) and Marie de Médicis (1573-1642)!!! 

Did I mention that this also makes her a cousin of Lady Diana, who also descends from Henri IV of France and Marie de Médicis?? Two drastically opposite women in their lifestyles, having both touched so many lives in their own respective way.

Mr. John Barry: you were a genius… Thank you for your music... I promise you that at some point, I’ll do your genealogy! At least tonight, we’ll watch “Out of Africa”, since we watched “Dances with Wolves” a couple of days ago!

---

Don’t you love those days? You start researching one person… and genealogy quietly decides you’ll actually end up researching someone else, making great discoveries in the process… Just as in life in general… When we allow ourselves to listen to our intuition, to let us be guided by our “ideas”, amazing things happen…

✨

🌿 Genealogy

Here are the links to several pages on my Geneanet tree related to individuals or events mentioned in this post: (FYI: on Geneanet, the little “green circle” on an individual’s image indicates my direct lineage with the individuals).

• John Barry (1933-2011)
• Jane Birkin (1946-2023)
• Henri IV de Bourbon (1553-1610)
• Marie de Médicis (1575-1642)