Facts About Your Favorite Redhead
I Heart Redheads
1. Red hair is seen on the heads of only less than one percent of people.in the world. Most redheads live in the U.K., Ireland, and former colonies of U.K. like Australia.
2. The highest percentage of natural Redheads in the world is in Scotland (13%), followed closely by Ireland with 10%. In the US, about 2% of the population are natural redheads.
3. A 2002 study found that Redheads are harder to sedate than any other people requiring twenty percent more anesthesia. Inadequate doses cause people to wake up during surgery and have increased recall of procedures.
4. Adults have about 120,000 hairs on their head; redheads have fewer, blondes have more, brunettes have the most.
5. One medical importance of red hair is that individuals with red hair are, on average,
more likely to burn in the sun and they are at an increased risk of skin cancer.
6. Red hair is more commonly found in the United Kingdom and Ireland with famous leaders like King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Prince Harry sporting red hair.
7. Historically King David and Judas Iscariot in the Bible are thought to have had red hair.
8. The genetics behind red hair was discovered in 1997.
9. It has been proven that redheads require more anesthesia during surgery.
10. The red hair gene is recessive and requires both parents of a redhead to carry a copy of the gene.
11. Redheads have a lower threshold when it comes to thermal pain.
12. Redheads Are Not Going ExtinctDespite a long-running rumor that redheads deserve a spot on the endangered species list, gingers are here to stay. While only 4 percent of the world’s population carries the recessive redhead gene, according to the Oxford Hair Foundation, that number will probably only decrease as redheads reproduce with non-redheads. So over time, red hair may become more rare, but “they’ll be here forever,” Barry Star, PhD, a genetics professor at Stanford University, told The Boston Globe. That’s because 4 percent of the population is still a pretty huge number — too large to be wiped out completely anytime soon.
Do you have others to add to our list? Use our contact form and let us know.
Famous Redheads in Entertainment and History
1. Lucille Ball (1911 – 1989) – American comedienne and actress most famous for the historic early sitcom she created with real-life husband Desi Arnaz called I Love Lucy (1951-1957). I Love Lucy was memorable for being the first American TV show to star a female and one of the first American TV shows to present a pregnant woman, although they weren’t allowed to say the word “pregnant.” The most watched episode in American TV history during that time was when Lucy gave birth to Little Ricky during the show’s second season. Many of the famous situations on the show are old vaudeville routines, and one of the most memorable is the Chocolate Factory.
2. Carol Burnett (b. 1933) – American comedienne and actress most famous for her own variety show, The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978). She also appeared on Mama’s Family in a few episodes reprising the role of Eunice that she created with co-star Vickie Lawrence, and as Jamie’s mother on Mad About You. In addition, she’s done several films and voice-overs. However, she will most likely be remembered most for her ear-tugging salute to her grandmother, her hilarious Tarzan call, and her parody of Gone with the Wind called Went with the Wind.
2. Geri Halliwell (b. 1972) – Otherwise known as Ginger Spice, she is the most musically successful of all the former members of the Spice Girls, releasing three acclaimed solo albums and participating in the Spice Girls Reunion Tour of 2007.
3. Bernadette Peters (b. 1948) – American actress, singer, and Broadway star, probably best known for her role as Marie in Steve Martin’s 1979 film The Jerk, and as Annie Oakley in the 1999 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun.
4. Napoleon Bonaparte (1761 – 1829) – French military and political figure who had a significant hand in the French Revolution, then turned around and declared himself Emperor of France in 1804. Napoleon was despised by both Beethoven, who originally dedicated his Third Symphony in Eb Major (Eroica) to Napoleon and then changed his mind, and Tchaikovsky, who depicted the French defeat in Moscow with the 1812 Overture. He was exiled twice and eventually died on the island of St. Helena.
5. Cleopatra (69BC – 30BC) – Female Egyptian ruler who formed political liaisons and romantic relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After being defeated by Augustus, she famously committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by an asp.
6. Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658) – Here’s a touchy one. He’s known as either an English military and political genius, or the scourge of Ireland. He helped create the English Commonwealth in 1649 after the execution of Charles I and then mounted a brutal campaign to subdue the Irish the next year. He died of natural causes in 1658 and was then exhumed and posthumously executed in 1661.
7. Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) – American poet known for her reclusive behavior as well as her quietly prolific poetry. Although she had some of her writings published during her lifetime, it was not until after she died that the bulk of her massive output was finally made available to the public by her family.
8. Willie Nelson (b. 1933) – Texas native Willie Nelson began his career as a country singer/songwriter trying to break into the standardized world of Nashville country and western, and he wrote several hits for other artists including Patsy Cline’s immortal Crazy. However, after being unable to break into the Nashville inner circle for himself, Nelson returned to his native Texas and helped create the outlaw country movement with fellow Texan Waylon Jennings in the 1970’s.
9. Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) – Vivaldi was an Italian composer of the late Baroque era. Although he was originally trained for the priesthood, he is probably best known for his brilliant concerti (and concerti grosso) including The Four Seasons.
10. Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) – Third U.S. President from 1801 to 1809. A native Virginian, Jefferson was the chief author of the Declaration of Independence. He was primarily an agrarian-minded president, and would serve as an inspiration to a generation of secessionist Southerners. He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with fellow redhead Naplolean Bonaparte, and died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
11. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) – Dutch post-Impressionist painter who lived in relative obscurity, yet, his paintings routinely fetch the largest sums at auctions. Probably best known for Starry Night, he was beset by a myriad of mental disturbances, and famously cut off the lobe of his ear in 1888.
12. James Joyce (1882 – 1941) – Irish 20th Century writer, best known for Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake. Joyce was an expatriate, living in Paris and fleeing the Nazi invasion in 1940 to find safety and death in Switzerland.
13. Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) – Pen name of American humorist and author Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Many of his stories are about the 19th century American riverboat culture (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), and his pen name was taken from a common call by a riverboat leadsman.
14. Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) – Italian astronomer and physicist, perhaps best known for advancing the use of the telescope to verify the theories of Copernicus and describing the laws of motion for falling bodies and projectiles. Galileo was forced to recant his astronomical findings by the Church, and lived the remainder of his life under house arrest.
15. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) – British politician who served as the indomitable bulldog Prime Minister during World War II. His inspiration and tenacity served to solidify British willpower during the German bombings of 1940.
16. Vladimir Lenin (1870 – 1924) – Russian revolutionary politician and statesman, born Vladimir Ilrich Ulyanov. Lenin was the architect of the Soviet Union following the Russian Revolution of 1917, and he was the first Soviet premier until his early death. His preserved body is still on display at his mausoleum in Red Square in Moscow.
17. Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) – English queen and daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She was the last Tudor queen, and her reign included the contributions of William Shakespeare and Francis Drake. [Pictured above]
18. King David (1037 BC – 967 BC) – King of Israel who succeeded Saul, and slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath. David was an accomplished lyre player and is credited with composing the majority of the Book of Psalms.
Do you have others to add to our list? Use our contact form and let us know.
2. Carol Burnett (b. 1933) – American comedienne and actress most famous for her own variety show, The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978). She also appeared on Mama’s Family in a few episodes reprising the role of Eunice that she created with co-star Vickie Lawrence, and as Jamie’s mother on Mad About You. In addition, she’s done several films and voice-overs. However, she will most likely be remembered most for her ear-tugging salute to her grandmother, her hilarious Tarzan call, and her parody of Gone with the Wind called Went with the Wind.
2. Geri Halliwell (b. 1972) – Otherwise known as Ginger Spice, she is the most musically successful of all the former members of the Spice Girls, releasing three acclaimed solo albums and participating in the Spice Girls Reunion Tour of 2007.
3. Bernadette Peters (b. 1948) – American actress, singer, and Broadway star, probably best known for her role as Marie in Steve Martin’s 1979 film The Jerk, and as Annie Oakley in the 1999 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun.
4. Napoleon Bonaparte (1761 – 1829) – French military and political figure who had a significant hand in the French Revolution, then turned around and declared himself Emperor of France in 1804. Napoleon was despised by both Beethoven, who originally dedicated his Third Symphony in Eb Major (Eroica) to Napoleon and then changed his mind, and Tchaikovsky, who depicted the French defeat in Moscow with the 1812 Overture. He was exiled twice and eventually died on the island of St. Helena.
5. Cleopatra (69BC – 30BC) – Female Egyptian ruler who formed political liaisons and romantic relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After being defeated by Augustus, she famously committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by an asp.
6. Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658) – Here’s a touchy one. He’s known as either an English military and political genius, or the scourge of Ireland. He helped create the English Commonwealth in 1649 after the execution of Charles I and then mounted a brutal campaign to subdue the Irish the next year. He died of natural causes in 1658 and was then exhumed and posthumously executed in 1661.
7. Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) – American poet known for her reclusive behavior as well as her quietly prolific poetry. Although she had some of her writings published during her lifetime, it was not until after she died that the bulk of her massive output was finally made available to the public by her family.
8. Willie Nelson (b. 1933) – Texas native Willie Nelson began his career as a country singer/songwriter trying to break into the standardized world of Nashville country and western, and he wrote several hits for other artists including Patsy Cline’s immortal Crazy. However, after being unable to break into the Nashville inner circle for himself, Nelson returned to his native Texas and helped create the outlaw country movement with fellow Texan Waylon Jennings in the 1970’s.
9. Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) – Vivaldi was an Italian composer of the late Baroque era. Although he was originally trained for the priesthood, he is probably best known for his brilliant concerti (and concerti grosso) including The Four Seasons.
10. Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) – Third U.S. President from 1801 to 1809. A native Virginian, Jefferson was the chief author of the Declaration of Independence. He was primarily an agrarian-minded president, and would serve as an inspiration to a generation of secessionist Southerners. He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with fellow redhead Naplolean Bonaparte, and died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
11. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) – Dutch post-Impressionist painter who lived in relative obscurity, yet, his paintings routinely fetch the largest sums at auctions. Probably best known for Starry Night, he was beset by a myriad of mental disturbances, and famously cut off the lobe of his ear in 1888.
12. James Joyce (1882 – 1941) – Irish 20th Century writer, best known for Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake. Joyce was an expatriate, living in Paris and fleeing the Nazi invasion in 1940 to find safety and death in Switzerland.
13. Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) – Pen name of American humorist and author Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Many of his stories are about the 19th century American riverboat culture (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), and his pen name was taken from a common call by a riverboat leadsman.
14. Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) – Italian astronomer and physicist, perhaps best known for advancing the use of the telescope to verify the theories of Copernicus and describing the laws of motion for falling bodies and projectiles. Galileo was forced to recant his astronomical findings by the Church, and lived the remainder of his life under house arrest.
15. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) – British politician who served as the indomitable bulldog Prime Minister during World War II. His inspiration and tenacity served to solidify British willpower during the German bombings of 1940.
16. Vladimir Lenin (1870 – 1924) – Russian revolutionary politician and statesman, born Vladimir Ilrich Ulyanov. Lenin was the architect of the Soviet Union following the Russian Revolution of 1917, and he was the first Soviet premier until his early death. His preserved body is still on display at his mausoleum in Red Square in Moscow.
17. Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603) – English queen and daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She was the last Tudor queen, and her reign included the contributions of William Shakespeare and Francis Drake. [Pictured above]
18. King David (1037 BC – 967 BC) – King of Israel who succeeded Saul, and slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath. David was an accomplished lyre player and is credited with composing the majority of the Book of Psalms.
Do you have others to add to our list? Use our contact form and let us know.