List of Romanichals

This page makes mention of prominent individuals of Romanichal descent.

listed alphabetically by surname

• Adam Ant (born 1954) – English punk/New Wave musician; of Romanichal descent
• Jake Bowers (born 1971) – journalist and broadcaster
• James Carver (born 1969) – British MEP (Member of the European Parliament)
• Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) - English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer
• Louise Doughty (born 1963) – English writer
• Freddy Eastwood (born 1983) – Welsh footballer
• Tracey Emin (born 1963) – British artist shortlisted for the Turner Prize, also known as one of the chief Young British Artists of the late 20th century ^[1]
• John-Henry Phillips - Author, archaeologist, filmmaker, and television presenter. Undertook the first ever archaeological excavations of historic Romany sites in the United Kingdom. ^[2]
• George Bramwell Evens (1884–1943) – English journalist and writer
• James Squire Farnell (1825–1888) – grandson of James Squire and the first Australian-born Premier of New South Wales
• Johnny Frankham (born 1948) – English light heavyweight boxer who knocked Muhammad Ali to the floor in an exhibition fight
• Francis Hindes Groome (1851–1902) – English writer
• Ian Hancock (born 1942) – Romani scholar and activist, born in the UK, living in the USA, Professor at the University of Texas
• Bob Hoskins (1942–2014) – actor; of one-quarter Romanichal descent
• Raby Howell (1869 – 1937) – nineteenth-century English footballer (Liverpool, Sheffield United, and Preston North End)
• Jentina (born 1984) – British hip hop/R&B singer, rapper, songwriter, and model
• Canada Bill Jones (c. 1837–1877), English-born confidence artist, riverboat gambler and card sharp in Canada and the United States
• Priscilla Kelly (born 1997) – professional wrestler
• Denny Laine (1944-2023) aka Brian Hines – Moody Blues singer and guitarist
• Albert Lee (born 1943) – English guitarist. ^[3]
• Jackie Leven (1950–2011) – Scottish songwriter and folk musician
• Cher Lloyd (born 1993) – English singer and rapper, whose mother is Romanichal
• Joe Longthorne (born 1955) – English singer and impressionist
• David Morley (born 1964) – British poet, critic, anthologist, editor, and scientist
• Róisín Mullins (born 1982) – English & Irish TV presenter, TV talent show judge, professional Irish dancer, stage show owner, and choreographer
• Xavier Petulengro (1859-1957) – writer and broadcaster, who frequently broadcast on BBC radio in the 1930s and 1940s
• Robert Plant (born 1948) – English singer and songwriter (former vocalist of Led Zeppelin); his mother is of Romanichal origin
• Billy Joe Saunders (born 1989) – English boxer who won silver and became the first Romani boxer to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games
• Lady Eleanor Furneaux Smith (1902–1945) – English writer of popular novels often romanticized historical and Romani settings; she believed her paternal great-grandmother to have been Romanichal
• Rodney Smith (1860–1947) – British evangelist who conducted evangelistic campaigns in the United States and the UK
• James Squire (1754–1822) – on the First Fleet to Australia; founder of the Australian brewing industry in 1798
• Connor Swindells - actor
• Randolph Turpin (1928–1966) - English boxer who won the world middleweight championship by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson; his mother was of Romanichal origin
• Dick Turpin (1920–1990) - English boxer who was the first black fighter to win a British boxing title; his mother was of Romanichal origin
• Jackie Turpin (1925-2010) - English boxer; his mother was of Romanichal origin
• Tracy Ullman (born 30 December 1959) British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director
• Cherry Valentine (1993-2022) - English drag queen and contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK
• Henry Wharton (born 1967) – English middleweight boxing champion.

See also

• List of Romani people

References

1. "Who Do You Think You Are? – Tracey Emin, BBC One – The Arts Desk". Theartsdesk.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
2. Digging for Britain - Series 12: 6. Lost Mansions and Impaled Prisoners . Retrieved 18 January 2025– via www.bbc.co.uk.
3. Derek Watts, Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee, Jefferson, NC; McFarland & Co., pp.6–9.