Niecy Nash-Betts has a spirited reaction when she learns the true identity of her paternal grandfather in the latest episode of PBS’ “Finding Your Roots,” out Jan. 17.
The actor, 52, originally turned to the show's host, Henry Louis Gates Jr., to learn more about her lineage. But Nash gets more than she bargained for when she discovers that the man who she thought was her grandfather wasn’t actually related to her.
The compelling saga begins with Gates breaking some awkward news to Nash: Her DNA isn't a match to her paternal grandfather's gene pool. Naturally, the actor is a bit taken aback by the revelation.
“I was in a state of shock. I think I said, ‘Say what now? What exactly does that mean?'" she tells the host.
The DNA test had implications for her entire family, Nash says. This is the man her father and his twin brother was believed was their father, too. "Now that whole theory was defunct," she says.
After breaking the news to her own father, Nash tells Gates that the experience was a bit surreal.
"He said, 'What?' And I said, 'Mmm hmm,'” she says, adding that her father asked if he could call her back in 15 minutes.
"That was the longest 15 minutes of my life. I don’t even know what he did in that 15 minutes. But he did call me back and he said, ‘Well pumpkin, the journey continues,'” she says.
As for the identity of her grandfather? Gates and his team turned to a DNA database to do some sleuthing and discovered someone who appears to be Nash's second cousin, meaning they share a grandparent. Through some trial and error, the team discovered the name of Nash's biological grandfather: Frank Jackson.
“So many things are going on in my mind right now,” she says. “I wonder if my father ever met him or if he ever knew him in his life, you know? I wonder if he ever saw him before in his life. Wow.”
Gates offers a theory as to how Jackson met Nash’s grandmother and the extent of their relationship. It's like daytime soap opera, backed by historical records.
Gates points out that when Nash’s grandmother was a newlywed living in St. Louis, Jackson lived less than a mile away from her.
“Oh, Lord have mercy. Mmm hmm,” Nash says as she takes in the juicy tale.
The actor puts two and two together and realizes that her grandmother had to have been unfaithful in her marriage.
“So Mr. Jackson came around to the house a time or two while she was already married,” she says.
“Well, we don’t know if he came to the house or she came to his house,” Gates replies.
“But they met on up,” she says.
“They met somewhere,” he says.
“Ooh! Dirty pots and pans,” Nash says and laughs.
Gates can’t be sure if Jackson had any other children since he didn’t leave behind many records and had a common name. But Nash does learn that he served in World War I and worked in a garage as a scrap metal dealer in St. Louis. While taking it all in, she's struck by how close Jackson lived to her own father while he was growing up.
"(My father's) destiny was really less than a mile from where he was born. Do you see my head blowing off?" she says.
While researching Nash's family tree, Gates also comes across records that show one of her relatives was born into slavery, a discovery that Nash calls "heartbreaking."
"It’s weird because you grow up knowing what slavery is, you grow up knowing the institution, you grow up still feeling the ripple of what it is for us in today. But somehow when you can go back and read this actual document, it still feels like a gut punch," she says.
Hearing how far her family has come and how much they have persevered brings Nash joy, she says.
"This is one of the best things I've ever done in my life. It's something about knowing even with the hard parts there's value," she says.
The star ends the episode on a positive note, learning that she's distant cousins with activist, author and professor Angela Davis, someone she's admired for ages.
"My mind is blown right now," she says. "I love it!"
CORRECTION (1/19 AT 5:21 p.m): Henry Louis Gates' name was correctly spelled.