The most Googled Welsh celebrities revealed

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 18: Christian Bale attends the European premiere of The Dark Knight Rises at The Odeon Leicester Square on July 18, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
  • Christian Bale has been revealed as the world’s most Googled Welsh celebrity, receiving a staggering 2.1 million searches worldwide every month.
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Ellis place second and third with 1.23 million and 1.2 million monthly searches worldwide respectively.
  • Gareth Bale is the most searched Welsh celebrity in the UK, receiving 167,000 searches every month.

Christian Bale has been revealed as the world’s most Googled Welsh celebrity, receiving 2.1 million searches per month according to new research.

Comparison site JohnSlots compiled a list of more than 300 prominent Welsh actors, musicians, sportspeople and public figures, and analysed Google data to find the average number of searches they receive each month around the world and in the UK.

The study found that Christian Bale tops the global rankings, with the public Googling the Pembrokeshire-born actor a staggering 2,100,000 times a month on average worldwide.

Bale, who currently lives in Los Angeles, California, was actually born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire where he lived with his family until he was two years old. Bale and his family frequently moved for his father’s work, and they lived in England, Portugal and the United States, before the family settled in the coastal town of Bournemouth.

Bale began his Hollywood career at just 13 years old when he was cast in Steven Spielberg’s World War II drama, Empire of the Sun. It wasn’t until the year 2000 however, when he was cast as New York serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, that he really entered the public eye. More recently Bale has starred as supervillain Gorr in Marvel’s CGI romp, Thor: Love and Thunder, which was released in July this year.

Coming in second place is award-winning female actor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, who receives 1,225,000 searches per month on average worldwide.

The actor, who was born in Swansea, was raised in the nearby seaside village of Mumbles, located at the edge of Swansea Bay. Zeta-Jones made her on-screen acting debut in 1990 when she starred in the French-Italian fantasy film, 1001 Nights. A later role in the British comedy-drama, The Darling Buds of May, saw Zeta-Jones secure public recognition, with the Welsh star going on to feature in an array of box office hits including, The Mask of ZorroChicago and Ocean’s Twelve.

In third place is Cardiff-born actor Tom Ellis, who receives 1,200,000 searches every month on average worldwide.

Ellis stars as the devilishly handsome Lucifer Morningstar in the Netflix fantasy series Lucifer, which concluded its final season in September last year. Long-time fans of the BBC One sitcom Miranda will also recognise him for his breakout role as the titular character’s love interest, Gary Preston.

In fourth and fifth positions are Cardiff-born professional footballer, Gareth Bale and acclaimed Port Talbot actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, both of whom receive 1,100,000 Google searches every month worldwide.

It is Gareth Bale however who takes the top spot as the most searched in the UK, ranking ahead of his Hollywood counterparts, with 167,000 searches every month on average.

The footballing superstar, who was born in Cardiff, attended primary school in Whitchurch, where Southampton Football Club first recognised his sporting talent when he was just nine years old. Bale later joined the club at 16, to become Southampton’s second youngest ever player. Having played for Wales’ national team since 2006, Bale currently trains and plays overseas for the Los Angeles professional soccer team, LAFC.

A spokesperson for JohnSlots commented on the findings:

“Christian Bale deservedly takes the top spot as the most searched Welsh celebrity. However, with the actor perfecting his American accent in order to secure numerous Hollywood roles, many are often surprised when they learn of his Welsh roots. His longstanding contribution to film has evidently cemented his place as a worldwide household name.

“Wales should remain proud of the eclectic mix of talent that it has cultivated over the years, with many of those born in the country going on to become global celebrities, who continue to attract interest from fans all over the world.”

The research was conducted by JohnSlots, which is dedicated to slot games, and honest reviews of online games.  

For the complete Worldwide and UK rankings see tables below:

Most Searched Welsh Celebrity (Worldwide)

RankWelsh CelebrityNumber of Monthly Searches (Worldwide)
1.Christian Bale2,100,000
2.Catherine Zeta-Jones1,225,000
3.Tom Ellis1,200,000
4.Gareth Bale1,100,000
5.Anthony Hopkins1,100,000
6.Taron Egerton882,000
7.Luke Evans852,000
8.Michael Sheen531,000
9.Tom Jones481,000
10.Roald Dahl415,000
11.Rhys Ifans401,000
12.Bonnie Tyler352,000
13.Aaron Ramsey321,000
14.Timothy Dalton314,000
15.Ioan Gruffudd286,000
16.Richard Burton207,000
17.Duffy202,000
18.Perdita Weeks198,000
19.Ryan Giggs171,000
20.John Rhys-Davies169,000

Most Searched Welsh Celebrity (UK)

RankWelsh CelebrityNumber of Monthly Searches (UK)
1.Gareth Bale167,000
2.Christian Bale151,000
3.Catherine Zeta-Jones122,000
4.Aaron Ramsey120,000
5.Charlotte Church106,000
6.Luke Evans103,000
7.Dawn French93,000
8.Anthony Hopkins90,000
9.Tom Jones90,000
10.Michael Sheen88,000
11.Shirley Bassey84,000
12.Tom Ellis79,000
13.Joanna Page77,000
14.Roald Dahl76,000
15.Greg Davies76,000
16.Rhys Ifans61,000
17.Ryan Giggs55,000
18.Ioan Gruffudd54,000
19.Timothy Dalton49,000
20.Taron Egerton48,000

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