Nearly 400 years ago, one woman of African descent was one of the first slaves to sue for freedom and win. Today, her descendant is a Hollywood superstar

One determined young woman battled for dignity nearly 400 years ago. Today, her descendant is a Hollywood superstar. Elizabeth Key Grinstead was one of the first mixed-race people to sue for freedom in the American Colonies and emerge victorious.

On July 21, 1656, Key was granted freedom in the Colony of Virginia together with her young son, John Grinstead. One of her living descendants is none other than Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp!

Key's lawsuit, which was initiated in 1655, was predicated on two related claims: that she was an indentured servant and that her father was a free Englishman. In the American branch of the Church of England, Key's father, an Englishman, had recognised and baptised her as a Christian. Before he passed away, while she was young, he established a guardianship for her in an attempt to protect her. He was a wealthy planter. According to this guardianship, Key's father gave her away on an indenture that was meant to expire when she turned 15, but it had already ended long before the lawsuit was filed.


Based on these facts, her attorney and husband, William Grinstead, pleaded that she should be a free woman. This lawsuit was one of the first-ever freedom suits pushed by an individual of African descent in the English colonies.

In response to the suit, in 1662, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed a law that mandated that children born to a mother of African heritage would inherit the status of the mother, whether she was a bonded slave or free. This statute was a departure from the English common law, where English children inherited their social status from their father. According to Taunya Lovell Banks, emeritus professor of law at the University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law, this law enabled slave owners to also have access to children of enslaved women as labourers. It also exempted white fathers of such children from having to acknowledge them and financially support and emancipate them, as they would have to do in Britain.

Elizabeth’s Descendant Is Now Hollywood Royalty

According to a USA Today report, which cited results from Ancestry.com, Hollywood star Johnny Depp is Elizabeth’s eighth-great-grandson. Known for films such as Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, and the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, Depp has received numerous honours, such as a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for two British Academy Film Awards and three Academy Awards. His films, in which he frequently portrayed quirky characters, have brought in over $10.8 billion globally.

As per Celebrity Net Worth, Depp’s net worth is a staggering $150 million.