Third culture kid (TCK) is a term used to refer to children raised in a culture other than their parents' (or the culture of the country given on the child's passport, where they are legally considered native) for a significant part of their early development years.Normally, They are exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences.
Due to the fact that TCKs move between cultures before they have had the opportunity to fully develop their personal and cultural identity, they get to develop an expanded worldview and gain high-level of general adjustment. At the same time, they may also face challenges such as confused loyalties and difficulties witth adjusting to adult life.
This time we are going to spotlight on 6 famous people who you are very familiar with, but what you don't know is that they are all third culture kids.
1. Barack Obama
Half American, half Kenyan, Barack Obama is perhaps the most famous Third Culture Kid, who has contributed to the term becoming so well-known. Obama spend part of his childhood in Indonesia with his mother and her second husband. In Grade 5, he returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents.
2. Freddie Mercury
Singing tunes like 'We Are the Champions' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' the lead vocalist of the British rock band Queen was certainly a TCK who made it big. Of Parsi descent, Freddie spent his childhood in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and then lived in India until he was 17 years old.
3. Kobe Bryant
The legendary five-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant is also a true TCK. He grew up in Reiti, Italy until he was 14 years old, and while there, he learned the basics of basketball. He was pretty good at that, as it turns out!
4. Yo-Yo Ma
Recognized as a child prodigy, the world-class musician was born in Paris and chose to concentrate on the cello at the age of 4. He moved to New York when he was 7 years old and started studying at The Juilliard School at age 19.
5. Gillian Anderson
You might remember her classic TV character, the embodiment of science and logic, FBI Special Agent Scully from The X-Files. Her family moved to London from Puerto Rico where Gillian spent her first 15 months. When she was 11 years old, her family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan where she became interested in theater, and the rest is history.
6. Audrey Hepburn
The British film and fashion icon of Hollywood's Golden Age was born in Belgium. Due to Hepburn's father's work, her family was regularly traveling between Brussels, Arnhem, The Hague and London while she was very young. However, thanks to her multicultural upbringing, she learned to speak five languages: French, English, Dutch, Spanish and Italian.
