Ray Liotta reveals little known Scottish links after hiring detective to find his real parents
TRAGIC Goodfellas star Ray Liotta considered himself Scottish after learning about his real family.
The legendary actor sadly passed away yesterday in his sleep aged 67 while filming a movie in the Dominican Republic.
Tributes have come flooding in for the industry icon whose career reached new heights in 1990 when he was cast as gangster Henry Hill alongside the likes of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in director Martin Scorsese's mob epic.
But a lesser known fact about the showbiz hero was his real heritage after he was adopted and grew up without knowing his real parents.
In an interview with Esquire, he said: “Who I consider my mother and father are Italian and Scottish.
“I did find my birth mother and she said she was a mix of something, and when I asked about what my Dad was she wouldn't even talk about it.
READ MORE IN SHOWBIZ
“It was like it never even happened.”
He hired a private detective in 1997 to track down his mother, who left him in an orphanage when he was a baby.
He was adopted by Mary and Alfred Liotta from a Newark, New Jersey orphanage when he was six months old but always wanted to know about his biological mum.
And when he met her was the first time he found out he wasn’t Italian and that he had half siblings.
Most read in Celebrity
News of Liotta's death quickly spread on social media as many well-known Hollywood stars paid tribute to the late actor.
His Goodfella co-star Bracco said she's "shattered" after hearing the news of Liotta's death, tweeting: "I am utterly shattered to hear this terrible news about my Ray.
"I can be anywhere in the world & people will come up & tell me their favorite movie is Goodfellas. Then they always ask what was the best part of making that movie. My response has always been the same…Ray Liotta."
Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis shared: "Ray Liotta has died. His work as an actor showed his complexity as a human being. A gentle man. So sad to hear."
Alessandro Nivola, Liotta's co-star on The Many Saints of Newark, said he was "lucky" to work with the actor in one of his final roles.
"RIP Ray Liotta. I feel so lucky to have squared off against this legend in one of his final roles," Nivola tweeted.
We pay for your stories and videos! Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? Email us at scoop@thesun.co.uk or call 0141 420 5300