From Executive Producer Lisa Kudrow (“Friends,” “The Comeback”) — in conjunction with her production company Is or Isn’t Entertainment and the U.K.’s Wall to Wall productions, “Who Do You Think You Are?” is an adaptation of the award-winning hit British television documentary series. The seven-episode program will lead celebrities on a journey of self-discovery as they unearth their family trees that reveal surprising, inspiring and even tragic stories that are often linked to crucial events in American history.

In the fifth episode, actress & model, Brooke Shields is the focus. She is a Native New Yorker with a beautiful family as viewers see, as well as her immediate family history with her parents. Brooke first heads to New Jersey as she explains her ties to the Garden State and visits a genealogist to find out more about her grandmother from her mother’s side. What she finds is just the beginning of fascinating revelations, some disturbing, many more incredible. Brooke is in for quite an awakening as she comes to appreciate her family much more than she ever did prior to beginning her search. And it doesn’t end there.

Next, Brooke tries to find out about her father’s side of the family in Italy…which brings her to the summer house (which is more of a palace) of her ancestors’ family. Quite a shock was finding out that Brooke’s college major in French Literature was not a coincidence, as she is part French! So the journey continues with a visit to a remote village in France to the home of where her ancestors lived (before Italy) and then to Paris where she learns about her royal ties.

What I enjoy the most about this episode is that while Brooke’s reactions to the discoveries are a bit dramatic, they are genuine…as opposed to in the first episode where Sarah Jessica Parker’s reactions seemed a bit staged and overly dramatic. Though I think anybody would be genuinely thrilled with these real life fairytale findings. What an exciting and emotional journey for Brooke that you will not want to miss.

Who Do You Think You Are? airs Fridays at 8/7c on NBC.