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US actor and filmmaker Edward Norton has discovered that he is a direct descendant of Pocahontas, who is his 12th great-grandmother.

The 53-year-old Oscar nominee learned of his connection to the 17th century daughter of a Native American chief who married Virginia settler John Rolfe on an episode of the PBS genealogical history show Finding Your Roots, CNN reported.

Historian and host Henry Louis Gates Jr. confirmed the longstanding family rumour, telling Norton that there was a direct paper trail connecting him to Rolfe and Pocahontas.

According to Gates, the couple married on April 5, 1614 in Jamestown, Virginia but documents revealed that Pocahontas died three years later in Gravesend, England, while Rolfe died around March 1622.

Pocahontas welcomed English settlers to the current-day US in the early 17th century.

Legend holds that she saved the life of Captain John Smith, stopping his execution by laying her head upon his.

The show, which traces the ancestral histories of celebrities, also uncovered that Norton's third great-grandfather, John Winstead, owned a family of slaves including a 55-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman and five girls, aged between four and 10.

Norton who researched his own ancestry before appearing in the show said the part of history of his family owning slaves did not sit well with him.

"The short answer is these things are uncomfortable. And you should be uncomfortable with them."

"It's not a judgement on you in your own life but it's a judgement on the history of this country and it needs to be acknowledged first and foremost and then it needs to be contended with," he said.