(June 20, 2011) - Did you know that Kobe Bryant is fluent in Italian? That Gwyneth Paltrow speaks fluent Spanish, and her hubby Chris Martin speaks French?

Neither of those are surprising, but what about Colin Powell speaking Yiddish?

These are just a few of the interesting tidbits you'll find on famous multi-lingual people on the celebrities page at celebratelanguages.com.

Ben Affleck is fluent in Spanish, but not from his days dating Jennifer Lopez. (He lived in Mexico for a time as a teenager, according to the Internet Movie Database.) Sydney Poitier is fluent in Russian, Edward Norton in Japanese, and Colin Firth in Italian.

Among U.S. presidents, John Quincy Adams wins the award for knowing the most languages: seven! Thomas Jefferson came in second with six. Current U.S. politicians who know Spanish can be found on both sides of the aisle, including George W. Bush, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean, and Ron Paul. Mitt Romney and John Kerry could have a conversation in French. (If they get into a political argument, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair could referee...also in French!)

The celebrity linguists page is planning a compilation video showing many of the famous celebs that they list speaking in foreign languages. Should be fun to watch!

One has to wonder whether learning multiple languages helped many of these people rise to where they are today. We think so!

Click to view a YouTube video on multi-lingual celebs.