Remembering My Grandmother Who Survived the Genocide: Hollywood Actor at the Genocide Memorial

Actor, producer, and director Joe Manganiello visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum on May 29, accompanied by the Chief Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan. His maternal great-grandmother, Tervez Rose Darakjian, survived the Armenian Genocide; her husband and seven children were killed by the Turks, while the eighth child drowned while fleeing across the Euphrates River. Shortly after these events, the ninth child, Sirarpi—Joe Manganiello's grandmother—was born.

With great emotion and admiration, the actor spoke about his great-grandmother from Harberd. Upon arriving from the United States, the guests were welcomed and escorted to the Genocide Memorial by the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Edita Gzoyan.

Joe Manganiello also toured the Armenian Genocide Museum, where he learned about the permanent and temporary exhibitions under the guidance of the Deputy Director for Museum Activities, Lusine Abrahamyan, and signed the Guest Book for Distinguished Visitors. Expressing gratitude for the visit, Lusine Abrahamyan presented the honored guest with books about the Armenian Genocide.

At the end of his visit, Joe Manganiello planted a fir tree in the Memory Park in remembrance of his great-grandmother Tervez Rose Darakjian and his grandmother Sirarpi, fulfilling a long-held desire.