- Photo:
Dwayne Johnson's mother is of Samoan heritage, and his father, wrestler Rocky Johnson (Wayde Douglas Bowles), is of Black Nova Scotian descent.- Age: 52
- Birthplace: Hayward, California, USA
- Photo:
- flickr
- CC0
Mariah Carey's mother Patricia Hickey is Caucasian, of Irish descent, and her father Alfred Roy was African-American and Venezuelan.- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Huntington, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
Zendaya's mother, Claire Stoermer, has German and Scottish ancestry, and her father, Kazembe Ajamu Coleman, is African-American, with roots in Arkansas.
- Age: 28
- Birthplace: Oakland, USA, California
- Photo:
- Tinseltown
- Shutterstock
Maya Rudolph's mother, Minnie Ripperton, was African American, and her father Richard is Caucasian and Jewish.- Age: 52
- Birthplace: Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods's mother Kultida Tida is of Thai, Chinese and Dutch ancestry, and his father Earl is mostly African-American, but he is also Caucasian, and possibly also Native American and Chinese.- Age: 48
- Birthplace: Cypress, California
- Photo:
- Photo:
Meghan Markle's mother is African-American, and her father is Caucasian, of Dutch and Irish descent.- Age: 43
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Photo:
Halle Berry's mother Judith Ann Hawkins is white descent, and her father Jerome Berry is Black.
- Age: 58
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Photo:
- Jeso Carneiro
- flickr
- CC-BY-NC 2.0
Bob Marley's mother Cedella Booker was Afro-Jamaican, and his father Norval Sinclair Marley was Caucasian-Jamaican of English and Syrian descent.- Age: Dec. at 36 (1945-1981)
- Birthplace: Jamaica
- Photo:
- Photo:
Bruno Mars's mother Bernie Bayot was Filipino, and his father Peter Hernandez is half Puerto-Rican and half-Jewish.- Age: 38
- Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
- Nicki Minaj's mother Carol is Afro-Trinidadian, and her father Robert Maraj has South Indian ancestry.
- Age: 41
- Birthplace: Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago
- Photo:
Lenny Kravitz's mother Roxie Roker is of Afro-Bahamian and African-American descent, and his father Sy Kravitz is Caucasian, of Russian Jewish ancestry.- Age: 60
- Birthplace: New York City, Manhattan, USA, New York
- Photo:
Tracee Ellis Ross's mother, Diana Ross, is African-American, and her father, Robert Ellis Silberstein, is Caucasian and Jewish.- Age: 51
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Aubrey Plaza's mother Bernadette is Caucasian, of Irish and English descent, and her father David is Puerto Rican.
- Age: 40
- Birthplace: Wilmington, Delaware, USA
- Photo:
- s_bukley
- Shutterstock
Vin Diesel's mother Delora Sinclair Vincent is Caucasian, of Scottish, English, and German descent. His father's identity is not publicly known, but Diesel has made reference that his father is African-American.- Age: 57
- Birthplace: Alameda County, California, USA
- Photo:
- Jimi Hendrix's mother Lucille Jeter was African-American, and his father Al Hendrix was of African American, Cherokee, and Irish descent.
- Age: Dec. at 27 (1942-1970)
- Birthplace: USA, Washington, Seattle
- Rashida Jones's mother Peggy Lipton is Caucasian, of Russian Jewish descent, and her father Quincy Jones is African American.
- Age: 48
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
- Photo:
- pickled_newt - Very Busy
- Flickr
Wentworth Miller's mother, Joy Marie Palm, is Caucasian, of Russian, French, Dutch, Syrian, and Lebanese ancestry. His father, Wentworth II, is of Jamaican, English, German, and Cherokee background.- Age: 52
- Birthplace: Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Photo:
- Photo:
Derek Jeter's mother Dorothy is Caucasian, of Irish and German descent, and his father Sanderson is African American.- Age: 50
- Birthplace: Pequannock, New Jersey
- Photo:
Barack Obama's mother Ann is Caucasian, of predominantly English ancestry, and his father Barack Sr. is African, born in Nyang’oma Kogelo, Kenya.- Age: 63
- Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
- Photo:
- Age: 39
- Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany
- Olivia Munn's mother Kim Schmid is of Chinese descent and grew up in Vietnam, and her father Winston Munn is Caucasian, of German and Irish descent.
- Age: 44
- Birthplace: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Fair use
Shemar Moore's mother Marilyn Wilson is Caucasian, of Irish and French-Canadian descent, and his father Sherrod Moore is African-American.- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Oakland, California, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
Alicia Keys's mother Teresa Augello is Caucasian, of half-Italian and half-English, Irish and Scottish descent, and her father Craig Cook is African-American.- Age: 43
- Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, USA
- Photo:
Both of Vanessa Williams's parents, Helen Tinch and Milton Williams, are Black, but they each have a complex ancestry. Williams took a DNA test which revealed that her ancestry is 23% from Ghana, 17% from the British Isles, 15% from Cameroon, 12% Finland, 11% Southern Europe, 7% Togo, 6% Benin, 5% Senegal, and 4% Portugal.
- Age: 61
- Birthplace: Tarrytown, New York, USA
- Photo:
Naomi Campbell's mother Valerie Morris is of African-Jamaican descent, and her father is of Chinese-Jamaican ancestry, though Campbell has never met him.- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Streatham, London, England, UK
- Photo:
Rosario Dawson's mother Isabel Celeste is of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent, and her father Patrick Harris is of Irish and Native American ancestry.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
- Photo:
Lynda Carter's mother Juana Cordova was of Spanish-Mexican descent, and her father Colby Carter was Caucasian, of English and Irish ancestry.- Age: 73
- Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Photo:
Norah Jones's mother, Sue Jones, is Caucasian Anglo-American, and her father Ravi Shankar is Indian.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York
- Photo:
Carol Channing's mother Adelaide Glaser was Caucasian, and her father George was half-Caucasian and half-African-American. Channing did not know about her African-American roots until she was 16 years old.- Age: Dec. at 97 (1921-2019)
- Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, USA
- Photo:
Gabrielle Reece's mother is Caucasian, and her father was Afro-Trinidadian. He died when the volleyball player was five years old.- Age: 54
- Birthplace: USA, California, San Diego, La Jolla
- Photo:
Louis C.K.'s mother Mary Louise Davis is white, of Irish Catholic ancestry, and his father Luis Székely is part-Hungarian and part-Mexican. Louis grew up in Mexico until he was seven years old, and he is a Mexican citizen.- Age: 57
- Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
- Photo:
- Jasenhudson
- via Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY-SA 3.0
Ne-Yo's mother is of African American and Chinese descent, and his father is African-American. He identifies himself as Chinese and African-American.- Age: 41
- Birthplace: Camden, USA, Arkansas
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
Brandon Lee's mother Linda Emery is Caucasian, of Swedish and English descent, and his father Bruce Lee was Chinese.- Age: Dec. at 28 (1965-1993)
- Birthplace: Oakland, California, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
Smokey Robinson was raised by his sister and her husband after his mother died when he was 10. He is Caucasian and African-American.- Age: 84
- Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Photo:
- Marie
- Flickr
Kristin Kreuk's mother Deanna Che is of Chinese descent, born in Indonesia, and her father Peter Kreuk is Caucasian of Dutch descent.- Age: 41
- Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Photo:
- Photo:
- elena-lu
- Flickr
Devon Aoki's mother, Pamela Hilburger, is Caucasian, of German and English heritage, and her father, Hiroaki "Rocky" Aoki, is Japanese.- Age: 42
- Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York
- Photo:
- Photo:
Jennifer Tilly's mother, Patricia, is Caucasian, of Irish, Finnish, and First Nations ancestry, and her father, Harry Chan, is of Chinese descent.- Age: 65
- Birthplace: Harbor City, California, USA
- Photo:
- Joseph Glorioso Photography
- Flickr
Carmelo Anthony's mother, Mary, is African-American, and his father, Carmelo Iriarte, was Puerto Rican.- Age: 40
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
Kimora Lee Simmons's mother, Joanne Perkins, was born in Korea and adopted by an American serviceman during the Korean War. Her father, Vernon Whitlock, Jr., is African American.- Age: 49
- Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Photo:
Ben Harper's mother, Ellen Chase-Verdries, is Caucasian Jewish with Russian-Lithuanian ancestry, and his father Leonard was African American with some Cherokee ancestry.- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Claremont, California, USA
- Photo:
Chanel Iman's mother, China Robinson, is Korean and African-American, and her father, George "Tic" Price, is African-American.- Age: 33
- Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Photo:
- Helga Esteb
- Shutterstock
Lisa Bonet's mother, Arlene Litman, is Caucasian and Jewish, and her father, Allen Bonet, is African American.- Age: 56
- Birthplace: San Francisco, California, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
Apl.de.ap's mother, Cristina Pineda, is Filipino, and his father is African American.- Age: 49
- Birthplace: Sapangbato, Angeles
- Photo:
- jdlasica
- flickr
- CC-BY-NC 2.0
Ryan Lochte's mother Ike is Cuban, and his father Steven is Caucasian, of German and English descent.- Age: 40
- Birthplace: Rochester, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Public domain
Jordin Sparks's mother, Jodi Weidmann, is Caucasian, of German, English, Scottish, and Norwegian descent. Her father, Phillippi "PJ" Sparks, is African-American.- Age: 34
- Birthplace: Arizona, Phoenix, USA
- Photo:
- Giancarlo Esposito's mother is African American, and his father is Caucasian, of Italian descent.
- Age: 66
- Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Photo:
- Audrey Harte
- via Pinterest
Frankie Muniz's mother, Denise, is Caucasian, of Irish and Italian descent, and his father, Francisco III, is Puerto Rican.- Age: 38
- Birthplace: Wood Ridge, New Jersey, USA
- Photo:
- Kid Cudi's mother Elsie is African-American, and his father Lindberg Mescudi is Mexican-Native American.
- Age: 40
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
- Eartha Kitt's mother was an African-American working on a cotton plantation when she gave birth to Kitt. Her father is believed to be the Caucasian son of the owner of the plantation farm where she was born.
- Age: Dec. at 81 (1927-2008)
- Birthplace: North, South Carolina, USA
- Photo:
Karen O's mother, Munja, is Korean, and her father, Chris Orzalek, is Polish.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: South Korea, Busan
- Photo:
Tyson Beckford's mother, Hilary Dixon Hall, is of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent, and his father, Lloyd, is of Afro-Jamaican and Panamanian descent.- Age: 53
- Birthplace: Bronx, New York, USA
- Photo:
- José Goulão
- Flickr
Blake Griffin's mother, Gail, is Caucasian, of European descent, and his father, Tommy, is African-American of Haitian descent.- Age: 35
- Birthplace: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Photo:
- Photo:
Sade Adu's mother, Anne Hayes, is British and Caucasian, and her father, Adebisi Adu, is Yoruba Nigerian.- Age: 65
- Birthplace: Ibadan, Nigeria
- Vanna White's mother, Joan Marie, is white, and her father, Miguel Angel Rosich, is Puerto Rican.
- Age: 67
- Birthplace: Conway, USA, South Carolina
- Photo:
Thandie Newton's mother, Nyasha, is from Zimbabwe, and her father, Nick, is Caucasian, from England.- Age: 51
- Birthplace: London, England, UK
- Photo:
Stacey Dash is part-Barbadian, African-American, and Mexican.- Age: 57
- Birthplace: Bronx, New York, USA
- Meg Tilly's mother Patricia Tilly is Caucasian, of Irish, Finnish, and First Nations ancestry, and her father Harry Chan is of Chinese descent.
- Age: 64
- Birthplace: Long Beach, California, USA
- Photo:
- Everett Collection
- Shutterstock.com
Phoebe Cates's mother is of Chinese Filipino and Jewish descent, and her father is Jewish of Russian ancestry.- Age: 61
- Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
- Photo:
- Photo:
Jennifer Beals's mother, Jeanne Anderson, is Caucasian and Irish. Her father, Alfred, is African American.- Age: 60
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Photo:
- Metaweb (FB)
- Fair use
Kelis's mother, Eveliss, is Puerto Rican and Chinese, and her father, Kenneth, is African-American.- Age: 45
- Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York, Harlem
- Photo:
COLLECTION22 LISTS
Celebrity OriginsLists of interesting trivia and fun facts about where famous people were born, how they grew up, and what their lives were like when they were young.
Filed under:
Fact-checked by:Jules Burke
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Celebrity Origins
Lists of interesting trivia and fun facts about where famous people were born, how they grew up, and what their lives were like when they were young.
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