Ethnic background is important to many.
Since so many of you have asked - here is what we know: (In many cases, individuals or family members have contacted us and asked that we include the specific ethnic information listed here for themself and/or their family member.)
Alicia Keys - Singer, Black father, Italian mother.
Allen and Albert Hughes - Directors, are Black and Armenian.
(photo n/a) Jenny Lumet - Actress, is the biracial granddaughter of Lena Horne - Jewish father, mother Gail Buckley (Horne).
Amarie - Singer, Black father, Korean mother.
Anais Granofsky – Actress, born in Canada in 1974 to a African American Mother and a Russian Jewish Canadian father.
Barack Obama – Politician, father, Barack Sr., originally from Kenya and entered the University of Hawaii as its first-ever student from an African country. Obama's mother, Ann Durham, originally from Kansas, where some of her ancestors had been anti-slavery activists in the 1800s.
Bob Marley - Singer, was Black and Caucasian.
Boris Kodjoe – Actor, his mother is German and his father is from Ghana, West Africa.
Brooklyn Sudano – Actress, her Mother (Donna Summer) is black and father (Bruce Sudano) is Italian.
Carmen Ejogo - Actress, her father was Nigerian, and her mother is White (Scottish).
Clark Johnson - Actor, his father is Black and his mother is White.
Cree Summer – Actress, her father is Mestizo (White and Cree Indian (actor Don Francks)), and her mother is Black. She does the voice of Susie in Rugrats.
Derek Jeter - Baseball player, black father and white mother.
Dorothy Dandridge - Actress, was of mixed racial heritage.
Eartha Kitt – Singer/actress, her father was White and her mother was Black Cherokee.
Faith Evans – Singer/actress, Black mother, White father.
Freddie Prinze Jr. – Actor, White mother, Hispanic father.
Giancarlo Esposito – Actor, he has a Black mother and an Italian father.
Gina Belefonte - Actress and producer is the biracial daughter of singer Harry Belafonte and a White mother.
Gina Ravera – Actress, is half Puerto Rican and half Black.
Gloria Reuben – Actress, her father was White, her mother Black.
Grant Hill – Basketball player, Black father, bi-racial (black and white) mother.
Halle Berry –Actress, is the daughter of a White mother and a Black father who divorced when she was four.
Jasmine Guy – Singer/Actress, born to a Portuguese mother and a Black father and raised in Atlanta, GA.
Jaye Davidson – Actor, his father is Black (from Ghana) and his mother is White (English).
Jennifer Beals – Actress, her father is Black and her mother is White.
Jennifer Freeman – American actress, black mother, white father
Jimi Hendrix - Singer, was Black, Caucasian and Cherokee.
Karyn Parsons – Actress, her father is White, her Mother is black.
Kelis - Singer, her father is black, her mother is Chinese/Puerto Rican.
Kidada Jones – Actress, sister of Rashida Jones, her father (Quincy Jones) is Black and her mother is White.
Kristoff St. John – Is of Caucasian and African American ancestry.
Leila Arcieri – Actress, her father is Italian and her mother is Black.
Lenny Kravitz - Singer, born to a Black mother and father of Jewish descent.
Lisa Bonet - Actress, born to a Jewish mother and a Black father. She was married to and later divorced singer Lenny Kravitz.
Lonette McKee - Singer/actress, her mother is Scandanavian and her father is Black.
Malcolm X – Activist, half African-American, quarter Grenadian, and quarter White American.
Mariah Carey – Singer/actress, has a Venezuelan/African-American father, and an Irish mother.
Mario Van Peebles – Actor, his father (filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles) is Black, his mother is White (German actress Maria Marx).
Maya Days – Actress, she is from a mixed Portuguese and African-American background.
Maya Rudolph – Actress, her father is White. Her mother (singer Minne Riperton) is Black.
Michael Michelle – Actress, her Mother is Black and her Father is White.
Mya - Singer, is of Black and Italian descent.
Naomi Campbell – Model, her mother is Black (Jamaican), her father is Multiracial, at least partly Chinese.
Nicole Ari Parker – Actress, White mother, Black father.
Nicole Lyn – Actress, her mother is Black and her father is of Chinese descent.
Persia White - Actress, her father is Black Bahamian and her mother is a White American.
Philip Michael Thomas - Actor, is of biracial descent.
Rachel True – Actress, she is half Black and half White but hasn't said who is what.
Rae Dawn Chong - Actress, is the daughter of comedian Tommy Chong (white-Chinese) and Black mother.
Rain Pryor - Actress, is the biracial daughter of comedian Richard Pryor and White mother.
Rashida Jones – Actress, her father (Quincy Jones) is Black and her mother (Peggy Lipton) is White.
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) - Pro Wrestler/Actor, is of Black/Samoan descent.
Rowland Gift - Singer (Fine Young Cannibals), is the son of Black and Caucasian parents.
Rosario Dawson – Actress, quoted as saying, "I'm Puerto Rican, Black, Cuban, Irish and Native American."
Sade - Singer, is of Nigerian and British descent.
Salli Richardson - Actress, is the daughter of African American-Cherokee mother and Italian-Irish father.
Samantha Mumba - Singer and actress, she is half Irish and half African.
Shemar Moore – Actor, his father is Black and his mother is White.
Sherri Saum – Actress, her mother is White (German) and her father is Black.
Shirley Bassey - Singer, her parents are Nigerian and British.
Smokey Robinson - Singer, is of Black and Caucasian descent.
Soledad O'Brian – Reporter/News anchor, her father is Australian (his parents are Irish, hence the surname 'O'Brien') her mother, is Black of Cuban heritage.
Sophie Okonedo – Actress, her mother is Jewish and her father is Nigerian.
Stacy Dash – Actress, she is of West Indian (Black) and Aztec Indian descent.
Susan Fales-Hill - Writer/producer, she was born in Rome, Italy and raised in New York City. She was born to an White father and Black mother. Sister of actor Enrico Fales.
Sydney Tamiia Poitier – Actress, her father, Sidney Poitier, is Black, her mother is White.
Tahj Mowry – Actor, younger brother of Tia & Tamara Mowry. His dad is White, and his mother African-American.
Taimak Guari (Guarriello) – Actor, his father is White (Italian) and his mother is Black.
Tamara Taylor – Actress, is the daughter of a black musician father originally from Nova Scotia and a white property manager mother of Scottish descent.
Tamia – Singer, Black mother, White father.
Tammy Townsend – Actess, her father is White (English and Yugoslavian) and her mother is Black.
Tatiana Ali – Actress, her mother is hispanic from Panama, her father is black from Trinidad.
Thandie Newton – Actress, was born on November 6, 1972 to a British father, an artist, and Zimbabwean mother.
Tia & Tamara Mowry – Actresses, identical twin stars of the show "Sister Sister" on the WB. Their dad is White, their mother African-American.
Tina Turner - Singer/actress, is Black and Native American.
Eldrick "Tiger" Woods – Golpher, mother is Thai, describes himself as one quarter black, one quarter Thai, one quarter Chinese, one eighth white, and one eighth American Indian and has penned the term "Cablinasian," to describe himself.
Tracee Ellis Ross – Actress, her mother (Diana Ross) is Black, her father is White.
Traci Bingham – Actress, her father is Native American and her Mother is Black and Italian.
Trevor Penick - Singer, his father is Black and his mother is White.
Troy Beyer - Actress, is the biracial daughter of Black mother, Jewish father.
Tyson Beckford - Model, Grandmother is Chinese, his mother is Chinese and Black.
Vanity - Actress, is of biracial descent.
Victoria Rowell - Actress, her mother was White her father was Black.
Vin Diesel - Actor. (You can put a question mark by this one.) Born Mark Vincent in New York City on November 1967. He doesn't like to get too specific about his background. He's Italian and a lot of other things. One of his fan clubs says, "His father is black. His mother is Irish, and he's also got some Dominican, Mexican, German and Italian thrown in." It seems that nobody knows for sure. When asked directly to resolve the issue, Mr. Diesel does admit that he is both multiracial and multinational, but he avoids specifics.
Walter Mosley - Writer, is Black and Caucasian.
Wentworth Miller - Actor, his father is Black his mother White.
Ethnic background is important to many.
Alicia Keys - Singer, Black father, Italian mother.
Allen and Albert Hughes - Directors, are Black and Armenian.
Amarie - Singer, Black father, Korean mother.
Anais Granofsky – Actress, born in Canada in 1974 to a African American Mother and a Russian Jewish Canadian father.
Barack Obama – Politician, father, Barack Sr., originally from Kenya and entered the University of Hawaii as its first-ever student from an African country. Obama's mother, Ann Durham, originally from Kansas, where some of her ancestors had been anti-slavery activists in the 1800s.
Bob Marley - Singer, was Black and Caucasian.
Boris Kodjoe – Actor, his mother is German and his father is from Ghana, West Africa.
Brooklyn Sudano – Actress, her Mother (Donna Summer) is black and father (Bruce Sudano) is Italian.
Carmen Ejogo - Actress, her father was Nigerian, and her mother is White (Scottish).
Clark Johnson - Actor, his father is Black and his mother is White.
Cree Summer – Actress, her father is Mestizo (White and Cree Indian (actor Don Francks)), and her mother is Black. She does the voice of Susie in Rugrats.
Derek Jeter - Baseball player, black father and white mother.
Dorothy Dandridge - Actress, was of mixed racial heritage.
Eartha Kitt – Singer/actress, her father was White and her mother was Black Cherokee.
Faith Evans – Singer/actress, Black mother, White father.
Freddie Prinze Jr. – Actor, White mother, Hispanic father.
Giancarlo Esposito – Actor, he has a Black mother and an Italian father.
Gina Belefonte - Actress and producer is the biracial daughter of singer Harry Belafonte and a White mother.
Gina Ravera – Actress, is half Puerto Rican and half Black.
Gloria Reuben – Actress, her father was White, her mother Black.
Grant Hill – Basketball player, Black father, bi-racial (black and white) mother.
Halle Berry –Actress, is the daughter of a White mother and a Black father who divorced when she was four.
Jasmine Guy – Singer/Actress, born to a Portuguese mother and a Black father and raised in Atlanta, GA.
Jaye Davidson – Actor, his father is Black (from Ghana) and his mother is White (English).
Jennifer Beals – Actress, her father is Black and her mother is White.
Jennifer Freeman – American actress, black mother, white father
Jimi Hendrix - Singer, was Black, Caucasian and Cherokee.
Karyn Parsons – Actress, her father is White, her Mother is black.
Kelis - Singer, her father is black, her mother is Chinese/Puerto Rican.
Kidada Jones – Actress, sister of Rashida Jones, her father (Quincy Jones) is Black and her mother is White.
Kristoff St. John – Is of Caucasian and African American ancestry.
Leila Arcieri – Actress, her father is Italian and her mother is Black.
Lenny Kravitz - Singer, born to a Black mother and father of Jewish descent.
Lisa Bonet - Actress, born to a Jewish mother and a Black father. She was married to and later divorced singer Lenny Kravitz.
Lonette McKee - Singer/actress, her mother is Scandanavian and her father is Black.
Malcolm X – Activist, half African-American, quarter Grenadian, and quarter White American.
Mariah Carey – Singer/actress, has a Venezuelan/African-American father, and an Irish mother.
Mario Van Peebles – Actor, his father (filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles) is Black, his mother is White (German actress Maria Marx).
Maya Days – Actress, she is from a mixed Portuguese and African-American background.
Maya Rudolph – Actress, her father is White. Her mother (singer Minne Riperton) is Black.
Michael Michelle – Actress, her Mother is Black and her Father is White.
Mya - Singer, is of Black and Italian descent.
Naomi Campbell – Model, her mother is Black (Jamaican), her father is Multiracial, at least partly Chinese.
Nicole Ari Parker – Actress, White mother, Black father.
Nicole Lyn – Actress, her mother is Black and her father is of Chinese descent.
Persia White - Actress, her father is Black Bahamian and her mother is a White American.
Philip Michael Thomas - Actor, is of biracial descent.
Rachel True – Actress, she is half Black and half White but hasn't said who is what.
Rae Dawn Chong - Actress, is the daughter of comedian Tommy Chong (white-Chinese) and Black mother.
Rain Pryor - Actress, is the biracial daughter of comedian Richard Pryor and White mother.
Rashida Jones – Actress, her father (Quincy Jones) is Black and her mother (Peggy Lipton) is White.
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) - Pro Wrestler/Actor, is of Black/Samoan descent.
Rowland Gift - Singer (Fine Young Cannibals), is the son of Black and Caucasian parents.
Rosario Dawson – Actress, quoted as saying, "I'm Puerto Rican, Black, Cuban, Irish and Native American."
Sade - Singer, is of Nigerian and British descent.
Salli Richardson - Actress, is the daughter of African American-Cherokee mother and Italian-Irish father.
Samantha Mumba - Singer and actress, she is half Irish and half African.
Shemar Moore – Actor, his father is Black and his mother is White.
Sherri Saum – Actress, her mother is White (German) and her father is Black.
Shirley Bassey - Singer, her parents are Nigerian and British.
Smokey Robinson - Singer, is of Black and Caucasian descent.
Soledad O'Brian – Reporter/News anchor, her father is Australian (his parents are Irish, hence the surname 'O'Brien') her mother, is Black of Cuban heritage.
Sophie Okonedo – Actress, her mother is Jewish and her father is Nigerian.
Stacy Dash – Actress, she is of West Indian (Black) and Aztec Indian descent.
Susan Fales-Hill - Writer/producer, she was born in Rome, Italy and raised in New York City. She was born to an White father and Black mother. Sister of actor Enrico Fales.
Sydney Tamiia Poitier – Actress, her father, Sidney Poitier, is Black, her mother is White.
Tahj Mowry – Actor, younger brother of Tia & Tamara Mowry. His dad is White, and his mother African-American.
Taimak Guari (Guarriello) – Actor, his father is White (Italian) and his mother is Black.
Tamara Taylor – Actress, is the daughter of a black musician father originally from Nova Scotia and a white property manager mother of Scottish descent.
Tamia – Singer, Black mother, White father.
Tammy Townsend – Actess, her father is White (English and Yugoslavian) and her mother is Black.
Tatiana Ali – Actress, her mother is hispanic from Panama, her father is black from Trinidad.
Thandie Newton – Actress, was born on November 6, 1972 to a British father, an artist, and Zimbabwean mother.
Tia & Tamara Mowry – Actresses, identical twin stars of the show "Sister Sister" on the WB. Their dad is White, their mother African-American.
Tina Turner - Singer/actress, is Black and Native American.
Eldrick "Tiger" Woods – Golpher, mother is Thai, describes himself as one quarter black, one quarter Thai, one quarter Chinese, one eighth white, and one eighth American Indian and has penned the term "Cablinasian," to describe himself.
Tracee Ellis Ross – Actress, her mother (Diana Ross) is Black, her father is White.
Traci Bingham – Actress, her father is Native American and her Mother is Black and Italian.
Trevor Penick - Singer, his father is Black and his mother is White.
Troy Beyer - Actress, is the biracial daughter of Black mother, Jewish father.
Tyson Beckford - Model, Grandmother is Chinese, his mother is Chinese and Black.
Vanity - Actress, is of biracial descent.
Victoria Rowell - Actress, her mother was White her father was Black.
Vin Diesel - Actor. (You can put a question mark by this one.) Born Mark Vincent in New York City on November 1967. He doesn't like to get too specific about his background. He's Italian and a lot of other things. One of his fan clubs says, "His father is black. His mother is Irish, and he's also got some Dominican, Mexican, German and Italian thrown in." It seems that nobody knows for sure. When asked directly to resolve the issue, Mr. Diesel does admit that he is both multiracial and multinational, but he avoids specifics.
Walter Mosley - Writer, is Black and Caucasian.
Wentworth Miller - Actor, his father is Black his mother White.
