Dave Franco

Franco in 2013, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: David John Franco

Place of Birth: Santa Clara, California, United States

Date of Birth: June 12, 1985

Ethnicity:
*father – half Portuguese Madeiran, half Swedish
*mother – Ashkenazi Jewish

Dave Franco is an American actor and filmmaker. His roles include the films After Sex, The Shortcut, Charlie St. Cloud, The Broken Tower, Fright Night (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), and its sequel; Warm Bodies, Now You See Me, and its sequel; Unfinished Business, Nerve (2016), The Little Hours, The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Disaster Artist, 6 Balloons, If Beale Street Could Talk, Zeroville, 6 Underground, and Day Shift, and television’s Greek, Scrubs, Easy, The Now, and The Afterparty. He directed and co-wrote the horror film The Rental and the romantic comedy Somebody I Used to Know.

Dave is the son of Betsy (Verne) and Douglas Eugene Franco. His father ran a Silicon Valley business, and his mother is a writer and actress. His brothers are actor James Franco and actor and artist Tom Franco. Tom founded the Firehouse Art Collective in Berkeley. A picture of Dave’s father can be seen here. A picture of Dave’s mother can be seen here. Dave is married to actress, writer, and producer Alison Brie.

Dave’s father was of half Portuguese/Madeiran and half Swedish descent. Dave’s mother is Jewish, of Russian Jewish, German Jewish, Polish Jewish, and Lithuanian Jewish descent. Dave has said that he is proud to be Jewish.

Dave’s paternal grandfather was Daniel Franco, Jr. (the son of Daniel Franco and Eugénia Baptista). Dave’s grandfather Daniel was born in Illinois, to Portuguese emigrants, from the Madeira islands. Dave’s great-grandfather Daniel was the son of João Franco and Maria de Mendonça. Dave’s great-grandmother Eugénia was the daughter of João Baptista and Carlota de Freitas.

Dave’s paternal grandmother was Marjorie J. Peterson (the daughter of Claus Fredolph Peterson and Martha Louise Rehn). Dave’s grandmother Marjorie Franco was born in Illinois, and is a children’s author. Claus was born in Illinois, to Swedish parents, Carl Magnus Peterson and Amelia Bernadette Ackerman. Martha was also born in Illinois, to Swedish parents, Edward Anderson Rehn and Anna Louise Knall.

Dave’s maternal grandfather was Daniel Surad Verovitz/Verne (the son of Carroll Verovitz and Bessie G. Surad). Daniel was born in Ohio. Carroll was born in Chicago, Illinois. Carroll’s father, Harry/Harris David Verovitz, was a Russian Jewish immigrant. Carroll’s mother, Mary Harris, was born in Ohio, to a German Jewish father and a Polish Jewish mother. Bessie was born in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Philip Surad and Mary Shank, who were Jewish emigrants from Russia.

Dave’s maternal grandmother was Marcella Ruth “Mitzie” Levine (the daughter of Emanuel “Manuel” Levine and Jessie Bialosky). Marcella was born in Ohio, and owned the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland. Emanuel was a noted judge in Cleveland; he was born in Vilna, Lithuania, to Jewish parents, David J. Levine and Michelle Corban. Jessie was born in Ohio, the daughter of Louis Bialosky and Rebecca Shapiro, who were Polish Jewish immigrants.

Sources: Interview mentioning Dave’s Jewish background – http://www.instyle.com

Genealogies of Dave Franco – http://www.geni.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Genealogy of Dave Franco (through Dave’s brother, James Franco) – http://familypedia.wikia.com

Dave’s paternal grandfather, Daniel Franco, Jr., on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Dave’s paternal grandmother, Marjorie J. Peterson, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Dave’s paternal grandmother, Marjorie J. (Peterson) Franco – https://www.legacy.com

Dave’s maternal grandfather, Daniel Surad Verovitz, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Dave’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Harry/Harris David Verovitz, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Dave’s maternal grandmother, Marcella Ruth “Mitzie” Levine, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Dave’s maternal great-grandmother, Jessie Bialosky, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org