Gregory Peck

publicity photo of Gregory Peck c. 1948, eBay

Birth Name: Eldred Gregory Peck

Date of Birth: April 5, 1916

Place of Birth: San Diego, California, United States

Date of Death: June 12, 2003

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: Irish, English, some German, distant Welsh

Gregory Peck was an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He also starred in The Keys of the Kingdom, Spellbound, The Yearling, The Paradine Case, The Great Sinner, Twelve O’Clock High, Captain Horatio Hornblower, David and Bathsheba, Roman Holiday, Moby Dick, The Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear, and The Omen, among many other films.

Gregory was the son of Bernice Mae (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck. His paternal grandmother was Irish. His other ancestry was English, some German, and distant Welsh. Many of his family lines have been in the United States since the 1600s.

Gregory was married to French-born arts patron, philanthropist, and journalist Veronique Peck (born Veronique Passani), until his death. He had three children with his former wife, Finnish-born Greta Kukkonen; and two children, actor Anthony Peck and film producer, director, and actress Cecilia Peck, with Veronique. Anthony was married to model Cheryl Tiegs, with whom he has a son. Gregory’s grandson with Greta is actor Ethan Peck.

Gregory’s paternal grandfather was named Samuel Peck.

Gregory’s paternal grandmother was Catherine Ashe (the daughter of John Ashe/Ash and Catherine/Katherine Prenderville/Prendiville). Gregory’s grandmother Catherine was born in East Minard, County Kerry, Ireland. John was the son of Gregory Coke Ashe and Bridget Kennedy or Honoria O’Donnell. Gregory’s great-grandmother Catherine was the daughter of John Prenderville/Prendiville and Kate Leary. Through his grandmother, Gregory is said to have been a third cousin of Thomas Ashe, a hero of the Easter Uprising, who was President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, from 1916 to September 1917, his death.

Gregory’s maternal grandfather was John Daggett Ayers (the son of William Henry Ayers and Elizabeth/Eliza/Elisa Maria Daggett). John was born in St. Louis, Missouri. William was born in New York, the son of Isaac Ayers and Emily Lucy Woodruff. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Dickinson Daggett, who was Mayor of St. Louis, and of Sarah B. Sparks. She was of Colonial American (English) descent, from Massachusetts and Maine.

Gregory’s maternal grandmother was Katherine/Katie/Kate Elizabeth Forse (the daughter of Thomas Forse/Force and Catherine Woodward). Gregory’s grandmother Katherine was born in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Thomas was the son of Thomas Manning Forse and Nancy Elizabeth Ann Reiter.

Gregory is sometimes listed as the great-grandson of Clark Skinner Peck and Emma Jane Simmons. This does not appear to be correct. The couple has no son named Samuel on either the 1870 nor the 1880 U.S. Censuses.

Sources: https://www.irishexaminer.com

Genealogies of Gregory Peck – http://www.geni.com
http://famouskin.com
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com

Genealogy of Gregory Peck (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.wikitree.com

Gregory Peck on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Information about Gregory’s visit to Ireland – http://www.askaboutireland.ie

Gregory’s father on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org