John Legend
Legend in 2014, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: John Roger Stephens
Place of Birth: Springfield, Ohio, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 28, 1978
Ethnicity: African-American, some European [English/Scottish/Welsh/Cornish]
John Legend is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and philanthropist. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, along with Common, for their song “Glory,” from the film Selma (2014).
John’s parents, Phyllis Elaine (Lloyd) and Ronald Lamar Stephens, were/are both African-American. He studied English with an emphasis on African-American studies at University. He is married to model Chrissy Teigen, with whom he has four children.
A picture of John with his wife, child, grandmother, and father can be seen here. A picture of John with his mother can be seen here.
A DNA test taken by the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012) stated that John’s genetic ancestry is:
*64% African
*32% European
*4% Native American
John was selected People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2019. He is the fourth non-white man, and the fourth man of significant African ancestry, to have been given this title by the magazine (Denzel Washington, in 1996, is the first, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, in 2016, Idris Elba, in 2018, and Michael B. Jordan, in 2020, are the others, fitting both criteria).
John’s paternal grandfather was Arthur Benjamin Stephens (the son of John B. Stephens and Martha Cape). Arthur was born in Ohio. John’s great-grandfather John Stephens was the son of Henry Stephens and Julie. Martha was the daughter of John Kimsey Cape and Antinete.
John’s paternal grandmother is Marjorie Maxine “Maggie” Smith (the daughter of Dennis Wiley Smith and Esther Louise Ryder). Marjorie was born in Ohio. Dennis was the son of Sidney Smith and Matilda. Esther was the daughter of James Ryder and Bessie/Bethinia Underwood.
John’s maternal grandfather was Raymond Eugene Lloyd, Sr. (the son of William/Will Lloyd and Lillie Beatrice Greason/Greeson). Raymond was born in Tennessee, and was a Pastor Emeritus. Lillie was born in Tennessee, the daughter of Monroe/Mon Greason/Greeson and Laura Whitfield.
John’s maternal grandmother is Elmira M. Bass (the daughter of Ralph/Ralf Lewis Bass and Elmira/Elmyra Mack). Elmira was born in Ohio. Ralph was the son of Richard Bass and Mary Ella/Ellen Buchannon.
John’s DNA test stated that John’s patrilineal line likely came from the Fula people in Guinea-Bissau, and that John’s matrilineal line likely came from the Mende people in Sierra Leone. In his 2014 book based on the series, Finding Your Roots: The Official Companion to the PBS Series, Gates writes on page 266, “One analysis of [John’s] admixture indicates that his white ancestors were from southeastern Europe, around Romania, but he also shares genetic material with people living in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Jamaica.”
LOS ANGELES – SEP 9: John Legend at the 2018 Creative Arts Emmy Awards – Day 2 – Arrivals at the Microsoft Theater on September 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA photo by kathclick
Sources: Genealogy of John Legend – http://www.geni.com
Obituary of John’s maternal grandfather, Raymond Eugene Lloyd, Sr. – http://www.legacy.com
John’s maternal great-grandmother, Lillie Beatrice Greason/Greeson, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
John’s maternal great-grandfather, Ralph/Ralf Lewis Bass, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Information about John’s appearance on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012) – http://www.yourgeneticgenealogist.com
http://www.pbs.org
There’s definitely some Asian in there.
John Legend, Christine Teigen, and Rita Ora again? Every time there’s an awards show they’re always the most-viewed pages, regardless of their level of involvement (did Ariana Grande take the night off?).
Was no one interested in the ancestry of Eddie Redmayne or Julianne Moore?
Yeh I know. I guess John and Christine are perceived to be more Ethnically ambiguous to a lot of people.
Yup thought he was blasian and his wife was 50/50 BW chick.Boy was I wrong.
He is 32% European descent so I think Irish, United Kingdom (most likely English), and southeastern Europe (around Romania) should be added to his ethnicity.
Romania? What are the chances of that?
@bearboy, I have never ever heard of that. Where did you get that one from??
The asian features he so called has originated in South Africa with the Kalahari black bushmen , who were the oldest people on earth. I think people need to get away from the slavery notion that you have to be jet black skinned to be 100 percent black. Not true
Link: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kzu8A0Nua1c/TXYCfJVKeeI/AAAAAAAAPcw/9eoPfl5WHGg/s1600/P1010362-1.JPG
AFRICANS often times have Asian features. So basically he doesn’t have to have Asian or native ancestry to get those features. His ancestors probably came from Ghana and the surrounding areas where similar features are.
Ghanaian doubtful, to me he looks to be of partially Yoruba decent of Nigeria, Benin, and Angola. Almond shaped eyes is a trait of some tribes in continental Africa. Oh course, he may have European ancestry due to this country’s history of admixture.