Mika

Serpentine Gallery Summer Party 2012 - Arrivals

Mika in 2012, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr.

Place of Birth: Beirut, Lebanon

Date of Birth: August 18, 1983

Ethnicity:
*father – English, Scottish, distant Welsh
*mother – Syrian, Lebanese

Mika, also known as MIKA, is a British singer and songwriter. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to American parents, Mary Joan (Mouakad) and Michael Holbrook Penniman. They moved to Paris, France, when he was about a year old, and then to London, England, when he was nine.

Mika’s father was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to American parents, and is of English, Scottish, and distant Welsh, ancestry. Mika’s mother was born in New York, to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother, from Beirut.

Mika’s paternal grandfather was William Frederick Penniman III (the son of William Frederick Penniman, Jr. and Florence Stevens). Mika’s grandfather William was born in Georgia, and worked in the oil business, for Sahara Petroleum Co. and Continental Oil Corp., in Beirut, Lebanon. Mika’s great-grandfather William was the son of William Frederick Penniman and Ann/Anne Elizabeth Adams.

Mika’s paternal grandmother was Dorothy Dyar (the daughter of Frederick/Fred Kingman Dyar and Maude/Maud E. Mickle/Nelson). Dorothy was born in California. Maude was the daughter of George Grasset Mickle, who was born in Canada, to Scottish parents, and of Sarah Jane Williamson.

Mika’s maternal grandfather was named John Mouakad.

Mika’s maternal grandmother was named Odette Farah.

Sources: Marriage record of Mika’s parents – https://familysearch.org

Genealogies of Mika’s paternal grandfather, William Frederick Penniman III (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com
https://www.ancestry.com

Mika’s paternal grandmother, Dorothy Dyar, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

15 Responses

  1. Manila says:

    I have found Mika’s parents’ marriage record: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997Z-MDP9

  2. Amir Sams says:

    He’s Ethnicity Includes the Syrian Ancestry from his Mother’s Side as she was Lebanese/Syrian.

  3. andrew says:

    He’s Jewish.

  4. J.J. says:

    correction; his eyes are hazel (light brown) and his hair is dark brown (brunette) I think it should be listed

  5. J.J. says:

    correction; Caucasian is not an ethnicity, it’s a racial classification, the surname penniman is of English origin so it could be listed as Lebanese and English or Anglo American

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