Morena Baccarin

19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Arrivals

Baccarin in 2013, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin

Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Date of Birth: June 2, 1979

Ethnicity:
*50% Italian
*25% Lebanese
*25% Brazilian [Portuguese, likely African]

Morena Baccarin is a Brazilian-American actress. Her roles include Homeland, Deadpool, and Greenland.

She is the daughter of Fernando Baccarin, a journalist, and Vera Setta (Vera Lúcia Setta), an actress. Her father is of half Italian and half Lebanese descent, and her mother is of half Italian and half Brazilian [Portuguese, likely African] ancestry. Her uncle was actor Ivan Setta. Her great-uncle is theatre director Amir Haddad. She started acting as a child in his television specials.

She moved with her family to New York during her childhood, because of her father’s career. Morena is married to actor Ben McKenzie. She has a son with her former husband, producer and director Austin Chick; and two children with Ben. Morena has become a U.S. citizen.

Morena’s paternal grandfather was Alcides Baccarin (the son of Augusto Baccarin and Ida Sabbatini/Sabatini). Alcides was born in São Paulo. Augusto was born in São Paulo, the son of Luigi Baccarin, who was from Campodoro, province of Padova, Veneto, Italy, and of Luigia Santinato, who was also from Veneto. Ida was born in São Paulo, to Italian parents, Antonio Sabbatini and Nazarenna Tereza Ambrozi, who were from Recanati, province of Macerata, Marche.

Morena’s paternal grandmother was Nair Haddad (the daughter of Jorge Abrahão Haddad and Nacima/Nassima Camilo Abrahão). Nair was born in Minas Gerais, to an Arab family. Jorge was born in Syria, likely now modern-day Lebanon. Nacima was born in Brazil, to parents from Syria, now Lebanon. The Haddads were originally from Beirut.

Morena’s maternal grandfather was Antonio Setta (the son of Miguel Setta and Rosa Laviola). Antonio was born in Rio de Janeiro. Miguel was born in Italy, the son of Giuseppe Setta and Maria Carbina Carnevale. Rosa was born in Rio de Janeiro, to Italian parents, Antonio Laviola and Maria Carmela/Carmella Cianci/Ciancio, who was from San Severino Lucano, province of Potenza, Basilicata.

Morena’s maternal grandmother was named Laís da Costa Fonseca (the daughter of Alzira da Costa Fonseca). Laís was born in Rio de Janeiro. Alzira was the daughter of Carlota da Costa. A picture of Laís can be seen here.

Sources: http://movieplayer.it
http://revistaepoca.globo.com

Birth record of Morena’s paternal uncle – https://www.familysearch.org

Death record of Morena’s maternal grandfather, Antonio Setta – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Morena’s maternal grandparents, Antonio Setta and Laís da Costa Fonseca – https://www.familysearch.org

61 Responses

  1. Kynaithos says:

    Why is she, “*25% Brazilian [Portuguese, likely African]”? Why is that automatically more likely than, say, native ancestry, which is even more common in brazil than African ancestry. She doesn’t specifically look black, infact.

    • andrew says:

      Amerindian influence is definitely underrated in Brazil, but I doubt it’s bigger than African.

    • mattjay says:

      You seem to not know the history of Brazil if you are unaware of the HUGE African component there even in most cases more than the Native American component. Brazil was a slave colony with over 50% of the entire African slave trade going there. To compare, 5% went to the U.S.

    • mattjay says:

      Also, if she is 5% or 10% African, she isn’t going to look African. Her mother does a bit. Troian Bellisario is 25% African and looks very similar. Also, why is the African negated but not the Portuguese? Many Europeans ended up in Brazil.

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