Topher Grace

Grace in 2011, photo by PR Photos

Birth Name: Christopher John Grace

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 12, 1978

Ethnicity: Irish, English, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish

Topher Grace is an American actor.

Topher is the son of Pat and John Grace. His aunt (father’s sister) is actress Sue Grace/Susan Grace. Topher is married to actress and model Ashley Hinshaw, with whom he has two children.

Topher’s paternal grandmother was from a German Jewish family, and Topher’s aunt Susan has acted at the Jewish Women’s Theatre. Topher’s other ancestry is Irish and English.

Topher’s second cousins, twice removed, were Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch, the businesspeople and philanthropists who founded tax preparation company H&R Block. Topher’s paternal great-great-great-grandparents, Jonas Wollman and Betty “Bettie” Kohn, were also Henry and Richard’s maternal great-grandparents.

Topher’s paternal grandfather was Walter Kenneth Grace (the son of William G. “Billie” Grace and Winnie Custis Halland/Holland). Walter was born in Oklahoma.

Topher’s paternal grandmother was Muriel Cecile Hess (the daughter of Walter Wollman Hess and Blanche Sonn). Topher’s grandmother Muriel was born in New York, to parents who were both from German Jewish families, also with Czech Jewish roots. Topher’s great-grandfather Walter was born in Kansas, the son of Albert Hess, who was born in Germany, and of Rosa Wollman, who was born in Kansas, to a father from Kepno, Poland, and to a mother from Pilsen, now Plzeň, Czech Republic; the family lived in Leavenworth, Kansas. Topher’s great-grandmother Blanche Sonn was born in New York; Blanche’s father, Henry Sonn, was born in New York, to parents from Germany, and Blanche’s mother, Eva Childs, was born in Ohio, also to German-born parents, from Bavaria, Solomon Childs and Rebecca Rice.

Topher’s great-great-great-aunt was Kate Wollman, who donated the funds to build New York’s Wollman Rink, a public ice rink that opened in 1949. Topher’s great-great-grandmother Rosa was Kate’s sister. Topher’s great-great-great-uncle, William J. Wollman (William Jonas Wollman), operated the W.J. Wollman & Co. stock exchange firm, in Kansas City and New York.

Topher’s maternal grandfather was Walter Joseph McCabe (the son of George P. McCabe and Mary Mitchell). Walter was born in New York, and was of at least part Irish descent. George was the son of Christopher McCabe and Christina.

Topher’s maternal grandmother was Helen E. O’Leary (the daughter of Cornelius Paul O’Leary and Elizabeth Burns). Helen was born in New York, and was of Irish descent. Cornelius was the son of Michael J. O’Leary an Elizabeth McKenna. Topher’s great-grandmother Elizabeth was the daughter of Ellen.

Sources: Topher Grace in Jewish family genealogy book, Jonas and Betty (Kohn) Wollman and their descendants, 1986, by Joan Ferris Curran and Gerard L. Barnett, p. 65 – http://books.google.ca

Mention of Topher’s family in Jewish family genealogy book, Descendants of Salomon Bloch of Janowitz, Bohemia, and Baruch Wollman of Kempen-in-Posen, Prussia, 1996, by Henry Wollman Bloch, Joan Ferris Curran, p. 173 – https://books.google.ca

Genealogy of Topher Grace – https://www.geni.com

Wedding announcement of Topher’s paternal grandparents, Walter Kenneth Grace and Muriel Cecile Hess – http://select.nytimes.com

Topher’s paternal grandmother, Muriel Cecile Hess, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Topher’s paternal great-uncle, Walter Wollman Hess, Jr. (a brother of Topher’s paternal grandmother, Muriel Cecile Hess) – http://www.legacy.com

Topher’s paternal great-grandfather, Walter Wollman Hess, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Topher’s paternal great-grandfather, Walter Wollman Hess – http://select.nytimes.com

Topher’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Henry Sonn, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Topher’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Eva Childs, on the 1860 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Eva Childs on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Death record of Topher’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Eva (Childs) Sonn – https://www.familysearch.org

Topher’s maternal grandfather, Walter Joseph McCabe, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

14 Responses

  1. bablah says:

    ”to a mother from Pilsen, now in Czechoslovakia”->to a mother from Pilsen, now Plzeň, Czech Republic.

    Czechoslovakia hasn’t been a thing in some 30 years.

    • madman says:

      I think we all should start using Czechia instead of Czech republic. It sounds better.

    • bablah says:

      Topher’s maternal grandmother was Helen E. O’Leary (the daughter of Cornelius Paul O’Leary and Elizabeth Burns). Helen was born in New York. Cornelius was the son of Michael J. O’Leary an Elizabeth McKenna. Topher’s great-grandmother Elizabeth was the daughter of Ellen.

      Helen was of Irish descent.

  2. celebfan says:

    Tthis says that his maternal grandfather, Walter Joseph McCabe, is the son of George P. McCabe and Mary Mitchell. Those are both Scottish surnames, but there is no mention of Scottish ancestry here.

  3. roman2886 says:

    he looks so much look like Toby Maguire they should play Brothers they look like Brothers.

  4. WTF says:

    LMFAO WTF!?!?!? He looks white as hell, how the f*ck is he “EXOTIC”???????

  5. ashash says:

    He’s exotic. Too bad he was overshadowed by Ashton Kutcher . . . who isn’t exotic.

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