Riley Voelkel
Birth Name: Riley Emilia Voelkel
Place of Birth: Elk Grove, California, U.S. (possibly)
Date of Birth: April 26, 1990
Ethnicity: German, small amount of Polish
Riley Voelkel is an American-born Canadian actress. Her roles include the series The Newsroom, The Originals, Roswell, New Mexico; Legacies, Hightown, and Chicago Med, and the films Prom (2011) and The Secret Lives of Dorks.
She was born in the U.S., to Canadian parents, and was raised in Calgary, Alberta. She is of mostly ethnic German descent, from Germany and Eastern Europe, along with a small amount of Polish ancestry.
Riley’s paternal grandfather was Siegfried Martin “Sigi” Voelkel (the son of Karl Völkel and Agnes Dzierzon). Siegfried was born in Ratibor, Germany, now Racibórz, Poland.
Riley’s paternal grandmother is Victoria “Vicky” Raugust (the daughter of Karl Raugust and Emilie/Emilia Waldbauer). Victoria was born in Gärtringen, Germany. Emilie was from Sarighol, Romania.
Riley’s maternal grandfather was possibly Herman Friedrich Lohse (the son of Johannes Lohse and Toni Klett).
Riley’s maternal grandmother was possibly Gerda Sievers (the daughter of Karsten Seeman and Anna-Marie Sievers).
Sources: Obituary of Riley’s paternal grandfather, Siegfried Martin Voelkel – http://dignitymemorial.com
Obituary of Riley’s paternal great-uncle (grandmother’s brother) – http://calgaryherald.remembering.ca
Tag “Banat Swabian”
@StLucas, How are you? I think Riley is 100% ethnically German.
Emilie Waldbauer (1916-2000) was her paternal grandmothers mother. she was born in Romania but based on the surname I think she was German.
On her mother’s side her maternal grandfather was Herman Friedrich Lohse (1920-2007), the son of Johannes Lohse and Toni Klett.
maternal grandmother was Gerda (Sievers) Goldschmidt (August 24, 1924), the daughter of Karsten Seeman and Anna-Marie Sievers. All seem to be German as well.
Interested to hear from you. It’s possible I am missing the ethnically Polish ancestry.
Sincerely, Bearboy/Jackson9
Thank you. Personally I don’t think her Dzierzon line would be fully German.
It’s a Polish name. Being from Silesia (see also recent Di Caprio update), an area of mixed German and Polish heritage.
Yes, Andrew but Agnes Dzierzon’s father appears to be Jonas John Getts (1875-1947) died in Ohio. So I am not sure if the Dzierzon line even goes anywhere?
Oh wait sorry wrong spouse. you are probably right Andrew and @Stlucas. blessings