Oz Perkins

Birth Name: Osgood Robert Perkins II

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

Date of Birth: February 2, 1974

Ethnicity: English, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish, one eighth Italian, small amounts of Polish, Breton, French, Irish, Dutch, and German

Oz Perkins, also known as Osgood Perkins, is an American director, writer, filmmaker, and actor. He has directed the films The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Gretel & Hansel, and Longlegs. He also wrote all but the third of his films, and also co-wrote Cold Comes the Night and The Girl in the Photographs. He appeared in the films Legally Blonde, Secretary (2002), and Dead & Breakfast. He has worked mostly in the horror genre.

Oz is the son of actress, model, and photographer Berinthia “Berry” Berenson and actor Anthony Perkins. His brother is folk-rock musician Elvis Perkins. His aunt, mother’s sister, is actress and model Marisa Berenson. He is a grandson of stage actor Osgood Perkins and socialite Gogo Schiaparelli.

His father died from AIDS-related pneumonia. His mother later died on 9/11, on American Airlines Flight 11.

Oz has two children with his former wife Sidney Perkins.

Oz’s paternal grandfather was Osgood Perkins (James Ripley Osgood Perkins, the son of Henry Phelps Perkins, Jr. and Helen Virginia Anthony). Oz’s grandfather Osgood was born in West Newton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Oz’s great-grandfather Henry was born in Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts, the son of Henry Phelps Perkins, who was born in Lyme, Grafton, New Hampshire, and of Stella Lucretia Burnham. Helen was born in New York, the daughter of Andrew Varick Stout Anthony, a prominent wood engraver, and of Mary Aurelia Walker.

Oz’s paternal grandmother was Janet Esselstyn Rane (the daughter of Francis/Frank William Rane and Elizabeth M. Bailey). Janet was born in West Virginia. Francis was born in Michigan, the son of William Benjamin Rane and Ellen/Nell Bridget Connelly/Connolly, whose father was Irish. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Newton Bailey and Sarah Justa/Elizabeth Esselton.

Oz’s maternal grandfather was diplomat Robert Lawrence/Laurence Berenson (the son of Bernard Berenson and Corinne Francesca Levy). Robert was born in Massachusetts, and was Jewish, from a Jewish family from Lithuania, Russia, France, and Hungary. His family’s surname was originally spelt Valvrojenski. Bernard was born in Massachusetts, to Russian-born parents, Leyb/Louis/Lewis Berenson and Sarah Bernstein. Oz’s great-grandmother Corinne was also born in Massachusetts, the daughter of Anatole/Anatol Levy, who was born in France, and of Elizabeth/Eliza Nathan, who was born in Hungary. Through this side, Oz is a second cousin, twice removed, of siblings, art historian Bernard Berenson and athlete and educator Senda Berenson Abbott, who was one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Oz’s maternal grandmother was Gogo Schiaparelli (born Maria-Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, the daughter of Wilhelm Frederick Wendt, later Wendt de Kerlor, and of Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli). Gogo was born in France, and had Polish, Breton, and French-Swiss roots on one side, and Italian ancestry on the other. Oz’s great-grandfather Wilhelm was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Frederick Wendt, who was said to have been Polish, from Prussia; and Sofia W. de Kerlor, who was said to have been French. Oz’s great-grandmother Elsa was a prominent fashion designer, from Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was the daughter of Celestino Schiaparelli, a prominent scholar, who was born in Savigliano, Province of Cuneo, Piedmont; and of Maria-Luisa Domenitis, who from a Neapolitan family, of aristocratic background.

Oz’s great-grandmother Elsa’s uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, was a prominent astronomer. She was also related to Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli and historian and palaeographer Luigi Schiaparelli. Elsa had an interest in Egyptian art. She was said to be of part Egyptian descent; it is not clear if that is accurate.

Sources: Genealogies of Oz Perkins – http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com

Genealogy of Oz’s father (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://famouskin.com

Oz’s paternal great-grandfather, Francis/Frank William Rane, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Oz’s maternal grandfather, Robert Lawrence/Laurence Berenson, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Oz’s maternal great-grandparents, Bernard Berenson and Corinne Francesca Levy – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Oz’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Leyb/Louis/Lewis Berenson and Sarah Bernstein – https://familysearch.org

Genealogy of Oz’s maternal great-grandmother, Corinne Francesca Levy (focusing on her own father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Marriage record of Oz’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Anatole/Anatol Levy and Elizabeth/Eliza Nathan – https://familysearch.org

Information about Oz’s maternal great-grandmother, Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli – http://www.theguardian.com
https://modopia.com

Obituary of Oz’s maternal great-grandmother, Elsa Luisa Maria Schiaparelli – https://www.nytimes.com

Information about Oz’s Schiaparelli relatives – http://www.treccani.it
http://notes9.senato.it