Adam Driver
Driver with Lena Dunham in 2013, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Adam Douglas Driver
Place of Birth: San Bernardino, California, United States
Date of Birth: November 19, 1983
Ethnicity: English, one eighth Dutch/Frisian, German, Irish, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, more distant Welsh and French, remote Swedish
Adam Driver is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films Not Waving but Drowning, Lincoln, Frances Ha, Bluebird, Inside Llewyn Davis, Tracks, The F Word, Hungry Hearts, This Is Where I Leave You, While We’re Young, the Star Wars universe, Midnight Special, Paterson, Silence, Logan Lucky, BlacKkKlansman, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Dead Don’t Die, The Report, Marriage Story, Annette, The Last Duel, House of Gucci, White Noise (2022), 65, and Ferrari; and on the series Girls; and for his acclaimed stage performances.
He is the son of Nancy (Needham) and Joe Douglas Driver. His father’s family is from Arkansas and his mother’s family is from Indiana, where Adam was raised from the age of seven, in Mishawaka. His stepfather is a Baptist minister, and Adam had a religious Baptist upbringing. He is married to actress Joanne Tucker, with whom he has two children.
After 9/11, Adam joined the United States Marine Corps, and served in Afghanistan. He later founded Arts in the Armed Forces, a non-profit foundation, which stages theatrical performances for military personnel and support staff. Adam is a Lance Corporal in the Marines.
His father has English, German, Scottish, Irish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, distant Welsh and French, and remote Swedish, ancestry. A picture of Adam’s father can be seen here. Adam’s mother has English, one fourth Dutch/Frisian, and some German and Irish, ancestry. Adam has said, perhaps facetiously, that he has Native American and “perhaps Russian” ancestry.
While Adam was cast as a Jewish character a few times, most notably in This Is Where I Leave You and BlacKkKlansman, he is not himself of Jewish heritage.
Adam’s patrilineal ancestry can be traced to John Driver, who was born, c. 1675, in Avening, England or Isle of Wight County, Virginia, to parents of English origin, Giles Driver and Olive Hardy.
Adam’s paternal grandfather was Kelly Potter Driver, Jr. (the son of Kelly Potter Driver, Sr. and Rosa/Rosie/Rose Bell Whiteside). Adam’s grandfather Kelly was born in Arkansas. Adam’s great-grandfather Kelly was the son of Miles/Milas Washington Driver and Sarah Elizabeth Johnson. Rosa was the daughter of Jacob Davis Whiteside and Eliza Ann Withers.
Adam’s paternal grandmother was Edith Mae Fisher (the daughter of Joe Guy Fisher, Sr. and Belva/Belvia/Belvie Yeager). Edith was born in Arkansas. Joe was the son of Walter S./W. Fisher and Mary Jane Quattlebaum. Belva was the daughter of Charles O. Yeager and Irene Almeda Favors.
Adam’s maternal grandfather was Ira Lee Needham (the son of Lester G. Needham and Gertrude Dykstra/Dexter). Ira Lee was born in Indiana. Lester was the son of Ira H. Needham and Flora Anna Harrington. Gertrude was born in Indiana, to Dutch parents, John H. Dykstra/Dexter and Jantje/Jennie F. Kuypers/Kipers. Gertrude had roots in Friesland.
Adam’s maternal grandmother was Dolores Lavone Pettit (the daughter of Theodore George Pettit and Florence Geneve/Geneva/Genieve Ullrich). Dolores was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and grew up on a farm in Battleground, Indiana. Theodore was the son of William Clayton Pettit and Cora Ethel Campbell. Florence was the daughter of Jacob Ullrich and Nellie Blanche Carpenter. Jacob was the son of a German father and an Irish mother.
Sources: Genealogies of Adam Driver – http://www.geni.com
https://www.geneastar.org
Adam’s paternal grandfather, Kelly Potter Driver, Jr., on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Adam’s paternal grandfather, Kelly Potter Driver, Jr. – http://www.findagrave.com
Adam’s paternal grandmother, Edith Mae Fisher, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Adam’s paternal grandmother, Edith Mae (Fisher) Driver – https://www.rollerfuneralhomes.com
Obituary of Adam’s aunt (mother’s sister) – http://www.findagrave.com
Adam’s maternal grandfather, Ira Lee Needham, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Adam’s maternal grandmother, Dolores Lavone Pettit, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Adam’s maternal grandmother, Dolores Lavone (Pettit) Needham Riggs – https://www.palmerfuneralhomes.com
Adam’s maternal great-grandfather, Theodore George Pettit, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Adam’s maternal great-grandmother, Florence Geneve/Geneva/Genieve Ullrich, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
I think the people who thought that Adam Driver looks mexican have some mental issues, because there is no such stupid thing as looking mexican
look at this mexican(mestizo) guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvnhvEfmEOg
he has very western european look and may be he is lighter than many spanish people despite the high native ancestry that he had (32% native ancestry)
does this mexican guy looks mexican to you or not??!
Lighter?
that guy is nuts
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/1/17/AdamDriver_2.jpg
@italiano90
LMAO, The only nut is you, you don’t that there are tons of Europeans with Epicanthic Fold
look at this Moron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fniuCpPiL4Y&t=46s
this woman is 100 % European and she looks more Asian comparing to Adam, Dude go and educate yourself before spreading your stupidity
Silly stuff. Girl looks pseudo Eastern European. Driver does not look East Asian but from a Turkic country.
when I said that Driver look East Asian ??!, this girl said that nearly all people consider her as Asian or mixed with Asian and indeed she is not
She has an (East) Asian vibe on her, but resembles more some girls from ex Sovet Union area.
She’s 24% Scandinavian. That equates to deep roots from Northern East Asia. 11% Iberian which means she has admixture in the last thousand years, from North Africa and/or West Asia.
Mystery not so mysterious.
Adam Driver told Director Terry Gilliam that he is of Native American descent, on his father’s side. The German, Scottish, English Swedish, Irish etc. ancestry is on his mother’s side.
That is actually the truth!
Why?
Because Adam’s father Joe Douglas Driver was actually “adopted” into the Driver family. They are not Joe Driver’s biological parents. His birth parent/s are Native American. They would also be Adam Driver’s paternal grandparents-the biological, as opposed to the “adoptive” grandparents.
NB: The Driver surname is an English surname (from Oxfordshire, England – not German or Russian. Who dreamt that up?
So could he one day don feathered head dress, rawhide and war paint and play the role of Chef Geronimo or Cochise-with great aplomb and authority, I’d say!
And if he did his homework and honed his acting ability well enough, he’d probably get an academy award for it!
But he doesn’t like to be stereo-typed and prides himself on being able to morph into and inhabit, chameleon style- a wide variety of roles, genres, characters, acting styles and ethnicities. So being “pidgeoned-holed” or boxed-in like that, (at this point in his career) wouldn’t suit him at all.
He hasn’t really publicly explained himself (his ancestry). except to maybe director Terry Gillam… so that’s where the confusion and subsequent speculation, lies!
Adam driver also looks like Roger Waters when he was young
https://dereksmusicblog.com/2019/04/10/roger-waters-the-solo-years/
https://www.pinterest.com/cpkadopter/roger-waters/
Also Julian Richings.
A chicano version
Adam driver looks like the french intellectual René Guénon
https://www.planetadelibros.com/autor/rene-guenon/000025209
https://www.rigenerazionevola.it/un-maestro-dei-tempi-moderni-rene-guenon-prima-parte/
Adam Driver like other european americans doesn’t have any native ancestry, and his look came from his European side
There’s a loose resemblance with both but Latin American users in this site have claimed that he would not be a white person in their multiracial countries, so let alone in US. Go figure.
Adam Driver is absolutely considered a white man in the U.S. The comments on his page are ridiculous.
Several users wrote he looks Mexican.
@andrew tbh Adam Driver has a unique look, he looks like a mix between russian, northwestern european and turkish, even if he looks mexican, there are mexicans who have very western european look than Adam driver and still hey have high significant native ancestry
look at this mexican(mestizo) guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvnhvEfmEOg
he has very western european look and may be he is lighter than many spanish people despite the high native ancestry that he had (32% native ancestry)
It’s funny how “adam driver origine ethnique” (French) pops out in Google results. They might be Canadians wondering which First Nations tribe he is enrolled too.
Can’t blame them.
Google suggests also “origine asiatique”.
https://madame.lefigaro.fr/celebrites/adam-driver-un-boy-acteur-tout-terrain-170715-97503
Adam Driver est un minestrone, une macédoine, un melting-pot à lui tout seul. “Je suis le fruit de nombreux mélanges, m’a-t-on dit, avec des aïeux irlandais, allemands, peut-être russes et sûrement indiens”
So he is surely “Indian” and perhaps Russian in his words.
@andrew
Many americans claim that they have indian ancestry but indeed they don’t have any significant indian ancestry at all
look at this genetic study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4289685/
It is approximately 0.18% native ancestry on the average white american, I think Adam Driver get his phenotype from his russian or swedish ancestry
@ethnic/follers
So Adam Driver have told in an interview to influential French newspaper Le Figaro:
“I have been told to be the outcome of several mixes, with Irish, German, maybe Russian and surely Indian ancestors”.
It’s worth to be added.
He aknowledges himself to not be just a white guy.
@andrew I think that is not a proof of anything because in usa many americans claim that they have native ancestry,and indeed they don’t have any native ancestry according to the genetic studies
@andrew133
Yes, I know that there is barely no Native ancestry in the European Americans genome, However sometimes these claims are not out of nothing, they maybe have one ancestor that is too distant to be genetically detected.
Adam Driver is definitely of Russian descent. Just like John Wick.
He has claimed it. Probably after being said to look like Russian nationals from Central Asia, he believes so.
European americans don’t have any significant native americans ancestry at all according to genetic studies, so this guy most likely doesn’t have any native ancestry at all
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4289685/
European americans have only 0.18% native ancestry, on average finns and Russians have 18% to 20% on average east eurasian ancestry and also many northern europeans have siberian ancestry, it is most likely that his phenotype came from his European side