Alexa Davalos
Davalos in 2010, photo by PrPhotos
Birth Name: Alexa Davalos Dunas
Place of Birth: Paris, France
Date of Birth: May 28, 1982
Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*mother – Dutch, Spanish, Finnish, evidently some Asian
Alexa Davalos is an American actress. She was born in Paris, France, to American parents, photographer Jeff Dunas and actress Elyssa Davalos. Her grandfather was actor Richard Davalos and her aunt is rock singer and bass player Dominique Davalos. She was raised in France, Italy, and New York, U.S.
Alexa’s father is from a Jewish family, from Russia and Lithuania. Alexa’s maternal grandfather had Spanish and Finnish ancestry. Alexa’s maternal grandmother is Dutch-born, and has been described as Eurasian.
Alexa has said:
I was raised without much religion, to be honest… [my parents] were traveling around like mad and took me everywhere, so we didn’t celebrate traditionally. When I was very young, about 7, we came to Los Angeles from France for a brief time and my parents enrolled me in school at Temple Emanuel and I learned Hebrew. I do remember it had an impact on me. I’ve always felt a connection to [Judaism].
Alexa’s paternal grandfather is Ronald Sanders Dunas (the son of Joseph Charles Dunas and Beatrice Sanders). Ronald was born in Illinois. Joseph was born in Illinois, to Cassel/Charles Dunas and Tillie Kurtzon, who were Jewish emigrants, Cassel evidently from Russia and Tillie from Lithuania. Beatrice was born in Illinois, to Russian Jewish parents, Emile M. Sanders and Marie Massover.
Alexa’s paternal grandmother is Romelle Barbara Gross (the daughter of Jacob/John Charles Gross and Dorothy/Dora Zagon). Romelle was born in Illinois. Jacob was born in New York, and was also Jewish. Dorothy was born in Chicago, the daughter of Hyman Zagon and Rose Lurie, who were Russian Jewish immigrants.
Alexa’s maternal grandfather was named Richard Davalos (Richard Norman Davalos, the son of Liisi/Lucy Maria Grönman). Richard was an actor. He was born in New York City. Liisi was born in New York, to Finnish parents, Waino Grönman and Fanny Maria Rothman.
Alexa’s maternal grandmother is Ellen Hedwig van der Hoeven. Ellen is a dancer and actress. She was born in the Netherlands, and evidently is of part Asian ancestry.
Sources: Genealogy of Alexa Davalos – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of some of Alexa’s father’s family – http://63.227.221.225:8080
Alexa’s paternal grandfather, Ronald Sanders Dunas, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Alexa’s paternal great-grandfather, Joseph Charles Dunas, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Alexa’s paternal great-grandmother, Beatrice Sanders, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Alexa’s paternal great-grandmother, Dorothy/Dora Zagon, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Alexa’s maternal grandfather, Richard Norman Davalos – http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Richard Davalos was the son of Liisi/Lucy Maria Grönman. Liisi was born in New York to Finnish parents, Waino Grönman and Fanny Maria Rothman.
https://www.geni.com/people/Lucy/6000000067414361849
Finally!
Is it certain Ellen is just Dutch? She looks kinda Asian.
When I saw that you had commented, I though you’d found Richard Davalos’ ancestry! It’s strange, he really is a ghost. Maybe he was born with a different name.
Do you have a picture of Ellen? The only thing we have on her is this immigration record:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24T1-J5C
I guess it’s possible she had Indonesian ancestry, like many Dutch people.
I can’t post private social media accounts.
Richard was deffinitely born as Richard Norman Davalos in New York in 1930. He’s on the NY birth index. But I can’t find any mention of his parents nor any other mention of him.
There’s a Richard Davalos who died in NY in 1936, but I can’t find him on census either. I tried Davalos, Dovalos, Dovolos, and a few others, and no dice.
I can’t find that birth record. It’s weird that no one has found him on the 1940 census.
It’s not on familysearch. It’s on ancestry.com.
I suspect that the name is misspelled and that’s why we can’t find him. I’ll try again later with ancestry, since their search engine is better.
”Davalos was born and reared in New York. After high school he did a hitch with the Navy, then entered Martha Graham’s modern ballet school. It was there he met his wife, a Eurasian girl. “Ellen is lovely,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a well – thumbed wallet. “That’s Elien and these are our daughters. Elyssa is 10 and Dominique is 2. The older one has her mother’s features and my coloring. Dominique has my features and her mother’s coloring. ”
Tucson Daily Citizen, April 6, 1967
Richard Davalos was married to Ellen Hedwig van der Hoeven, an actress and dancer, who was Dutch-born. Is there any evidence that he was married twice or that Ellen and Miriam wasn’t the same person? I can’t find anything about a relationship to a “Miriam”, only about that with Ellen.
“By his marriage to the dancer Ellen van der Hoeven he had two daughters.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/06/02/richard-davalos-actor–obituary/