Ashley Johnson

Johnson in 2011, photo by DFree/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Ashley Suzanne Johnson

Place of Birth: Camarillo, Ventura, California, United States

Date of Birth: August 9, 1983

Ethnicity:
*father – Swedish, Norwegian
*mother – English, Irish, Scottish, German

Ashley Johnson is an American actress, voice and motion capture actress, and singer. She is known for her roles on the series Growing Pains, Recess, Teen Titans, Ben 10, The Killing, Blindspot, Critical Role, and Infinity Train, in the films What Women Want, The Help, and Much Ado About Nothing, and in the The Last of Us, Borderlands, and Minecraft: Story Mode video games.

Her sister, Haylie Johnson, has also acted, and is married to gospel and blues musician Jonny Lang.

Ashley’s paternal grandfather was named Reuben Johnson. Reuben was Swedish.

Ashley’s paternal grandmother was Evelyn Taft (the daughter of Ingvald Taft and Victoria Kristensen). Evelyn was born in New York, to Norwegian parents. Ingvald was from Arendal. Victoria was from Vanse, outside Farsund.

Ashley’s maternal grandfather was Jack Dwayne Spruiell (the son of Oather/Arthur Hill Spruiell and Lena Ruth Nunn). Jack was born in Texas. Oather was the son of Abraham Carmichael Spruiell and Mary Ann Amanda “Mandy” Norris. Lena was the daughter of Joel “Joe” Nunn and Fannie Thomas Wright.

Ashley’s maternal grandmother was Violet Reba Dillard (the daughter of Thomas/Tomas Lee Dillard and Martha Emeline/Lina Hall). Violet was born in Texas. Thomas was the son of William Benson Dillard and Caroline. Martha was the daughter of Samuel C. “Sam” Hall and Elizabeth Jane “Bettie” Anderson.

Some websites also state that Ashley has Native American roots. It is not clear if this Native American ancestry has been verified/documented.

Source: Ashley’s paternal grandmother, Evelyn Taft, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org