Bob Odenkirk

Odenkirk in 2013, photo by s_bukley/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Robert John Odenkirk

Place of Birth: Berwyn, Cook, Illinois, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 22, 1962

Ethnicity: German, Irish, small amounts of French, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and Scottish, distant European Royal

Bob Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. His roles include the films Nebraska, The Post, and Nobody, and television’s Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Lucky Hank, Fargo, and Mr. Show with Bob and David.

He is the son of Barbara and Walter Harry “Wally” Odenkirk. His brother is producer and actor Bill Odenkirk. His nephew is actor Keenan Odenkirk. Bob is married to Naomi Yomtov, with whom he has two children.

Bob has stated that one of his grandfathers had Dutch ancestry. It is not clear if this is accurate.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2024) stated that Bob’s genetic ancestry consists of:

*37% Germanic Europe
*36% Ireland
*14% England & Northwestern Europe
*5% Sweden & Denmark
*4% Wales
*2% Baltics
*2% Scotland

Genetically, he was found to have a common ancestor with actor and writer Nathan Lane.

Bob’s paternal grandfather was Walter Leonard Odenkirk (the son of Harry Thomas Odenkirk and Lillian Berndt). Walter was born in Illinois. Harry was the son of James Edward Odenkirk and Sarah A. Thomas. Lillian was of German descent, the daughter of Edward Fredrick Berndt and Margarethe Emerentia “Mary Emma” Schmütsch. Through Lillian, Bob’s six times great-grandparents were Friedrich Carl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, and his mistress Maria Catharina Bein.

Bob’s paternal grandmother was named Virginia Louise Dooley (the daugher of Thomas Joseph Dooley). Virginia was an Irish immigrant.

Bob’s maternal grandfather was William Clarence Baier (the son of Leopold Baier and Ida Baumgartner/Baumgarten). Clarence was born in Illinois. Leopold was German. Ida was born in Wisconsin, of German descent, the daughter of Jacob Baumgartner.

Bob’s maternal grandmother was Teresa/Theresa McCormick (the daughter of Francis Joseph “Frank” McCormick and Jeanette L. “Jennie” Koebel). Teresa was born in Illinois. Francis was born in Illinois, to Irish parents, Francis J. “Frank” McCormick and Margaret “Maggie” Fox. Jeanette was the daughter of John Koebel, who was of ethnic German descent; and of Barbe/Barbara Fricker, whose own parents, François Xavier Fricker and Thérèse Bucher, were from Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France, François from Niedernai, and Thérèse from Bolsenheim.

Sources: Interviews with Bob Odenkirk – http://www.jewishjournal.com
https://www.stuff.co.nz

Genealogy of Bob Odenkirk – http://www.geni.com

Bob’s maternal grandfather, William Clarence Baier, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Bob’s maternal grandmother, Teresa/Theresa McCormick, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org