Brad Pitt

Pitt in 2008, cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: William Bradley Pitt

Place of Birth: Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.

Date of Birth: December 18, 1963

Ethnicity: English, smaller amounts of Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, German, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish, remote Swedish, Dutch, French, Cornish, and Channel Islander/Jersey

Brad Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019). He has also starred in the films Cutting Class, Thelma & Louise, A River Runs Through It, Kalifornia, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, Legends of the Fall, Se7en, 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, Ocean’s Eleven (2011), and its sequels; Troy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Babel, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds, The Tree of Life, Moneyball, World War Z, 12 Years a Slave, Fury, The Big Short, and Bullet Train. He co-founded production company Plan B Entertainment.

He was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the son of Jane Etta (Hillhouse), a school counselor, and William Alvin “Bill” Pitt, a trucking company proprietor, and was raised in Springfield, Missouri. He was raised a Baptist, but no longer practices the religion. Brad has six children with his former wife, actress, humanitarian, and activist Angelina Jolie. His brother is businessperson and philanthropist Douglas Pitt. Brad was selected People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1995, and again in 2000.

Brad’s family has lived in the United States for many generations. Brad’s documented ancestry is mostly English, with some Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, small amounts of German, including Alsatian German, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish, and remote Swedish, Dutch, French, Cornish, and Channel Islander/Jersey.

During an interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2012, Brad stated that his ancestry is:

…probably… Irish-Scots, Germans who settled in the area… Native American Indian… I know we have some Seminole, and some Cherokee Indian, in us.

No Cherokee or Seminole Native American ancestors have been documented in publicly available family trees of Brad Pitt. While he did not mention English ancestry, English comprises much of Brad’s lineage.

Brad was a third cousin, once removed, of actor Tyler Christopher. Brad’s paternal great-great-grandparents, George W. Dorris/Doris and Nancy Rosalee/Rosalene Smith, were also Tyler’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents.

Brad’s paternal grandfather was Alvin Monroe Pitt (the son of Oliver Brown Pitt and Rosalee “Rosie”/Rosa Lee Dorris). Alvin was born in Oklahoma. Oliver was the son of Thomas M. Pitt and Bell Ray. Rosa was the daughter of George W. Dorris/Doris and Nancy Rosalee/Rosalene Smith.

Brad’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Jean “Bettie” Brown (the daughter of Lester Benny Brown and Una Valerie Coker). Elizabeth was born in Oklahoma. Lester was the son of George W. Brown and Cynthia Martin. Una was the daughter of Richard Ogle Coker, whose father was a Christian minister, and of Laura Trotter.

Brad’s maternal grandfather was Hal Knox Hillhouse (the son of Emery/Emory A. Hillhouse and Etta Coleman/Colemon/Colman Williams). Hal was born in Mount Vernon, Lawrence, Missouri. Emery was the son of Elijah Boyd Hillhouse, Jr. and Malinda/Melinda Burrel/Burrell Morris. Etta was the daughter of Henry Thomas “Hy” Williams and Ida Mae/May Isbell.

Brad’s maternal grandmother was Clara Mae Bell (the daughter of Finis Alonzo/Alonza Bell and Lenora Jane “Nora” Hammer). Clara was born in Missouri. Finis was the son of William Saterfield/Satterfield Bell and Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” Neece. Lenora was the daughter of Felix Emery Hammer and Sarah Angeline Parker. Brad’s seven times great-grandfather, John Johannes Hammer, was born, c. 1683, in Libesia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Sources: Genealogies of Brad Pitt – http://freepages.rootsweb.com
http://www.geni.com
http://famouskin.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Genealogy of Brad’s father (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com