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
If by “remote Dutch and French” you mean the ancestry via the medieval nobility and royalty from British Isles, then pretty much each and every person of English descent can claim partial French and Dutch descent as well. The traditional, Anglo-Saxon English people are practically all part-French (through, for example, their “Edward III” lineage). I’m not sure if the ancestry which only becomes visible after at least 7 centuries of a family tree is in need of being ascertained.
No, that’s not what it’s referring to.
Actors here in the US of A, even when they are not English/British by blood/ancestors they are by birth. They are completely dominating Hollywood, have been since back the in the day and now at present we are importing them in bulk. They do an awesome job though so yeah keep ‘me coming.
Britain is becoming one of the most diverse countries in Europe. Not all of these people are even ethnically Brit. More and more British celebrities and actors are having mixed ancestries these days. Andrew Garfield is Jewish, Stephan James is half Israeli, Jacey Elthalion half French, Hayden is half Jamaican and Cuban. Vince Azzopardi Italian, especially if these people are coming from London usually they’re not all British. Which probably explains why they look very much better than the British population. Having been to the UK London is the best looking part of Britain up north with the more homogeneous Brits has the worst aesthetics in UK. Secondly they aren’t “dominating” hollywood, maybe you meant just superhero roles? More American actors are of diverse ancestries.
Two leads in Vampire Diaries – Ian mixed ancestry, Paul is Polish. Two Leads in Supernatural ….Jared is Polish German and Jensen is mixed British. Lead in One Tree Hill Chad is Polish and Irish. The lead in the tv show Grimm is half Italian. All the leads in the show The 100 have varying ancestries. I don’t understand this zenophobic mentality that America is still “all british” it’s disrespectful and undermines the legacy of everyone else. The anglo purist should really get out of here with that tripe.
Greg Sulkin Jewish
Rhona Mitra
Douglas Booth (in my opinion Britain’s most aesthetic export) half Spanish and Dutch
Not even Kate Bekinsale is 100%.
Almost all the current top models in UK are of mixed ancestries, and one of the few 100% Brits looks completely non-british (David Gandy)
David Gandy looks totally british to me! Do you think Tom Hardy or Christian Bale don’t look British either? Not every one in Britain is Blonde or fair haired, there are a lot of dark type Brits just like in Germany or the rest of Europe come to think of it.
I think your interpretation of the typical British look is very skewed.
http://www.geni.com/path/Brad+Pitt+is+related+to+Spike+Lee?from=6000000002742857305&to=6000000007578022502
Also all you people arguing over Brad’s ancestry really need to be quiet because none of you know what he truly is. Unless you people have a DNA test of Brad you don’t know squat except what his census records say or what he himself said which could also be a fabrication of the truth. Some of you forget that many mixed Americans often only identify with a specific few of their ancestries just take the past census and how many mixed white americans were circling in multiple european answers. Surnames also aren’t always indicative of ancestry especially in the USA of all places.
True…..he looks like a regular old American to me though. The europeans here keep trying to claim American actors as their own for some reason. He doesn’t look German or British or w/e he looks typical American. Even our British descendant actors look different from regular ol English or Scottish people because ours tend to be multiple ancestries. Not only that diets here in the states are different which also has effect on how our people look.
and just lol at some of the people saying he looks scandinavina lmao this is what most scandinavian people look like
norwegians
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz84/Narniaworld/Norske%20folk/b_zps700f148b.jpg
TOTALLY BRAD PITTS! lol
No one trying to claim him. He is of course an American of mixed European ancestry but my beef is with people trying to downplay his British Isles ancestry. The majority of his ancestry is from there and what I find silly is the arguments about what he looks like. What he looks like is subjective and people have very stereotypical opinions. Believe it or not there are many different looks in all populations.
This ^ I don’t understand it, people will say British people are so ugly, yet there’s a ridiculous amount of users on here who continue trying to claim British descended people some even making up ancestries like they did with Chad Michael Murray being part Japanese. What is it to boost their own confidence? is there not another people they can look up to in the media of their ancestry that they have to take British ones? ha.
Anglos are the most attractive, FACT.
Well there’s not much difference between them remember Anglos are originally from Northern Germany and Demark atleast the groups who mixed to form Anglo saxons were from these places. So theoretically Anglos look like Germans/Danes. I don’t get the arguing between the English and Germans. To be fair Americans are just as much German as they are English. Most American celebrities have both German and English ancestries so its fair to say Americans look like both.
Anyone can be the most attractive when you only use models and actors as examples BUT lets see an average Brit stack up to the average people in other European countries. Let’s see how the average Brit compares to these average Italians.
http://italianselfies.tumblr.com/
Spoiler alert, average Brits don’t come even remotely close haha.
I can see german but I can’t see british.
Because they look soooo different right??? *rolls eyes at the stupidity and ignorance*
They do look different and the ones who are attractive have German ancestry. English have a inferiority complex and they try to claim everybody who’s beautiful. English are ugly, FACT.
Lol – they have to ship in the Irish. Fact!
@visokozen sorry but it seems like the total opposite to me. EVERYONE seems to try and claim British actors while trying to undermine their British ancestry. People on the David Gandy page are trying to claim him Italian juat as much as Germans try to claim any actor with fair features as looking German. It doesn’t seem to me that its Brits with the inferiority complex moreso everyone else since people are honestly claiming a guy looks good looking solely because of some miniscule German ancestry he has in comparison to his much bigger British component. Are you trying to say German people can’t be ugly? because i’ve been to Berlin twice now and Germans are far from all beautiful FAR FROM.
Man saying things like “everyone seems to try and claim British actors while trying to undermine their British ancestry” its just stupid and wrong. Can you give me some examples i personally can think of many Scandinavian looking actors that british claim from themself but not the other way. its because of the roman empire. I remember an intrview with Brad Pitt with James Lipton where he said that he’s descendants where Goths and Irish. And Germans in Berlin can look ugly because they don’t care about their appearance as much.
Examples? have you been ignoring the comments in this section? It’s right here people claiming a guy who is more British in ancestry can’t look British LOL. There aren’t that many well known Scandinavian actors to begin with and i’ve never seen anyone try to claim Alexander Skarsgard looks British. British people only claim people with ACTUAL BRITISH ancestry as British. Its like you’re getting mad at people for saying someone looks British who actually has British ancestry and a large chunk of it. I’m not even British but I can see that the inferiority complex is not coming from them. Only on the actors of British descents page do you see people trolling the British about being ugly or saying people of British ancestry don’t look British. I There seems to be way more nordic and germaphiles with nazi fetishes trying to claim every blonde person of european ancestry is German some how LOL
I don’t know why would you make me repeat myself. I told you Brad’s answer to this question i can’t understand why are you ignoring it. And i’m not talking about Skarsgard or anyone else with an obvious Scandinavian name I’m talking about actors with similar lineage and english surnames. I can’t think of any Englishman who looks like Brad Pitt can you? He doesn’t look like David Cameron does he :).
Charlie Hunnam looks exactly like Brad Pitt and is English, there you go that was easy. The British don’t have one look seeing as you named Cameron it’s seems you’re one of those germanic supremacist who try to protray the British as mediterraneans LOL. Your envy and insecurities toward the British couldn’t be anymore clear. The British should be flattered that so many people on the web always call them ugly yet everytime someone good looking of British descent comes along you all want to claim them as looking like you , its the ultimate irony.
He does not look German by the way. Germans are known throughout as having “rougher” features than other Europeans, squarer jaws. Compare the WW2 German photos to the British WW2 photos, the difference is the British had soft, more harmonious features while the Germans (even the girls) looked robust and harsh in the face. Brad definately looks British. The British are the softest featured northerners in comparison to either Scandinavians, Dutch or Germans and even Russians.
im not germanic supremacist and for the second time I’m not jelaous of the british. How retarded is that we say that all the time and you insist the oposit. I wrote that the English are mixing with germanic tribes scandinavians, irish scottish, italians, indians, pakistanis and others so finding a blond english guy that looks like Brad Pitt is as easy as finding his look alike in any other european country. And how did you come to the conclusion that David Cameron looks Mediterranean?And that we’re on some kind of conspiracy to portraye the English as an ugly lot because we’re so f*** jealous.:) Don’t turn this into a fight. All of us want the truth. Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Major, Callaghan and of course Winston Churchill are some great examples of the soft and harmonies facial features of the Englishman.
Yeah the difference between Germans and English people is not so strong. Remember the English are in part German & Danish. Sure Brad Pitts might be more common in Germany than England specifically because Germany is more Germanic while English absorbed some celts but that doesn’t mean they can’t look English. The English people either look German or celtic.
I don’t think they look German – have you any examples of these German-looking English?
@gel
Sting looks German
Sting doesnt look German. Bryan Cranston and Bruce Willis look German.
They are Germans and they moved to america probably because they didn’t wanted to be called english by people.
German ancestry is nowhere near as strong in America as the British component. That is a fact.
oh my god @visokozen You are so right with the David Cameron comparison. Yep … British people look like him, Boris Johnson, Ricky Gervais, Piers Morgan … Oscar Wilde ect. SO typically british, honestly.
The ones considered attractive are Tom Hiddleston and Robert Pattinson. This is how unmixed brits look like.
@visokozen Honestly I really think german peeps are so much more attractive than British. Even when you see on tv, sports, media – it really is the truth. German, Austrian, Dutch, Swiss men … real attractive.
The English are only 20% Anglo-Saxon!
Sting? – Funny, he’s of Irish descent!
If by “of irish descent” you mean he’s only 1/8th irish then sure.
The English are still a majority Germanic people hence they overlap mostly with Germany & Scandinavian countries.
I agree! Now, if you want British, how about the Ray Winstone (English actually)?:
http://i4.thejournal.co.uk/incoming/article4353855.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/ray-winstone-53644853.jpg