Damian Lewis

Lewis in 2013, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Damian Watcyn Lewis

Place of Birth: Paddington, London, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 11 February, 1971

Ethnicity: Welsh, as well as English, Scottish, and 1/16th Jewish [Sephardi and Ashkenazi]

Damian Lewis is a British actor and producer. His roles include Soames Forsyte on the ITV remake of The Forsyte Saga, Detective Charlie Crews in the NBC drama Life, Major Richard Winters in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers, and Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland.

Damian was born in St John’s Wood, to Charlotte Mary and John Watcyn Lewis, a city broker. Damian’s paternal grandparents were Welsh. Damian’s mother, who has many prominent antecedents, is of mostly English ancestry, and has some Scottish roots; also, one of her great-great-grandparents was Sephardi Jewish, and another of her great-great-grandparents was Ashkenazi Jewish. Damian attended Eton College.

Damian was married to actress Helen McCrory, until her death, with whom he has two children.

Damian’s paternal grandfather was named John Lewis.

Damian’s maternal grandfather was Sir Ian Frank Bowater, a Lord Mayor of London (the son of Sir Frank Henry Bowater, 1st Baronet, and of Ethel Anita Fryar). Ian was born in Lewisham, London, England. Damian’s great-grandfather Frank was the son of William Vansittart Bowater and Eliza Jane Davey. Ethel was born in India, the daughter of Mark Lindsay Fryar and Annie Isabella Eleanor Stewart.

Damian’s maternal grandmother was Ursula Margaret Dawson (the daughter of Bertrand Edward Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn, and of Minnie Ethel Yarrow). Ursula was born in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Bertrand was the son of Henry Dawson and Frances Emily Wheeler.

Damian’s great-grandmother Minnie Yarrow was the daughter of Sir Alfred Fernandez Yarrow, 1st Baronet, and of Minnie Florence Franklin. Alfred was the son of Edgar Williams Yarrow, who was of English background, and of Esther Lindo, who was a Sephardi Jew. Damian’s great-great-grandmother Minnie Franklin was the daughter of Frank Franklin, who was of Ashkenazi Jewish (from Germany, Moravia, and Poland) background, and of Theodosia Balderson, who was of English background. It appears that both Alfred Yarrow and Minnie Franklin were raised as Christians. Much of Damian’s mother’s other ancestry is English, with some Scottish roots.

Sources: Genealogies of Damian Lewis (focusing on his mother’s side) – http://www.thepeerage.com
https://www.geni.com