Daniel Radcliffe
Radcliffe in 2005, BMCL / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Daniel Jacob Radcliffe
Place of Birth: Fulham, Hammersmith, London, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 23 July, 1989
Ethnicity:
*father – Northern Irish, Irish
*mother – Ashkenazi Jewish
Daniel Radcliffe is a British actor. He is known for playing Harry Potter in the feature films based on the book series. Among his other roles are The Tailor of Panama, December Boys, The Woman in Black, Kill Your Darlings, Horns, The F Word, Victor Frankenstein, Swiss Army Man, Now You See Me 2, Imperium, Jungle, Beast of Burden, Guns Akimbo, Escape from Pretoria, The Lost City, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and television’s David Copperfield (1999), My Boy Jack, A Young Doctor’s Notebook, The Gamechangers, and Miracle Workers. He has also used the pen name Jacob Gershon, his maternal grandmother’s original family name.
Daniel is the son of Alan Radcliffe (Alan George Radcliffe), a literary agent, and Marcia Gresham (previously Marcia Gresham Jacobson), a casting agent. He has a son with his partner, American actress Erin Darke.
Daniel’s father is from Northern Ireland, and was raised Protestant. He has Northern Irish and Irish ancestry; given the English surname Radcliffe, Daniel’s father likely also has English roots. Daniel has family in County Down.
Daniel’s mother was born in South Africa, to Ashkenazi Jewish parents (their families were originally from Lithuania, Poland, and Russia). Daniel’s maternal grandfather was from South Africa and Daniel’s maternal grandmother was born in England.
Daniel is an atheist, and has repeatedly stated that he self-identifies as Jewish. For example, when asked by The Daily Beast if he considers himself Jewish, he stated:
Absolutely. I really do. My dad is Northern Irish and my mum is Jewish. That’s working blood. Though I am not religious in the least, I am very proud to be Jewish.
Daniel’s paternal grandfather was Edward “Teddy” Radcliffe (the son of George Edward Radcliffe and Dora Gertrude Watt). George was born in Banbridge, Co. Down, the son of Edward Radcliffe and Margaret Anne Bell.
Daniel’s paternal grandmother was named Elsie May Crowther (who likely was the daughter of Florence McDowell). Florence was the daughter of Tommy McDowell and Elizabeth.
Daniel’s maternal grandfather was Wilfred Jacobson (the son of Saul Harry Jacobson and Harriette Harris). Wilfred was from Johannesburg, South Africa. Saul was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant. Harriette was born in London, to a Jewish family.
Daniel’s maternal grandmother is Muriel Jean Patricia Gresham (born Gershon; the daughter of Samuel “Sam” Gershon and Rachel/Raie Diana Jacobs). Muriel was born in Rochford, Essex, England. Samuel was born in Hackney, London, England, and was the son of Louis Gershon, who was born in Wreschen, now WrzeĊnia, Posen, Germany, now Poland; and of Jessie Greenwall/Lipman, who was born in Kalisz/Kalisch, Wielkopolskie, Poland. The couple had lived in South Africa. Daniel’s great-grandmother Rachel was also born in London, to Maurice Jacobs (the son of Yehuda Leib/Louis Krengel and Bessie Sara Marks) and Julia Jacobs or Millie Cohen (the daughter of Maurice Cohen).
Sources: Information about Daniel’s appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, 2019 – https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk
https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com
https://www.theguardian.com
Genealogies of Daniel Radcliffe – http://bygonesandbyways.blogspot.ca
http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
Death record of Daniel’s maternal great-grandmother, Harriette (Harris) Jacobson – https://www.familysearch.org
Does anyone know why his mother was married as Gresham (her mother’s maiden name) and not Jacobson? Gresham is also given as Daniel’s mother’s maiden name.
Radcliffe’s grandmother was born under the surname “Gershon”, which was then changed to “Gresham”.
As I understand it, Radcliffe’s mother was raised by her own mother, and barely knew her own father, whose surname was “Jacobson”. Her name was Marcia Gresham Jacobson, and she presumably shortened the name to simply “Gresham” when she started working in showbusiness.
Opinion question if you don’t mind which is a more accurate test ancestry DNA or 23andme?
Probably 23andme.
I believe that is how they tested the celebrities on “Finding Your Roots.” I was wondering if president Obama had a hidden African ancestor on his mother’s side of the family in the 1600’s isn’t it possible for any U.S. president to have one if you go back 1 thousand + years??? I found this link interesting. http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2014/03/how_many_white_people_have_hidden_black_ancestry.html
I’ve use both 23andme is better but ancestry is good to neither of them are that detailed
“Radcliffe” is a classic English surname. As such, it is extremely likely that his Northern Irish ancestry in fact consists of English settlers in Ulster and their descendants. The fact that his Northern Irish side is Protestant makes this even more likely.
The name “Radcliffe” is both Anglo-Saxon and locational, meaning that it could not have arisen anywhere but England. To illustrate the point, it would be like attributing English ancestry to an American called Kelly or O’Sullivan based on one of his ancestors’ having been born in England. It would be appropriate to acknowledge that Radcliffe is of English ancestry.
YEAHHHHH HARRY POTTER IS JEWISH!!! sheppinnnnnnn
Is he circumcised?
Should he?
He has stated that he is circumcized.