Debi Mazar

Mazar in 2010, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Deborah A. Mazar

Place of Birth: Queens, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 13, 1964

Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish, Latvian
*mother – German, Scottish, Danish, Swiss-German, other

Debi Mazar is an American actress and television personality. She started out as a B-girl in the New York hip hop scene in the early 1980s. She is known for her roles in the films Goodfellas, Little Man Tate, Singles, and Beethoven’s 2nd, and on the shows Civil Wars, L.A. Law, Entourage, and Younger. She appeared on Dancing with the Stars, and starred with her husband, Italian celebrity chef Gabriele Corcos, on cooking show Extra Virgin.

Debi’s father, Harajs/Harija/Harry Fogelmanis/Mazar, was born in Riga, Latvia, to a Jewish father and a Latvian Catholic mother. He was raised Catholic. He came to the U.S. after World War II. Debi’s mother, Nancy, was born Catholic, later converted to Judaism, then became a Buddhist, and then a Jehovah’s Witness, for a time. At one point, it was stated on the internet that Debi’s mother is of Italian descent. This is not accurate.

Debi and her husband Gabriele Corcos have two children. Gabriele is of mostly Jewish background.

Debi’s paternal grandfather was named Elmars Fogelmanis.

Debi’s paternal grandmother was Austra Neimanis (the daughter of Janis Neimanis and Tereze Lutkevies). Austra was born in Ceraukste, Bauska Municipality, Latvia.

Debi’s maternal grandfather was Henry A. “Harry” Kappes (the son of Henry A. Kappes and Myra Meade Hayes). Debi’s grandfather Harry was born in New York. Debi’s great-grandfather Henry was born in Washington, D.C., the son of John Joseph Kappes and Anna Luckeman, who were the children of German immigrants, with John’s family being from Darmstadt, Hesse. Myra was the daughter of a Scottish father, John Frederick Hayes, and of a Danish mother, Minnie Johnson.

Debi’s maternal grandmother was Evelyn Iris Smith (the daughter of William Francis Drysdale Smith and Gertrude Zimmerman/Kreis). Evelyn was born in New York or New Jersey. Gertrude was the daughter of a German father, Wilhelm/William Zimmerman, and of a Swiss mother, Martha Kreis.

Sources: https://www.smh.com.au

AEF DP registration record of Debi’s father – https://collections.arolsen-archives.org

AEF DP registration record of Debi’s paternal grandmother, Austra (Neimanis) Fogelmanis – https://collections.arolsen-archives.org

Debi’s maternal grandfather, Henry A. “Harry” Kappes, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Henry A. “Harry” Kappes on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org