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
*mother – Scottish, Danish, German, 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, Harija/Harry Fogelmanis/Mazar, was born in Riga, Latvia, to a Jewish family. He was raised Catholic. He came to the U.S. after World War II.

Debi’s mother, Nancy Kapies, 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 grandmother was named Austra.

Debi’s maternal grandfather was named Harry Kappes (the son of Henry A. Kappes and Myra Hayes). Debi’s grandfather Harry was born in New York. Myra’s father was Scottish and her mother was Danish.

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

It is possible that Debi is related to actor and model Corey Fogelmanis. Debi’s father also at one point had the surname Fogelmanis, and had come to the U.S. from Latvia after World War II, like Corey’s grandfather.

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