Denzel Washington
Washington in 2010, photo by Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr.
Place of Birth: Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 28, 1954
Ethnicity: African-American
Denzel Washington is an American actor, filmmaker, director, and producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Glory (1989), and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Training Day (2001). He has also starred in Malcolm X, Courage Under Fire, Fences, American Gangster, Flight, The Equalizer, and The Tragedy of Macbeth, among many other films, and directed dramas Antwone Fisher, The Great Debaters, and Fences.
Denzel is African-American. He is the son of Lennis (Lowe) and Denzel H. Washington, a Pentecostal preacher. His father was born in Virginia and his mother was born in Georgia. Denzel is married to actress and singer Pauletta Pearson Washington (born Pauletta Rachelle Pearson), with whom he has four children, including actor and professional football player John David Washington and twins, director, writer, and producer Malcolm Washington and actress Olivia Washington.
Denzel was selected People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1996. He is the first man of significant African ancestry, and the first non-white man, to have been given this title by the magazine (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, in 2016, is the second, and Idris Elba, in 2018, John Legend, in 2019, and Michael B. Jordan, in 2020, are the others, fitting both criteria).
Denzel’s paternal grandfather was William Washington (the son of William Washington, Sr. and Margaret Johnson). Denzel’s grandfather William was born in Virginia. Denzel’s great-grandparents William and Margaret were born into slavery.
Denzel’s paternal grandmother was Virginia Page (the daughter of Herod “Harry” Page and Lucia “Louise”/”Louesa”/Louisa Rain/Rayn/Rayne). Denzel’s grandmother Virginia was born in Virginia.
Denzel’s maternal grandfather was named Tillman/Tilman Lowe/Low. Tillman was born in Georgia.
Denzel’s maternal grandmother was named Eliza Jackson (the daughter of William Jackson and Rachel). Eliza was born in Georgia. William and Rachel were born into slavery.
Sources: Article about Denzel’s family history – http://archive.is
Genealogy of Denzel Washington (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Denzel’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Denzel’s paternal great-grandparents, William Washington, Sr. and Margaret Johnson, on the 1870 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Denzel’s paternal grandmother, Virginia Page, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Denzel’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Denzel claims he is a descendant of George Washington. He says his family knows this through genealogical research:
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a62888212/denzel-washington-gladiator-2-interview-2024/
George Washington didn’t have any biological children.
Ummm, slaves were slaves in every way….get it?
correction the word caucasian should be changed to white or european
Exactly
Herod “Harry” Page was the son of Nathaniel Page and Sarah Williams
https://www.geni.com/people/Nathaniel-Page/6000000041279502278
Virginia Page on Census:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCPL-Z76
Sarah Williams was Nathaniel’s wife, so she supposedly was Herod’s mother: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Page-7662
Nathaniel’s father, Noah Page (b. 1797), was possibly a white man:
http://caswellcountync.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I27117&tree=tree1#cite1
family history: http://archive.is/iPksq
Denzel’s paternal great-grandfather, William Washington, on the 1870 U.S. Census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFLK-56K
there are links to many other records
I bet Denzel is at least 70 percent African. He certainly has a certain European look about himself tho. Hard to explain but some of his features are European with dark brown skin. I can certainly understand how he’s been able to play mainstream, lead actor roles in so called, “white films”
Only thing I really see European influenced about him is his hair texture.
His pigmentation is lighter than the average West African, but still in the spectrum.
I say 80 to 86% African, with a significant amount of European Ancestry, like 12.5 to 16%.
Nope I do not see it Denzel is no 70% that would be Beyonce types, Denzel is about 88-90% West African. He looks fully balck to me.
I agree, it looks like he has some Scottish ancestry.
I would like to say that I agree with you as far
as Denzel’s Scottish ancestry.
The reason why is this:
I’m on Ancestry and began researching
my family linage for a couple of years.
On both my maternal and parental side is European blood.
I expected to find European blood on my maternal side as my grandmother was German, Irish and English(Wales) and my mother was Biracial, however I was very shocked when I found European linage on my parental side as my father was very dark with of no visible signs of a muti- racial heritage, although his mother, my parental grandmother, was of mixed race
and on my father’s side there is a linage from the Netherlands and also from Wales. But I never knew that before Ancestry.
My father left my family when I was very young. He passed over
in 1974. Recently I was uploading an old picture of my father on ancestry and I noticed that he had a Widows Peak.
A picture of his older brother shows his brother had
a Widows Peak as well.
His older brother was light skin.
I did a bit of research about ethnicity and Widow’s Peak
and lo and behold I read that a high percentage of people
from Scotland have Widow’s Peaks.
Today while looking at the movie Flight starring Denzel,
I noticed that Denzel also has a Widow’s Peak.
Actually my father looked very similar to Denzel especially
his (his and Denzel’s ) skin coloring.
He looks full sub-saa black, what are you smoking? He can have some distant/remote british ancestry from the colonial times, however it’s obviusly not relevant since it does not impact his apperience at all. He is, at least, 80-85% sub-saa black.
*a lot of black americans do have distant euro ancestry, especially british colonial ancestry, but the vast majority of them are almost pure sub-saa black, because of the segregation and other factors, some of them may have one or two white great-great grandparents from the slavery and colonial times because of rape, etc… but that’s it.
Jonas,
In reply to what you wrote, I beg to differ.
My European ancestry doesn’t “go way way” back
to Colonial America. My maternal grandmother Sarah who had German, Irish and British ancestry was born in 1885 and passed in 1965 so no, my family and the vast majority of Black people in America has European blood
whether you can ” see it ” or not.
And yes bloodline is VERY important.
My maternal grandfather( Sarah’s spouse,)
was a Brass Ankle however his family were legally identified as M/Mulatto on the US census until the One Drop Rule was enacted and then all his family
“magically” became Black.
On my mother’s 1934 birth certificate Sarah (my grandmother) was listed as Black because of miscegenation. During my genealogy research I was
very surprised of how many people in my tree
who were born White ( according to the U.S Census
when the person was young ) and at some point
in their life magically ‘turned Black especially if there was a ‘Black’ relative ( spouse or family member) in the household.
What you may or may not be aware of is that One Drop
was created as well as : Chattel Slavery, Black Codes,
Share Croppers, Jim Crow, One Drop, and the 1970’s War on Drugs, for
one reason and one reason only and that reason always
has been an ECONOMICAL ONE.
Economics. so as to maintain a cheap labor source.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I’m sure you would agree, that all empires need cheap labor to exist. Can’t build an empire without it.
And yes even the European Indentured Servants were also a source for cheap labor.
Research the Peonage system.
Research Elizabeth Key and Partus Sequitur Ventrem.
Elizabeth was the Biracial offspring of a Planter White
father and a slave mother. Born in the 1600’s under Chattel Slavery, Elizabeth was born under British Colonial Rule which stated that the offspring of British Subjects living in America were the ‘race’
of their father and therefore legally granted all rights especially regarding inheritance.
Remember everything in this World is about Economics.:
S e x , Power and Money. .
Elizabeth assisted by a White Indentured Servant
and British Subject studying law
( who later became her husband)
sued the government and won her case.
The actor Johnny Depp is a decedent of Elizabeth Key.
After Elizabeth won her case and because
of widespread miscegenation ( whether it was by consent or not ) it became more and more difficult to ‘visually see’, who was White and who was not,
and therefore ‘diluted the cheap labor source.
Partus sequitur ventrem meaning ( ’that which is born follows the womb) was enacted and any and all offspring
of a slave, became the race of its mother whether the offspring “looked” like the mother or not.
Which (and human nature would suggest) made miscegenation that more appealing, especially for the White male because after Patrus, in essence, the Planter could ‘make’ his own slaves. and have ‘ fun’ doing so.!!
AND the icing on the economic ‘cake ?The White male
had power to increase his cheap labor pool.
Win Win, no?
Case in Point: Research Lewis Robards and his Fancy Girls.
I have personal connections to Robards and his Fancy Girls through my Father ( see my previous comment above about my Wales ancestry and the Widows Peak.
So, and IMO, Race is not as simplistic as your comment suggests, and while you wrote….’ but that’s it’,
I will suggest instead the phrase : IT IS, what IT IS,
and not everything that we were/are told or sold….
, or believe…. may or may NOT be true.
Miscegenation is as old as humanity itself and it’s not
ever going to ‘go away’.
S e x , Power and Money.
Nothing you said contradicts my comments since i pointed out black americans do have some degree of euro ancestry (15-20% on average). Your anecdote about your family does not apply to every black american, it’s an exeption, not the rule, and it does not chance that Denzel is obviusly heavily sub-saa african, just like the vast majority of black americans. The fact is that the US is in general a very historically segregated country, and only recently interracial relationships started to became somewhat common. Multiracial americans are not even 15% of the population, white americans are at least 95% european, and black americans, at least 78% sub-saa african. Saying that Denzel or the average black american is “part white”, is the same as saying Rebecca Hall is mixed-race and Jeremy Renner is “part black”. Having some amount of euro ancestry down the bloodline makes no pratical difference if all your physical traits and the vast majority of your genetically composition is still sub-saa african, aesthetically and sociologically you are just as black as african born.