D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
Birth Name: D’Pharaoh Miskwaatez Loescher McKay (Mahkaai) Woon-A-Tai
Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of Birth: September 19, 2001
Ethnicity:
*father – Oji-Cree First Nations, as well as English, Irish, German, and Dutch
*mother – Guyanese [Chinese, African, possibly other]
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai is a Canadian actor. He stars on the show Reservation Dogs. He has also been credited as D’Pharaoh Mckay Woon-a-Tai.
His fraternal twin brother is actor Xxavier Woon-A-Tai. He was raised in the Esplanade neighbourhood in Toronto, and spent time in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (or Big Trout Lake). He attended Council Fire in Regent Park to learn Indigenous drumming.
On his father’s side, he is of Oji-Cree descent. His middle name Miskwaatez means “red belly turtle” in Ojibwe. His mother’s family is from Guyana, and has Chinese, African, and possibly other, ancestry.
D’Pharaoh’s paternal grandfather was named Alex McKay (the son of George McKay and Ellen). Alex was from a First Nations community.
D’Pharaoh’s paternal grandmother is Virginia Ruth Loescher (the daughter of William Henry Loescher and Barbara Ella Van Swearingen). Virginia was born in New York. William was the son of William A. Loescher and Ruth McClintock. Barbara was the daughter of Earl Cornelius Van Swearingen and Phyllis Marguerite Andrews.
D’Pharaoh’s maternal grandfather is Frank Woon-A-Tai (the son of Wilfred Woon-A-Tai and Kate Doreen Lew-A-Loy). Frank was born in Guyana, of seven eighths Chinese and one eighth African descent. He is a ninth degree black belt in Shotokan Karate. He is the chief instructor of the International Karate Daigaku, the President of the Caribbean Karate College, Chief instructor and Chairman of the Guyana Karate College, and Chairman of IKD Canada and IKD Guyana. D’Pharaoh’s great-grandfather Wilfred was born in Guyana, to Cantonese parents, Benjamin Woon-A-Tai and Edith Ng-Sam-Moi. Kate was born in Guyana, to a Cantonese father, Benjamin Lew-A-Loy, and a Guyanese mother, of Hongkonger and African descent, Rosaline Wong.
D’Pharaoh’s maternal grandmother is Maureen DaCosta (the daughter of Francisco Xavier DaCosta and Hyacinth Ruby Lee). Maureen was born in Guyana. Maureen is a karate-ka. Hyacinth was the daughter of Barnabas Lee and Josephine Chin Fat.
D’Pharaoh is a second cousin, once removed, of singer, songwriter, and record producer Ryan Leslie. D’Pharaoh’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Benjamin Lew-A-Loy and Rosaline Wong, were also Ryan’s maternal great-grandparents.
Sources: https://www.vogue.com
https://nowtoronto.com
https://guyanachronicle.com
Obituary of D’Pharaoh’s paternal grandfather, Alex McKay – https://mountpleasantgroup.permavita.com
It seems his paternal great-grandparents were George and Ellen McKay, as mentioned in the obituary of a cousin, Robert McKay.
D’Pharaoh’s paternal grandfather was named Alex McKay.
D’Pharaoh’s paternal grandmother is Virginia Ruth Loescher (the daughter of William Henry Loescher and Barbara Ella Van Swearingen). Virginia was born in New York. William was the son of William A. Loescher and Ruth McClintock. Barbara was the daughter of Earl Cornelius Van Swearingen and Phyllis Marguerite Andrews.
*D’Pharaoh’s maternal grandfather is Frank Woon-A-Tai (the son of Wilfred Woon-A-Tai and Kate Doreen Lew-A-Loy). Frank was born in Guyana. Wilfred was born in Guyana, to Cantonese parents, Benjamin Woon-A-Tai and Edith Ng-Sam-Moi. Kate was born in Guyana, to a Cantonese father, Benjamin Lew-A-Loy, and a Guyanese mother of Hongkonger and African descent, Rosaline Wong.
D’Pharaoh’s maternal grandmother is Maureen DaCosta (the daughter of Francisco Xavier DaCosta and Hyacinth Ruby Lee). Maureen was born in Guyana. Maureen is a karate-ka. Hyacinth was the daughter of Barnabas Lee and Josephine Chin Fat.
https://mountpleasantgroup.permavita.com/site/AlexMacKay.html?s=1
Ryan Leslie is his second cousin once removed.
https://ethnicelebs.com/ryan-leslie
Oji-Cree *is* an Anishinaabe First Nation so I think including Anishinaabe in the body is unnecessary, but both should be tagged… He’s sometimes credited as D’Pharaoh McKay (Woon-A-Tai), Mckay is a fairly common last name in Oji-Cree communities.
This article describes Frank’s ancestry as “86 percent Chinese from Canton, China and 14 percent black from Guyana.” https://guyanachronicle.com/2020/12/27/56-years-of-karate-guyanese-karate-ambassador-now-training-successors/
he states his full name here, McKay is part of it https://nowtoronto.com/movies/news-and-features/dpharaoh-woon-a-tai-is-crushing-it-on-reservation-dogs