Ellise
LOS ANGELES – DEC 16: Ellise at the “Amelie, A New Musical” Opening at Ahmanson Theatre on December 16, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Ellise Mariana Gitas
Place of Birth: Foster City, California, U.S.
Date of Birth: September 10, 1998
Ethnicity:
*62.5% Middle Eastern [Assyrian, possibly Syrian, Iraqi, Jordanian]
*25% Italian
*12.5% Greek
Ellise, also known as Ellise Gitas, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress.
Ellise is the daughter of Luna Gitas. Her brother is also a producer and musician. Her mother’s family is from Amman, Jordan; she has stated that her mother is of Assyrian and Iraqi origin. Childhood photos of Ellise and her brother can be seen here. A photo of Ellise’s mother and grandmother can be seen here. A video of Ellise with her parents and brother can be seen here.
Ellise’s paternal grandfather was George J. Gitas (the son of James George Gitas and Elena Padovani). James was born in Athens, Greece. Elena was born in Italy, the daughter of Oreste Padovani and Marie/Maria Lazzaro.
Ellise’s paternal grandmother was Ellise Mariana Tolari (the daughter of Geno Leo Tolari and Pauline Eloise Nassar). Geno was the son of Italian parents, Mario Tolari and Mary/Marie. Pauline was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Elias J. Nassar and Mariana/Mary Salem, who were from Syria, and were likely of Assyrian background.
Ellise’s maternal grandfather was likely named George S. Zughbaba.
Ellise’s maternal grandmother was likely named Vera.
Sources: https://youtu.be
Ellise’s paternal great-grandmother, Pauline Eloise Nassar, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Ellise’s paternal great-grandmother, Pauline Eloise (Nassar) Tolari – https://www.findagrave.com
Some of the articles states that her mom is Iranian, im curious if this is a mistake:
https://www.hartmedia.co.uk/album/ellise/
https://mundanemag.com/alternative-pop-rising-star-ellise-shows-the-dark-sides-of-the-human-experience-with-her-debut-record-chaotic/
Even she by herself states that on her Facebook bio but it might be a mistake from her management:
https://www.facebook.com/officialellise/about_details
Here is a video of her at 14 being interviewed along with her mother, father and brother:
https://youtu.be/XqJxYQzRTvE
https://sv.findagrave.com/memorial/93386829/pauline_eloise_tolari
Ellise’s paternal grandfather was George J. Gitas (the son of James George Gitas and Elena Padovani). James was born in Athens, Greece. Elena was born in Italy, the daughter of Oreste Padovani and Marie/Maria Lazzaro.
Ellise’s paternal grandmother was Ellise Mariana Tolari (the daughter of Geno Leo Tolari and Pauline Eloise Nassar). Geno was the son of Italian parents, Mario Tolari and Mary/Marie. Pauline was the daughter of Syrian parents, Elias J. Nassar and Mariana/Mary Salem.
Ellise’s maternal grandfather was likely George S. Zughbaba.
Ellise’s maternal grandmother was likely named Vera.
Her mother’s family appears to be from Amman, Jordan. At least she has many relatives there. I also think her mother is just Assyrian.
62.5% Assyrian
25% Italian
12.5% Greek
Assuming that she is 62.5% Assyrian seems like a big leap. Are we even sure her paternal great-grandmother was?
I’m not entirely sure I know how to tell Assyrians and Christian Arabs apart on U.S. records and in general if it’s even possible. We would probably need someone from the Middle East to make sense of the labels of all these groups. From what I can find, most Christian Jordanians are Arabs, but there is a small number of Assyrians too. Christian Jordanian Arabs are mostly Eastern Orthodox, while Jordanian Assyrians adhere to Syriac Christianity.
I think you’re placing too much emphasis on her mother also being Iraqi. Having ancestors from Iraq doesn’t say much about their background; there are Sunni Iraqi Arabs, Shia Iraqi Arabs, Iraqi Kurds, etc. If her mother’s Iraqi ancestors are Christian, it’s almost certain they identified as Assyrian since most Christian Iraqis are Assyrian.
In this video, she refers to her mother as simply Assyrian:
https://youtu.be/lSzVYfYItxg?si=bjAMMp9lmT9rwGvY&t=1868
Elias and Mary both say they were born in “Asir” which makes me believe they were Assyrian (I don’t think it’s referring to Asir in Saudi Arabia).
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH33-9XB
Very well research, thank you so much!
Elisse Gitas should be renamed to Ellise Gitas