Gina Rodriguez
Rodriguez in 2011, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Gina Alexis Rodriguez
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Date of Birth: July 30, 1984
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican [African, Spanish, Taíno], other
Gina Rodriguez is an American actress, model, and writer. Her roles include the series The Bold and the Beautiful, Jane the Virgin, Carmen Sandiego, as the voice of the title character; Diary of a Future President, Lost Ollie, and Not Dead Yet; the films Filly Brown, Enter the Dangerous Mind, Sleeping with the Fishes, Sticky Notes, Deepwater Horizon, Annihilation, Miss Bala, Someone Great, Kajillionaire, Awake (2021), I Want You Back, and, in voice performance, The Star (2017), Ferdinand, Smallfoot, and Scoob!; and the made-for-tv movie My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 2. She has also directed episodes of Jane the Virgin and Diary of a Future President.
Her parents, Magali and Genaro Rodriguez, are Puerto Rican. A picture of Gina with her parents can be seen here. Gina is married to actor, model, and MMA fighter Joe LoCicero, with whom she has a son.
Gina was raised Catholic. She is a practicing Christian.
One of Gina’s great-grandmothers was named Rosa.
Gina has said that her father is of African-Latino descent.
She has stated (at 46:10) that her maternal grandmother’s father was Jewish, a French Jew.
She also added:
I have Dutch in me and Taíno. Possibly some Italian too. I’m all the things!
On diversity in casting, Gina has said:
Television and film are supposed to be a reflection of reality, right? We just want to see a slice of life. We want to be able to connect. We want to cry. We want to look at our lives on screen. It’s clear to me that execs need to step outside of their office and really look at life. We are in interracial relationships. We speak multiple languages. We’re multiple religions inside of that. I have Jewish ancestors. My sister converted to Judaism. I have Christians and Catholics and Buddhists in my family. I have multiracial, multiethnic relationships. We need to start casting color-blind because there is no specific anymore.
Sources: https://twitter.com
https://mobile.twitter.com
http://dishmag.com
I really hate dismissive she is with black social issues.
She is triracial and doesn’t know what its like to be full black, she speaks out of ignorance.
She states here (at 46:10) that her maternal grandmother’s father was Jewish, a French Jew. That seems to reconcile her various quotes together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBGJHM6FzNI
She also says to be Dutch, Taino, and possibly Italian btw. source: twitter
“CORRECTION’
More quotes about her Jewish roots:
“I grew up Catholic. I have Jewish in my family and I attend a Christian church in Hollywood. I am basically all over the place.”
http://www.pep.ph/guide/tv/15051/pep-exclusive-jane-the-virgin-star-gina-rodriguez-says-about-the-philippines-ldquothis-is-the-best-place-to-celebrate-thanksgiving
“I have Jewish family, yes. And love my mixed cultural diverse and loving family!!!”
https://twitter.com/hereisgina/status/723598959940382720
“I have Jewish ancestors. My sister converted to Judaism. I have Christians and Catholics and Buddhists in my family. I have multiracial, multiethnic relationships. We need to start casting color-blind because there is no specific anymore.”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jane-virgins-gina-rodriguez-wants-726918
She really believes this. I think her mother likely has two European Jewish parents, but was born in Puerto Rico.
Two European Jewish parents?
If her mother and maternal grandmother are Jewish, her sister wouldn’t need to convert to Judaism. No rabbi would preside over her conversion.
Or it could be her maternal grandfather was the “French Jew” and the paternal grandmother was the Jewish one who is “as fierce as the Puerto Rican grandmother.” I am only basing this on her paternal grandfather is “Rodriguez (not French) and if she is telling the truth (like @Follers said) her maternal grandmother wasn’t Jewish. Anyway @Follers can you please add Noah Centineo from The Fosters. I would but no clue if he is Italian, Latino, etc.
BTW if she had said her grandfather was Jewish I would be a little more hesitant to believe it then if she said specifically which country. She has been consistent on having French ancestors. https://twitter.com/hereisgina/status/781963504987217920?lang=en
I think this is Noah’s grandfather
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7XZ-9ZJ
and that his wife was Louise Falcone.
His mother’s last name sounds kinda Portuguese or Spanish, but it could be neither.
Thanks, any information on Gina Rodriguez’s grandparents would also be incredibly appreciated.
sincerely, bearboy
Why do you think that one comment about her sister’s conversion weights more than all her other comments about her Jewish ancestry? There are countless possibilities.
I think her mother’s parents are both Jewish because she has mentioned having both a Jewish grandfather and a Jewish grandmother. But maybe one of them is a convert, I don’t know.
“she has mentioned having both a Jewish grandfather and a Jewish grandmother.”
That’s exactly why I dismiss both. :-)
But bearboy said she has Jewish ancestry, so we have to go with that. He knew Abigail Breslin was part Jewish all along.
Robert E. Lee wasn’t Jewish, so how could Rodriguez’ grandmother be descended from him and be fully ethnically Jewish at the same time?
I find Gina’s statements to be more believable than other celebrities’. These aren’t just individual throwaway comments, they are consistant. And it is also not a distant ancestry she refers to. Assuming she knows her ancestry well (and doesn’t believe that she has ancestry that she doesn’t have, which is unlikely since she only mentiones recent ancestors), she either tells the truth, is a pathological liar, or is trying to fool us all.
I did mention the possibility that Breslin had a paternal grandmother of a different ancestry group.
I would have probably believed Rodriguez’ statement about a Jewish maternal grandfather, but that changed once she also said Jewish grandmother.
I have to agree with madman on this particular debate. sorry follers I hope we can remain friends.
Part Jewish or not, she had a Catholic upbringing.
@admin
About Hispanics and Brazilians, to not appear ridiculous I recommend you to just write “Puerto Rican”, “Cuban” etc… I know they’re just nationalities, but you can’t know exactly their entire ethnic background from their physical appearence. It seems that you alwais fall in love with the “African” part and not with the obvious Native American/Indigenous one.
her parents: https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/BuiElMXPj8Sp7hr-2z59M9fYl7A/fit-in/2048xorig/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2016/08/19/647/n/37139775/7af1f159_edit_img__42250757_1471616606_f34e4b19_ginathumb/i/Gina-Rodriguez-Throwback-Picture-Her-Parents.jpg)
https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/BuiElMXPj8Sp7hr-2z59M9fYl7A/fit-in/2048xorig/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2016/08/19/647/n/37139775/7af1f159_edit_img__42250757_1471616606_f34e4b19_ginathumb/i/Gina-Rodriguez-Throwback-Picture-Her-Parents.jpg
I agree with Andrew. Pretty much every Latino has a mixture of Spanish/Portuguese/European, Native American, and varying degrees of Sub-Saharan African DNA. In fact I think Gina Rodriguez could be more Native American/Indigenous than African. But unless were are able to trace the ancestry or have a DNA test present leave it to the basic nationalities.
thanks for your feedback. It’s also interesting that her “Afro-Latino” father has blue eyes. In this side picture he reminds me of Arnold Schwarznegger: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-8agP5FHcYU/maxresdefault.jpg
@Andrew
Quote(It’s also interesting that her “Afro-Latino” father has blue eyes)
So Michael Ealy has blue eyes, and he’s Afro-American
She without a doubt has French-Jewish ancestry. source: @Bearboy