Gus Van Sant

Van Sant in 2012, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Gus Green Van Sant, Jr.

Place of Birth: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States

Date of Birth: July 24, 1952

Ethnicity: English, Dutch, Irish, Northern Irish, Scottish, German

Gus Van Sant is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, musician, painter, photographer, and author. He has directed the films Mala Noche, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, To Die For (1995), Good Will Hunting, Psycho (1998), Finding Forrester, Gerry, Elephant (2003), Last Days (2005), Paranoid Park, Milk, Restless (2011), Promised Land (2012), The Sea of Trees, and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. He also wrote his Mala Noche, My Own Private Idaho, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Elephant, Last Days, Paranoid Park, and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, and co-wrote Drugstore Cowboy and Gerry. He has authored a novel, Pink, and released two musical albums. He is considered a prominent figure in 1990s indie filmmaking, and an auteur of the New Queer Cinema movement.

Gus is the son of Betty and Gus Green Van Sant, who was a clothing manufacturer and traveling salesperson. His recent family ancestry is concentrated in the American South. As a teen, he spent time in Darien, Connecticut, and Portland, Oregon.

Gus’s paternal grandfather Louis/Lewis Loving Van Sant/Vansant (the son of Benjamin Franklin Van Sant/Vansant and Frances Lee Hudgins). Louis was born in Kentucky. Benjamin was the son of Wilbourne/William Henderson Vansant and Lavisy/Lavisa Susan Hunter. Frances was the daughter of Thomas William Hudgins and Leander/Levanda Wesley Loving.

Gus’s paternal grandmother was Dorothy Greene (the daughter of Gustavus Porter Greene and Josie Cosby). Dorothy was born in Kentucky. Gustavus was the son of Jesse N. Greene and Mary Jane Lowry. Josie was the daughter of James M. Cosby and Isabell “Bell” Thompson.

Gus’s maternal grandfather was named Watt C. Seay (the son of B.C. Seay and Annie). Watt was born in Kentucky. B.C. was the son of Edward Irven Seay and Ellen Sophia Means.

Gus’s maternal grandmother was Malinda D. Beasley (the daughter of Robert Lee Beasley and Minnie H. Wiman). Malinda was born in Kentucky. Minnie was the daughter of Hardeman Puryear Wiman and Julia Almena Payne.

Source: Genealogy of Gus Van Sant (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com