Harrison Ford
Ford in 2011, Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Date of Birth: July 13, 1942
Ethnicity:
*father – three quarters Irish, one quarter German
*mother – Ashkenazi Jewish
Harrison Ford is an American actor and producer. One of the most legendary and high-grossing film stars of all time, his roles include American Graffiti, The Conversation, Han Solo in the Star Wars universe; Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its four follow-ups; Blade Runner, and its sequel; Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Working Girl, Presumed Innocent, Regarding Henry, as Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger; The Fugitive, Sabrina (1995); The Devil’s Own, Air Force One, Six Days, Seven Nights; Random Hearts, What Lies Beneath, K-19: The Widowmaker, Hollywood Homicide, Morning Glory, Cowboys & Aliens, 42, and The Age of Adaline. He has also starred on television’s Shrinking and 1923. An environmental activist, he has been Vice Chair of Conservation International, since 1991. A licensed pilot, he has often assisted emergency services in rescue missions near his home.
Harrison is the son of Dora/Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor and advertising executive. His brother is actor Terence Ford.
Harrison’s father was born in Manhattan, of three quarters Irish and one quarter German ancestry. Harrison’s mother, also born in New York, was Jewish, the daughter of Jewish emigrants from Minsk, Belarus; at that time, Minsk was part of the Russian Empire. Harrison was raised around both Catholicism, his father’s religion, and Judaism, his mother’s. Harrison’s father’s first wife, Celia Mast, was also Jewish. On Inside the Actors Studio, 2000, Harrison humorously stated, “As a man I’ve always felt Irish, as an actor I’ve always felt Jewish.”
Harrison is married to actress Calista Flockhart. He has five children: two with his first wife Mary Marquardt; two with his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison; and one with Calista.
Harrison was selected People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1998. He is the first man of Jewish heritage to have been given this title by the magazine (Adam Levine, in 2013, is the second, David Beckham, in 2015, is the third, and Paul Rudd, in 2021, is the fourth).
Harrison’s paternal grandfather was John Fitzgerald/Edward/H. Ford (the son of Thomas F. Ford and Mary Tuohey/Touhey). John was born in New York, to Irish parents. Thomas was the son of John Ford and Mary Calkins Coggan, who was from County Mayo.
Harrison’s paternal grandmother was Florence Veronica Niehaus/Von Niehaus (the daughter of Charles Niehaus and Della Conway). Florence was born in New York. Charles was of German ancestry. Della was born in New York, to Irish parents, Roger Conway and Bridget Rooney.
Harrison’s maternal grandfather was Harry Nidelman/Needleman (the son of Abram Nidelman and Dora Lifshutz). Harry was born in Minsk, to a Jewish family.
Harrison’s maternal grandmother was Nachama “Annie/Anna” Lifshitz/Lipshitz/Lifschutz (the daughter of Chaim/Khiam/Khaim/Hyman Ha Levi “Jacob” Lifshitz and Fruma Genin). Nachama was born in Minsk, to a Jewish family. She met Harrison’s grandfather, born in the same city, in the United States. Chaim was the son of Eliezer Aron Lippman, who was born in Ukmergė, Vilnius, Lithuania, and of a woman whose surname was Halevi.
Sources: Jenkins, Gary, March 1999. Harrison Ford: Imperfect Hero.
Genealogy of Harrison Ford – http://www.geni.com
Birth record of Harrison’s father – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Harrison’s father, to his first wife, Celia Mast – https://www.familysearch.org
Harrison’s paternal grandmother, Florence Veronica Niehaus/Von Niehaus, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Death record of Harrison’s paternal great-grandmother, Della (Conway) Niehaus – https://familysearch.org
Harrison’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Actually fitzgerald did originate with a english knight called otto but also he married welsh women to and it became fitzgerald in wales before moving to ireland however thats not saying all the women were pure welsh. So it does not originate in ireland. Ford is entirely an old english surname and originated in england meaning a river crossing so dave is totally right. Ford is not gaelicised, So yes harrison would think he is irish and many brits settled in ireland and thought of themselves as irish as they were born in ireland but infact they were not ethnically irish (gaelic) and even some gaelic names are not purely native irish e.g. Doyle which means dark (haired) foreigner. Many went native. But ultimately ford is english and not even gaelicised. Yes they saw themselves as irish as a nationality but not necessarily gaelic and also many gaels were protestants as well as many british settlers were originally catholic, so its a very confusing picture, the modern irish have a broad range of hair and eye colours. Also many millions of english settled in america for centuries and while many americans dont have direct english ancestry will have distant english ancestry, the english are supposedly an invisible group however were very visible but not recorded well, more people have english ancestry than they assume. Many people pivk irish as the irish have sold themselves well and it is seen as a cooler identity
Fitzgerald is a Norman name originally and they came to Ireland in the 12th century from England/Wales. Many English families are of Norman origin as well so are you saying they are not English? Many people came to the British Isles from continental Europe but that was hundreds of years ago. Whether Irish have English origin names or Norman origin they have been in Ireland for centuries and would be well and truly mixed with lots of Gaelic Irish. It is interesting knowing the history of names but by your logic wouldn’t a lot of “English” people be Frisian? These people have been in Ireland a lot longer than places like USA, Canada, Australia have been in existence. The history of what you say is correct but so many Irish have foreign origin names just like the Scottish and English. I’m not disagreeing with you but just explaining that many names in Ireland are not Gaelic but are of English/Scottish/Welsh origin (also Norman/Viking) but people bearing those names are as Irish as anyone bearing O or Mac names.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Irish_than_the_Irish_themselves
The more I have delved into the history of the British Isles the more I am perplexed by the petty animosities of the people. There is more shared ancestry and heritage than differences. It is good that people can put aside the bad history of the past and realise that whether you are English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish you have more in common than not.
Ford is an English name, FitzGerald is Anglo-Norman English origin, the amount of excuses made by Americans to deny English heritage is unbelievable.
They both are Irish names.
People can get names very wrong. FitzGerald is a common name in Ireland and it is not English but Norman but is now completely Irish as they came in the 12th century. The name Ford is also quite common in Ireland. I’m sure people know where there families originate from. The British Isles has so many people coming and going from Britain to Ireland over the years you would have to check where people originate from.
http://www.ford.ie/AboutFord/CompanyInformation/HistoryOfFord
The above link is about Henry Ford but explains about the Ford family in Ireland. It does illustrate the complexity of working out where people come from judging by their surnames especially in Britain and Ireland. There has been alot of movement back and forth.
You do realize, that the English anglicized Irish surnames don’t you? If Harrison Ford says that his ancestry if from Ireland, than so be it.
I totally agree Dave.
When asked, Ford usually only mentions his Irish and Jewish heritage. But yes, his paternal grandmother was German. His ancestry is traced in this book
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Ford-%C3%B9-Imperfect-Hero/dp/080658016X/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0jqanAitSQ