Jemaine Clement
Birth Name: Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement
Place of Birth: Masterton, Wellington, New Zealand
Date of Birth: January 10, 1974
Ethnicity: Māori (about one quarter), Irish, English, Northern Irish, 1/16th Jersey [Channel Islander], 1/16th German, distant French, some Scottish
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor, singer, songwriter, musician, writer, director, and filmmaker. He is one half of comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, alongside Bret McKenzie, and co-created and wrote for the show of the same name. He has been featured in the films Tongan Ninja, which he also co-wrote, Eagle vs Shark, Men in Black 3, People Places Things, Humor Me, Brad’s Status, The Festival (2018), Avatar: The Way of Water, and, in voice role, Despicable Me, Rio, and its sequel; Moana, and The Lego Batman Movie. He co-directed and co-wrote the film What We Do in the Shadows. He also co-created the show Wellington Paranormal and created the show What We Do in the Shadows, both of which he has also written and directed for. He is also known as Hiphopopotamus, J-Dog, and Mad Dog.
Jemaine is the son of Merianne and Robert Clement, a self-taught stained-glass artist. His maternal grandmother is Māori.
He was raised by his mother and grandmother. His father became an alcoholic while working in the freezing works, and left the family in fear of causing them harm. Jemaine is married to theatre actress and playwright Miranda Manasiadis, with whom he has a son.
Jemaine has said:
I was only 21 when they started it [a TV sketch show called Skitz] and remember, because I was part-Māori, having to play things like the street kids and glue sniffers. And going, that’s not my experience at all. I’ve never sniffed glue. I find the whole idea of drugs horrible. I would always insist on having a hood because I was so ashamed to be taking down my race like that.
Jemaine’s patrilineal line can be traced to Nicollas Clement, who died c. 1485, in St Brelade, Jersey, Channel Islands.
Jemaine’s paternal grandfather was Eric Clement (the son of Herbert Thomas Mountford Clement and Florence Matilda “May” Wood). Eric was born in Adelaide, South Australia. Herbert was the son of Peter/Pierre Clement, who was born on Jersey, Channel Islands, and of Mary Mountford, from Surrey, England. Florence was from Suffolk, England.
Jemaine’s paternal grandmother was Kathleen Joan Gottschalk (the daughter of Cyril Ralph Gottschalk and Dorothy May Agnes Malcolm-Lynch). Kathleen was born in Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia. Cyril was the son of Carl George Friedrich/Charles August Gottschalk, whose parents were German, with his mother being from St. Andreasberg, Lower Saxony; and of Ada Selina Vincent, whose family was from London, England. Dorothy may have been of Scottish or Scots-Irish descent. She was the daughter of Mary Ann Malcolm.
Jemaine’s maternal grandfather was Louis George “Eddie” McArdell (the son of Patrick George McArdell and Maude Alice Mary Kathleen Radford). Louis was a shearer and platelayer in Greytown, Masterton, New Zealand. Patrick and Maude were from Tasmania, Australia. Patrick was the son of Patrick McArdall, whose father was from Armagh, Northern Ireland, and of Mary Anne Cleary, from Oatlands, Tasmania. Maude was the daughter of Charles Radford and Mary Anne Kilroy, from Ireland.
Jemaine’s maternal grandmother was Maikara Makere “Mai” Te Whaiti (the daughter of Hohaia-i-te-rangi “Joe” Te Whaiti and Whanaupani Anaru Tuhokairangi). Maikara was Māori, and was born in Masterton. Hohaia-i-te-rangi was the son of Iraia Te Ama-o-te-rangi Te Whaiti and Kaihau Te Rangikakapi Maikara Aporo. Iraia was born in Wairarapa, New Zealand, and was a Māori tribal leader, farmer, and historian, who started his own printing press and school. Iraia’s grandfather was John Robert Brown, a white whaler from Te Kopi. Jemaine’s great-grandmother Whanaupani was the daughter of Hāmi Mita Anaru-Tuhoukairangi and Tare Hera “Sarah” Ruarangi Cootes, whose grandfather was English.
Jemaine has stated that he is descended from a woman, an aristocrat who was the cousin of Louis the XIV, who moved to Ireland from France during the French revolution, where she married an Irish man.
Source: http://www.comingsoon.net
http://www.stuff.co.nz
Article about Jemaine’s father – http://www.nzherald.co.nz
Genealogy of Jemaine’s father’s family – https://www.theislandwiki.org
Genealogy of Jemaine’s paternal grandmother, Kathleen Joan Gottschalk – http://graememoad.com
Death record of Jemaine’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Carl George Friedrich/Charles August Gottschalk – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Jemaine Clement (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Jemaine’s maternal great-grandfather, Hohaia-i-te-rangi “Joe” Te Whaiti – https://ancestors.familysearch.org
He’s only 1/4th? That explains why he looks entirely European. Odd, because in many interviews he always makes it seem like he’s half. But I guess a lot of people do lie or fudge their backgrounds.
Not to be too pedantic but there is a ‘was’ missing between ‘Jemaine’s paternal grandfather (was) Eric Clement.’
Also Jemaine’s Jersey line traces back to his paternal ancestor Nicollas Clement who lived and died around 1485 in St Brelade, Jersey, Channel Islands. It seems Jemaine is a descendant of many different Jersey families (through his paternal great-great-grandfather Pierre Clement) including the Le Feuvre, Le Rossignol and Bisson families. https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Descendants_of_Nicollas_Clement_of_St_Brelade_(1485)
Jemaine’s father passed away this year. Much aroha to his family.
Robert’s parents were Eric Clement and Kathleen Joan Gottschalk.
Jemaine’s paternal grandfather Eric Clement was born in Adelaide,
South Australia as the son of Herbert Thomas Mountford Clement and Florence (May) Matilda Wood from Suffolk, England. Herbert was the son of Peter/Pierre Clement and Mary Mountford from Surrey, England. Peter/Pierre Clement was born on the island of Jersey in the English Channel Islands as the son of Jean/John Clement and Elizabeth Marie Le Feuvre. Elizabeth was the daughter of Richard Le Feuvre and Anne Payn (daughter of Philip Payn and Anne Le Cras). Richard Le Feuvre was the son of Rev. Richard Le Feuvre and Sara Bisson (a descendant of Nicollas Bisson born in 1440 in La Moye, Jersey). Rev. Richard Le Feuvre was a descendant of Nicollas Le Feuvre who was born in 1475 in St. Ouen, Jersey, UK.
Jean Clement was the son of Pierre Clement and Marie Marguerite Le Rossignol (daughter of Jean Le Rossignol and Marie Mauger). Pierre Clement was a descendant of Nicollas Clement who died in 1485 in St Brelade, Jersey, Channel Islands.
Jemaine’s paternal grandmother Kathleen Joan Gottschalk was born in Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia as the daughter of Cyril Ralph Gottschalk and Dorothy May Agnes Malcolm-Lynch. Dorothy may have been of Scottish or Scots-Irish descent. Cyril was the son of Carl George Friedrich/Charles August Gottschalk and Ada Selina Vincent (daughter of William Vincent and Mary Ann Long who emigrated from London, England). Carl G. F./Charles August Gottschalk was the son of Carl August Gottschalk and Caroline Auguste Grosse/Crosze. Carl August Gottschalk, a gardener, emigrated from Germany to Adelaide in 1852 on the ship Hawk. Caroline emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia with her parents George Grosse, a roadworker, and Charlotte Lorenz in 1848/1949 on the Auguste & Meline. Caroline was born in St. Andreasberg, Lower Saxony, Germany circa 1830.
Jemaine is Māori (about one quarter), Irish, English, Northern Irish, 1/16th Channel Islander (Jersey), 1/16th German, distant French, some Scottish
https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Descendants_of_Pierre_Clement
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151190809/carl-george_friedrich-gottschalk
http://graememoad.com/Family/PS244/PS244_207.HTM
I can’t find a birth for Patrick McArdall/McArdle but a lot of genealogies state he was the son of Owen Francis McArdall/McArdle, from Armagh, Nothern Ireland, and Marguerite Lalange. I think Marguerite might have been the French Aristocrat (who married an Irishman) Jemaine talked about.