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
His paternal grandparents could have been Leslie Nelson Clement (born 1904) and Florence Clara Schulz/Schultz (also born 1904) from Adelaide, AUS.
They would have been on the older side when Jemaine’s dad was born but they also had a daughter who was born in 1944 (when Florence was 40) so they clearly had children later on in life.
Florence Clara Schulz was the daughter of Florentine Agnes Schulz, who was unmarried when Florence Clara was born, she later married Ernest Posselt. Florentine Agnes Schulz was the daughter of Johann Paul Schulz and Johanna Dorothea (Anna) Jensch/Jaensch who was born in 1853 in Silesia, Prussia.
Johann Schulz was the son of Paul Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz (born 1819 in Schwandorf Bayern, Germany) and Florentine Agnes Habermann (born 1823 in Brandenburg, Germany)
These Schulz’s were Barossa Germans which means they spoke a german dialect. Which could explain Jemaine’s dad’s unusual Aussie accent. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barossa_German)
*Leslie Clement’s grave: https://billiongraves.com/grave/Leslie-Clement/12643126
*Florentine Schulz’s genealogy: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/154231834/person/242037636337
*Grave of sister who was born in 1944: https://billiongraves.com/grave/Gloria-CLEMENT/11477818?referrer=myheritage
*Leslie Clement’s birth record: https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php?option=com_gsa&view=gsa&layout=essearch&collection_id=birth&page_no=1&Surname=clement&GivenName=leslie&year_from=&accuracy=
Jermaine’s mum had him at 17. That’d be a huge age difference if his dad was born in the 40s.
Yeah, I suppose that’s true. That would make Jemaine’s mum 63 now but his dad could be older than that. Say Jemaine’s dad was born between 1948 and 1956. If he was born in 1948 he would have been 25 when Jemaine was born (that could be possible…) he would be 71 now.
how old do you think this guy is?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrZO3vsYtF8
(I think it’s more likely that he’s 67 now and was born in 1952)
I’ve researched other Clements marriages in the Adelaide area and the Clement-Schulz marriage is the only marriage (after 1925) where the wife has a German sounding surname. This paired with the fact that they had children in the 40s seems like it could be them but i’m not entirely sure either.)
Maybe they’re Jemaine’s great grandparents or his dad’s aunt and uncle? There are also Clement’s with German first names in the Adelaide area so maybe his grandmother was the one with the surname Clement?
New description:
*Mother’s side: Māori, English, Irish and French.
*Father’s side: English and Scottish.
Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement is the son of Robert B. Clement and Merianne McArdell. Merianne is the daughter of Maikara Makere (Mai) Te Whaiti and Louis George (Eddie) McArdell.
Maikara’s parents were Hohaia-i-te-rangi (Joe) Te Whaiti and Whanaupani Anaru Tuhokairangi. Hohaia-i-te-rangi (Joe) Te Whaiti was the son of Iraia Te Ama o Te Rangi Te Whaiti and Kaihau Te Rangikakapo Maikara Aporo.
Iraia was the son of Te Rangihakahaka Te Whaiti and Hinekiterangi Hera Te Miha. Hinekiterangi was the daughter of John Robert Brown, a white whaler from Te Kopi, and Hinewhakaruhia-i-te-rangi Kaipaoe.
Kaihau Te Rangikakapo Maikara Aporo was the daughter of Ngarangikakapi Hohepa Aporo and Maikara Paranihia.
Louis George (Eddie) McArdell (1909-1993) was a shearer and platelayer in Greytown, Masterton, NZ. He was the son of Patrick George McArdell (1869-1961) and Maude Alice Mary Kathleen Radford (1882-1971) both from Tasmania, Australia.
Patrick George McArdell’s parents were Patrick McArdall (1830–1883) and Mary Anne Cleary (1843–1908), from Oatlands, Tasmania, daughter of George Cleary and Elizabeth Barnett.
Patrick McArdall was the son of Owen Francis McArdle (born around 1800) and Marguerite Lalange both from Armagh, Northern Ireland. Marguerite Lalange might have been French or had French ancestry.
Maude Alice Mary Kathleen Radford’s parents were Charles Radford (1837-1885) and Mary Anne Kilroy from Ireland.
Jemaine’s paternal grandparents were David Taylor Clement (1928-1991) and Denise Ngaire Healey (1932–2013). David Taylor Clement’s parents were Cyril Frank Clement (1898-1976) and Mary Rubena Taylor (1904-1971).
Cyril Frank Clement was the son of Arthur Ernest Clement (1866–1928) and Marie Ann Johnson (1878–1949). Arthur Ernest Clement’s parents were John Clement (1824–1914) and Sarah Augusta Hopton (1836–1877). John Clement was the son of John Clement (1783–1849) from Eddington, England and Hannah White (1789–1866) from Chievely, Berkshire, England.
Sarah Augusta Hopton was the daughter of Robert Hopton (1809–1854) from Gloucester, England and Charlotte Fagan (1810–1875), daughter of Thomas Fagan (1770–1834) and Mary Durham (1779–1852).
Mary Rubena Taylor’s parents were Robert Taylor (1878–1938) and Sarah Ada Alice Flora Todd (1884–1938).
Robert Taylor was the son of James Taylor (1846–1905) from Swansfield, Berwikshire, Scotland and Mary McGregor (1846–1913) from Wigtownshire, Scotland.
Sarah Ada Alice Flora Todd was the daughter of James Ramsay Todd (1857–1926) from Clackmannan, Scotland and Sarah Cunningham (1856–1918) from Loose, Kent, England.
Denise Ngaire Healey was the daughter of Errol Hamilton (Bing) Healey (1892–1972) and Mary Dell Robertson (1894–1961). Mary Dell Robertson’s parents were James Robertson and Barbara Emma Procter (born in 1868).
Barbara Emma Procter’s parents were John Procter from Ingleton, North Yorkshire, England and Mary Pemberton Bond from Lancashire, England.
Sources:
Genealogy of Hohaia-i-te-rangi Te Whaiti: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KG17-42D/hohaia-i-te-rangi-te-whaiti-1885-1927
Genealogy of Jemaine Clement’s maternal side: https://www.geni.com/family-tree/canvas/6000000011024155890
Genealogy of Patrick George McArdell: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/tree/34317553/family?cfpid=370023546837
Genealogy of Cyril Frank Clement: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KFTR-RC4/cryil-frank-clement-1898-1976
Genealogy of Mary Rubena Taylor: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/tree/28865957/family?cfpid=352111914478
Genealogy of Errol Hamilton Healey: https://www.geni.com/people/Errol-Healey/6000000028333732319
(Jemaine’s maternal grandfather is Australian not his father.)
Thank you!
In this article, Jemaine says that his father is Australian. Maybe he was talking about his grandfather (pretty weird error to make, though).
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/81575000/jemaine-clements-father-speaks-out-about-his-famous-son-and-their-tough-early-years
And of course, the background I’d ascribed to his father from that other article was from his maternal grandfather. I’d just assumed his mother was fully Maori, and that the European ancestry had to then come from his father. He doesn’t seem to have German ancestry though, which the article mentioned.
https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/people-places-things-can-jemaine-clement-make-it-as-a-leading-man-20150824-gj11wl.html
I found it weird as well that his granddad was australian not his dad. That confused me a lot when researching but i just went with what was more probable. There’s a whole clan of Clements living in Masterton, NZ. And his granddad is certainly Louis G. McArdell. There are no other McArdell’s that married a Te Whaiti.
Maybe his dad is Australian though? Maybe he lived with his aunt and uncle Clement (not his mom and dad) when in New Zealand and there might also be a Clement family in AUS. There are Clements in Melbourne related to the Clements in NZ (I’ll look further into it). All I know is Robert lived with David and Denise Clement back in the 1969 census. And David and Denise had six sons, one of them named Robert. But Robert seems to be quite a common name in the Clement family, so it could be the wrong Robert.
The German side might be further down the line, or I did f* up and researched the wrong Clement line after all.
@comrade
In familysearch tree (and Geni.com), on his maternal grandmother’s side there’s an English ancestor named James Cootes who was a whaler (Jemaine would be 1/32 English through him).
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LY22-B8R
https://familypedia.wikia.org/wiki/James_Cootes_(1804-1873)
Jemaine is already about 1/32 English on his grandmothers side through Hinekiterangi Hera Te Miha’s father John Robert Brown, also whaler (probably from England). So that would make Jemaine twice 1/32 English on his grandmother Maikara’s side. Besides the fact that there’s loads of English on his father’s side.
I think you may have the wrong Robert Clement for his father. I follow Jemaine on twitter, and he once said his “Racist grandmother was German.” I can’t see him getting both his father’s nationality wrong and his paternal grandmother’s ethnicity. Did you come across any Australian Robert Clements with maternal German heritage?
Am I doing the math right? Jemaine’s 3/16ths Maori? For some reason, I thought he was half.
Yeah, maybe I did research the wrong Robert Clement. I know for certain that Jemaine’s dad was Robert Clement who worked as a freezing worker in Greytown/Masterton on the 1978 census. I just can’t find his parents. On the 1969 census there are other Clements and another (?) Robert Clement in the same town who also worked as freezing workers. I thought they might be related but maybe not?
There’s a William Clement that married a Hilda Maud Schuhmacher/Schumacher in New South Wales, Australia around 1929. William and Hilda had children but I can’t confirm that one of them was Jemaine’s dad Robert Clement. There are a few Robert Clements on William Clement’s side of the family as well.
Hilda was born in NSW, Australia but only Hilda’s great-grandfather Johann Michael Schuhmacher was born in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. All her other relatives were born in Australia or England. Hilda’s mother was of English descent, so Hilda wasn’t full blooded German.
So I can’t guarantee that Hilda Schumacher is Jemaine’s german grandmother. Other than that I’m stumped. Too many Robert Clements.
I guess we should just leave the paternal side blank as it isn’t confirmed and put German back in the description.
Maybe you can ask Robert himself on his youtube channel?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrZO3vsYtF8
“Am I doing the math right? Jemaine’s 3/16ths Maori? For some reason, I thought he was half.”
Yep, that side is certain as there is only one Te Whaiti that married a McArdell in all of NZ. So I guess he’s only a quarter Māori.
@comrade
I don’t know if it helps, but this article says his dad grew up in Adelaide.
https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/people-places-things-can-jemaine-clement-make-it-as-a-leading-man-20150824-gj11wl.html
Hi comrade,
The article I linked below says his dad is from Adelaide, South Australia. Does that help locating the right Clement family?
At least now I know where to look. So thanks for that!
Unfortunately Robert Clement seems to be a very popular name in Australia.
I guess I could go through all the newspaper birth announcements in Adelaide from 1945 to 1957 but I’m honestly not that invested in this guy. Sorry…
I will bet 1 MILLION dollars that if his mom has a lot of Anglo ancestry. There’s no way she has no European ancestry in her.. especially after I remembered reading that that in Australia/New Zealand they had their own version of the one drop rule.
Where’s my 1 Million dollars? i’ll send you my contact details. :)
if this is his mother she just has distant Maori ancestry:
http://avengers.biz/uploads/posts/2012-05/1335992999_GatorlandandFOTC138.jpg
That can’t be his mother
that’s what you get when you search “Jemaine Clement mother”. She even looks like him in facial features. Maori ancestry is the kiwi version of American one drop rule.
He has said that his mother and grandmother were both Maori. I doubt he would have said that if they were white-looking, like that woman. Americans that claim Native ancestry don’t say “my mother is Native American”.
On a separate point, I don’t think the woman in the picture would produce a child like Jemaine together with this man:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11665111
Well, Colton Haynes did say that his father was Native American.
But, yes, I doubt that’s his mother.
@ madman
this guy played for the Maori All Blacks team, meaning he has at least 1/16 documented Maori ancestry to be eligible.
http://www.allblacks.com/Player/Maori/2211
Certainly there are people who considers themselves Maori, yet only have a small percentage of Maori ancestry. But I think his comments were too specific to be interpreted in that way, not to mention the quote included in the text about his childhood.
some of the facial features are similar but the eye color, skin color, and hair color arent. Maybe she is his paternal aunt??
That’s the mom of the woman who met Jemaine and uploaded the photos to her Photobucket. Not Jemaine’s mom.
if this is her mother she just has distant Maori ancestry:
http://avengers.biz/uploads/posts/2012-05/1335992999_GatorlandandFOTC138.jpg