Joe Manganiello

Manganiello in 2012, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Joseph Michael Manganiello

Place of Birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Date of Birth: December 28, 1976

Ethnicity:
*paternal grandfather – African-American, Irish
*paternal grandmother – Italian Sicilian
*maternal grandfather – Dalmatian Croatian
*maternal grandmother – Armenian, German

Joe Manganiello is an American actor, producer, director, author, and narrator. He is known for playing Alcide Herveaux on True Blood, and for his roles in the films Magic Mike, Sabotage, Archenemy, and, as Flash Thompson, in Spider-Man, among many other works.

Joe is the son of Susan Catherine and Charles John Manganiello. His paternal grandmother was of Italian descent, from Sicily. As an adult, Joe discovered that his paternal grandfather was of mixed African-American and Irish ancestry. Joe’s maternal grandfather was of Dalmatian Croatian ancestry, and Joe’s maternal grandmother was of German and Armenian descent. A picture of Joe with his parents can be seen here.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2023) stated that Joe’s genetic ancestry is:

*93% European
*7% Sub-Saharan African

Joe’s biological paternal grandfather was the son of William Henry Cutler and Nellie Alton. Joe’s great-grandfather William was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was African-American. He was the son of William H. Washington and Nancy A. Somers/Sommers, and a great-grandson of Plato Turner, who was born in Africa, and was taken into slavery in the U.S.; Plato later became a free man, fighting in the American Reolution starting in 1776. Joe’s great-grandmother Nellie was born in Washington, D.C., and was white, with Irish ancestry. She was the daughter of John Alton and Mary Hurley.

Joe’s paternal grandmother was Marie Rose Bonanno (the daughter of Giuseppe/Joseph Bonanno and Rose Correnti). Marie was born in Connecticut, to Italian parents, from Messina, Sicily. Giuseppe was the son of Santo Bonanno and Carmela Aveni. Rose was the daughter of Carmelo Correnti and Maria Trifiletti.

Joe’s legal paternal grandfather was named Emilio “John” Manganiello. Emilio was born in Pennsylvania, to a family from Avellino, Campania. As an adult, Joe discovered via Finding Your Roots that Emilio was not his biological grandfather.

Joe’s maternal grandfather was Nicholas Francis Joseph Brachanow (the son of Ante/Marko/Marks/Michael Bračanov/Brachanow and Kata/Kate “Catherine” Jelavčić/Jelovčić/Jelnick/Yarosa/Yelobchich/Jelovich). Nicholas was born in Massachusetts, to Dalmatian Croatian parents from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, likely Murter, Jezera. Marks was the son of Nikola/Nicola Bračanov and Matija Baresin. Kata was the daughter of Jakov/Jacov/Jack Jelovčić and Tonka/Anntonet Lovresko/Lovesko.

Joe’s maternal grandmother was Sirarpi/Sirapi “Sondra” Tateosian/Tatouchian (the daughter of Karl Wilhelm Beitinger/Beutinger and Terviz/Tevris/Tarvez “Rose” Darakjian). Sondra was likely born in Samatya, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire. Kerl was born in Heilbronn, Germany, and was the son of Rudolf Beitinger and Catharina Jakobine Albrecht, and the grandson of Johan/Johann Heinrich Beutinger and Catharine Friederike/Friedrike Reischle. Rose was likely born in St. Stephens, Harpoot, Ottoman Empire, the daughter of Vartan Darakjian and Mariam Kachadourian.

Joe has said, discussing his maternal great-grandmother:

…April 24 was a very special day because it is the centenary of the 1915 genocide (when the Turkish government deported and exterminated millions of Armenians). My great-grandmother escaped that same year when her entire family was murdered… [She swam] across the Euphrates River with her last baby on her back. But when she got across the river, she saw that the baby had drowned. She ended up living in a cave until some German soldiers found her and one of them got her pregnant. They went to Germany where she had an Armenian-German baby daughter. This was my grandmother. She lived on the streets of Constantinople for three years, until she gathered enough money to go to the United States, where she eventually married. That’s the story of my great-grandmother and grandmother.

Manganiello in 2010, photo credit: Ronald Woan

Sources: http://www.grazia.it
http://www.vanidades.com
https://mobile.twitter.com
https://mobile.twitter.com
https://www.irishexaminer.com

Genealogy of Joe Manganiello – https://www.geni.com

Joe’s paternal grandmother, Marie Rose Bonanno, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Birth record of Joe’s maternal grandfather, Nicholas Francis Joseph Brachanow – https://www.familysearch.org

Joe’s maternal grandfather, Nicholas Francis Joseph Brachanow, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Joe’s maternal great-grandparents, Ante/Marks/Michael Bračanov/Brachanow and Kata/Kate “Catherine” Jelavčić/Jelovčić/Jelnick/Yarosa/Yelobchich – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Joe’s maternal grandmother, Sirarpi/Sirapi “Sondra” (Tateosian/Tatouchian) Brachanow – https://www.newspapers.com