John Turturro
Turturro in 2008, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: John Michael Turturro
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: February 28, 1957
Ethnicity: Italian
John Turturro is an American actor, writer, director, and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Clockers, the Transformers franchise, and Secret Window, among many other films.
His father, Nicola/Nicholas Turturro, was from Giovinazzo, Apulia, Italy. His mother, Katherine/Catherine Florence “Kate” (Incerella), was born in the U.S., to Italian parents, from Campania and Sicily. His father was with the D-Day fleet supporting the landing operations of Allied troops in Normandy in 1944.
His brother is actor Nicholas Turturro and his cousin is actress Aida Turturro. John is married to actress Katherine Borowitz, with whom he has two children.
John’s maternal grandfather, an Italian immigrant, re-married to a black woman, John’s step-grandmother Deborah M. L. Elder, in 1937. John did not know this until his appearance on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2017).
John’s paternal grandfather was Raffaele/Raffaelle/Ralph Turturro (the son of Nicola Turturro and Teresa Rutigliano). Raffaele was born in Giovinazzo. Nicola was the son of Michele Turturro and Anna Stufano. Teresa was the daughter of Raffaele Rutigliano and Maria Trapani.
John’s paternal grandmother was Angela/Angelina Michela Cortese (the daughter of Antonio Cortese and Vincenza Decicco). Angela was born in Giovinazzo. Antonio was the son of Giuseppe Cortese and Serafina Piscitelli. Vincenza was the daughter of Domenico Decicco and Angela D’Agostino.
John’s maternal grandfather was Giovanni/John Incerello/Incerella/Inzerillo/Inzirillo/Inserillo (the son of Antonio Incerella and Margareta Lafala). Giovanni was born in Naples, Campania, Italy.
John’s maternal grandmother was named Rosa/Rosina/Rose Terrasi. Rosa was from Aragona, Province of Agrigento, Sicily. John is an honorary citizen of Aragona.
Sources: http://www.starpulse.com
Genealogy of John Turturro (focusing on his father’s side) – http://geneasud.20minutes-blogs.fr
Marriage record of John’s maternal grandfather, Giovanni/John Incerello/Incerella/Inzerillo/Inzirillo/Inserillo, to Deborah M. L. Elder – https://www.familysearch.org
This is not even an atypical Italian look to begin with. If he was Tunisian or something and somebody says he looks Italian, that person would be grilled so hard! Shows how people can be so biased and absurd.
Too bad he has no Irish, and Mexican in him, His character in Anger Management did.