Ken Kwapis

Kwapis in 2009, photo by Starfrenzy/www.bigstockphoto.com

Birth Name: Kenneth William Kwapis

Place of Birth: East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 17, 1957

Ethnicity:
*father – Polish
*mother – English, French-Canadian, some Irish and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish

Ken Kwapis is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He has directed the films The Beniker Gang, Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird, Vibes, He Said, She Said (which he co-directed); Dunston Checks In, The Beautician and the Beast, Sexual Life, which he also wrote; The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, License to Wed, He’s Just Not That Into You, Big Miracle, and A Walk in the Woods. He also directed episodes of the shows Eerie, Indiana; The Larry Sanders Show, Bakersfield P.D., Freaks and Geeks, ER, Malcolm in the Middle, Grounded for Life, The Bernie Mac Show, Watching Ellie, The Office, Outsourced, Happyish, One Mississippi, Santa Clarita Diet, #BlackAF, and Space Force.

Ken is the son of Marjorie and Bruno Walter Kwapis/Kwapisz. His paternal grandparents were Polish. His mother has English, French-Canadian, and some Irish and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, ancestry. He was raised Catholic in Belleville, Illinois. Ken is married to screenwriter Marisa Silver, with whom he has two children. Marisa co-directed He Said, She Said.

Ken’s paternal grandfather was named Leon Kwapis/Kwapisz.

Ken’s paternal grandmother was named Mary Pietroski.

Ken’s maternal grandfather was Francis Henry “Frank” Wells (the son of Charles D. Wells/Wills and Louise Mercier/Maison). Francis was born in Massachusetts. Charles was born in either New York or Canada. Louise was Canadian.

Ken’s maternal grandmother was Eva Irene LaPoer (the daughter of Robert Miles LaPoer and Eva Lucy Kendall). Eva was born in Massachusetts. Robert was born in Massachusetts, the son of Robert Miles LaPoer and Ellen Isabell Heard. Ken’s great-grandmother Eva was born in Massachusetts, the daughter of Jason Thomas Kendall and Ida Florence Boynton.

Sources: Ken’s father on the 1940 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Ken’s father – http://obits.dignitymemorial.com

Obituary of Ken’s mother – https://www.legacy.com