Laura Prepon

Prepon in 2012, image via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Laura H. Prepon

Place of Birth: Watchung, New Jersey, U.S.

Date of Birth: March 7, 1980

Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*mother – Irish, as well as English and German

Laura Prepon is an American actress, producer, director, and author. Her roles include television’s That ’70s Show and Orange Is the New Black, and the films Southlander, Slackers, Come Early Morning, Lay the Favorite, The Girl on the Train, and The Hero. She is 5′10″.

Her father, Michael Prepon, was Jewish, of Ukrainian Jewish and Russian Jewish descent. Her mother, Marjorie, is of Irish, as well as English and German, ancestry. Laura is married to actor Ben Foster, with whom she has two children.

Laura’s paternal grandfather was named Louis Prepon (the son of Morris Prepon and Buncia). Louis was a Jewish emigrant, from Horokhiv, Horokhivs’kyi district, Volyns’ka, Ukraine. Morris was the son of Benjamin Pripon and Lea Appel.

Laura’s paternal grandmother was Betty Bernhardt (the daughter of Benjamin Bernhardt and Anna Miller). Betty was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents.

Laura’s maternal grandfather was Walter A. Burke Coll (the son of Arthur Patrick Coll and Isabel/Isabella C. Burke/Burks). Walter was born in Stamford, Connecticut. Arthur was the son of Patrick James Coll, an Irish immigrant, and of Mary Ann, who was born in Canada, to Irish parents. Isabella was the daughter of John Burke, who was born in Canada, to Irish parents, and of Mary C., an Irish immigrant.

Laura’s maternal grandmother was Natalie Elliot Carr (the daughter of Joseph Bradford Carr and Emily Maude Elliott). Natalie was born in New York. Joseph was the son of William Gould Carr and Harriett Anne/Ann “Hattie” French, and had partial deep roots in the U.S. William’s father was Joseph Bradford Carr, a prominent Union Army general during the Civil War, whose parents were Irish; and William’s mother was born in Upper Canada, to American parents. Laura’s great-grandmother Emily was the daughter of Richard William Elliott, whose mother was Canadian, and of Emily Finck, whose parents were German.

Sources: Genealogy of Laura Prepon – http://www.geni.com

Genealogy of Laura Prepon (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.myheritage.com

Marriage record of Laura’s maternal great-grandparents, Walter A. Burke Coll and Natalie Elliot Carr – https://familysearch.org