Mercedes Ruehl

Ruehl in 2005, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Mercedes J. Ruehl

Place of Birth: Queens, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: February 28, 1948

Ethnicity:
*62.5% Irish
*25% Cuban/Spanish
*12.5% German

Mercedes Ruehl is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Fisher King (1991).

She is the daughter of Rose Mercedes (Zaldo) and Vincent Edward Ruehl. Her father was of one quarter German and three quarters Irish descent. Her mother was of Cuban/Spanish and Irish ancestry. She is married to painter David Geiser, and has two children.

Mercedes’s paternal grandfather was William Edward Ruehl (the son of William Edward Ruehl, Sr. and Catherine Loretta Downey/Downing). Mercedes’s grandfather William was born in New York. Mercedes’s great-grandfather William was born in New York, the son of German parents, Paul Ruehl and Maria Theresa Meyer. Catherine was born in New York, to Irish parents, Patrick Downey and Mary Cronin.

Mercedes’s paternal grandmother was Kathleen Viola Tobin (the daughter of James William Tobin and Mary T. Coffey). Kathleen was born in New York. James was born in New York, the son of Irish parents, Mark Tobin and Ellen Finis. Mary was also born in New York, the daughter of Irish parents, Patrick Coffey and Hannah Cotter.

Mercedes’s maternal grandfather was Arthur Sedgewick Zaldo (the son of George/Gonzalo Zaldo and Rosa Javiera Rodriguez). Arthur was born in New York. Gonzalo was born in either Puerto Rico or Cuba, to Spanish parents, Joseph Zaldo and Maxie. Rosa was born in Havana, Cuba.

Mercedes’s maternal grandmother was Helen Agnes McEntee (the daughter of William F. McEntee and Ann Elizabeth O’Meara). Helen was born in New York, of Irish descent.

Sources: Mercedes’s paternal grandfather, William Edward Ruehl, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Mercedes’s paternal grandmother, Kathleen Viola Tobin, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Mercedes’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Marriage records of Mercedes’s maternal grandparents, Arthur Sedgewick Zaldo and Helen Agnes McEntee – https://familysearch.org
https://familysearch.org