Oona Chaplin
Chaplin in 2013, photo by PrPhotos
Birth Name: Oona Castilla Chaplin
Place of Birth: Madrid, Spain
Date of Birth: 4 June, 1986
Ethnicity:
*father – Chilean [Mapuche, Spanish, evidently Romanian]
*mother – English, Irish, 1/16th Scottish
Oona Chaplin is an actress.
A granddaughter of actor Charlie Chaplin, Oona was born in Madrid, Spain, and was raised in Spain, Switzerland, and Cuba. She has Spanish, British, and Swiss citizenship. Her father, cinematographer Patricio Castilla, is Chilean; he has Mapuche Indigenous and Spanish ancestry. Oona appears to say here that her father also has Romanian ancestry. Oona’s mother, actress Geraldine Chaplin (Geraldine Leigh Chaplin), was born in Santa Monica, California, of English, Irish, and 1/16th Scottish, ancestry.
Among her first cousins are actresses Dolores Chaplin, Carmen Chaplin, and Kiera Chaplin, circus performer and actor James Thiérrée, and actor and rapper Orson Chaplin. She is a niece of actor Sydney Chaplin. Her uncle, father’s brother, is director Sergio M. Castilla.
Oona’s paternal grandmother was named Hilda Valderrama. Hilda was a lawyer, and co-founded the Human Rights commission during the military dictatorship of Chile. Oona has said, “My grandmother was of Mapuche heritage, but didn’t practice the Mapuche culture because, like many indigenous people at the time, she and her family had to make the decision to hide and distance themselves from their traditions to survive the cultural genocide that was very real.” Oona has worn an Arauco, a traditional crown of the Mapuche tribe. A picture of her wearing it can be seen here.
Oona’s maternal grandfather was actor Charlie Chaplin (born Charles Spencer Chaplin, the son of Charles Chaplin and Hannah Harriet Pedlingham Hill, who were entertainers). Charlie was born in England. His documented ancestry was English and some Irish. Oona’s great-grandfather Charles was the son of Spencer Chaplin and Ellen Elizabeth Smith. Hannah was the daughter of Charles Frederick Hill and Mary Ann Terry.
Oona’s maternal grandmother was Oona O’Neill, an actress (the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill [Eugene Gladstone O’Neill] and writer Agnes Boulton). Oona’s grandmother Oona O’Neill was born in Warwick Parish, Bermuda. Eugene was born in New York City, New York, the son of actor James O’Neill, who was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and of Ella O’Neill (born Mary Ellen Quinlan), who was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Irish parents, Thomas Joseph Quinlan and Bridget Lundigan. Oona’s great-grandmother Agnes was born in Chelsea, London, England, the daughter of Edward William Boulton, an artist, who was American, of English and Scottish descent, and of Cecil/Cecille Maud/Maude Williams.
Charlie Chaplin is often stated to have had some degree of Romani (Gypsy) ancestry. It does not appear that this ancestral claim has ever been verified/documented. Charlie was sometimes believed to have been Jewish (especially during his lifetime), but his parents were not of Jewish heritage.
Sources: Articles about Oona Chaplin – http://www.heraldscotland.com
Genealogies of Oona Chaplin (focusing on her mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
Genealogies of Oona’s maternal grandparents, Charlie Chaplin (Charles Spencer Chaplin) and Oona O’Neill – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Oona’s maternal grandfather, Charlie Chaplin (Charles Spencer Chaplin) – http://www.wargs.com
Draft card of Oona’s maternal grandfather, Charlie Chaplin (Charles Spencer Chaplin) – https://www.archives.gov
She can pass in Italy imo.
So could nearly any Caucasian on Earth.
Sicily to northern Italy has every conceivable Caucasian phenotype you can imagine.
Have you ever visited Italy, or do you just watch imbecilic Hollywood Mafia movies about that large and hugely diverse nation?
Half of those guys in the mafia movies aren’t even Italians, let alone Sicilians.
@Jamesson
Actually she struggles to pass anywhere in Europe because she looks off-white. I know a woman from DR who kinda looks like her, but with a bit of SSA too in her phenotype.
Being in the southern parts of Italy and the Dominican Republic I think she looks a lot more Italian.
Separate Romanian from Chilean
Oona has said her father is also Romanian in this interview.
https://youtu.be/MEk0yb07XI8
She is native american on his father side, more specifically, the mapuche tribe from south Chile. Oona has also mentioned that when she began acting she considered using her grandma’s native surname, and she usually wears traditional jewellery of her tribe at the red carpet.
[ She did consider changing her name for a while when she became an actor. For a while she considered a surname drawing on her other grandmother’s Mapuche Indian background. “I was looking at Oona Nany. Oh God, Oona. How unbelievably pretentious.” But she had a conversation with her mum and her principal at RADA, who told her a “pretty girl wouldn’t cut her face into pieces so she can say ‘they’re not hiring me for my looks’.”
And anyway, she’s proud of her heritage. “I took on the responsibility of honouring it and not having my granddaddy turning in his grave. That’s the objective now.”]
Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13108411.Oona_Chaplin__Charlie_s_angel/
I meant “she is native american on her father side” (sorry, english is not my first language).
And here’s a picture of her at the red carpet wearing an “arauco”, a traditional crown of the mapuche tribe.
https://twitter.com/PremiosFenix/status/806688486698860544
English, Irish —> English, Irish, 1/16th Scottish