Paula Patton
Patton in 2011, photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Paula Maxine Patton
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: December 5, 1975
Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – German, English, smaller amount of Dutch
Paula Patton is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films Hitch, Idlewild, Déjà Vu (2006), Jumping the Broom, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, 2 Guns, Warcraft, and Sacrifice (2019).
Her father, Charles Patton, is black. Her mother, Joyce (Van Raden), who is white, has German, English, and at least 1/16th Dutch, ancestry. Paula has identified herself as Black. She has stated:
I find it [the term “biracial”] offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from African-Americans… a way of saying ‘I’m better than that.’ I’m black because that’s the way the world sees me. People aren’t calling Barack Obama biracial. Most people think there’s a black president.
Paula has a son with her former husband, singer and songwriter Robin Thicke.
Paula’s maternal grandfather was Benjamin Alexander Van Raden, Jr. (the son of Benjamin Van Raden and Grace Read Alexander). Paula’s grandfather Benjamin was born in New York. Paula’s great-grandfather Benjamin was born in Nebraska, the son of Carl Edward Holeman Van Raden, whose father was Dutch and whose mother was German, and of Louisa Bergman, whose parents were German. Paula’s great-grandmother Grace was born in New York, and had English ancestry. Grace was the daughter of Robert Read Alexander and Laura Davis, who were from Massachusetts.
Sources: Genealogy of Paula’s maternal grandfather, Benjamin Alexander Van Raden, Jr. – https://www.wikitree.com
Obituary of Paula’s maternal grandfather, Benjamin Alexander Van Raden, Jr. – http://www.legacy.com
Marriage record of Paula’s maternal great-grandparents, Benjamin Van Raden and Grace Read Alexander – https://familysearch.org
Paula’s maternal great-grandfather, Benjamin Van Raden, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Paula’s maternal great-grandmother, Grace Read Alexander, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Paula’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Carl Edward Holeman Van Raden and Louisa Bergman, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
I just wanted to comment on Paula Patton and her marriage to caucasian, Robin Thicke. It just never ceases to amaze me how most “black” people so readily accept mixed mariages. Trust and believe that if the roles were reversed, most black women would have a serious problem with black men with white women. In addition, I get so tired of seeing some of the most beautiful black women on the arm of the white slavemaster. My theory is that most, if not all, do not know their history, and don’t care to know. I will close with words spoken by commedian Paul Mooney, Black is the new white.
She’s part white — like just about every black American in the United States. If you want to see what pure black looks like, look at pictures of West Africans. That’s the way black people originally looked before coming to America and being mixed with whites.
Even when you can’t see the white in a black person its often there, so its ridiculous when people argue that a “light-skinned” black person is just African American or pure black. Biologically they are most certainly NOT pure black — Socially is another topic all together.
Thanks Lala. its a great post. Shes a stunning looking woman. I like Robin’s stuff too. Its amazing all the debate about her ethnicity. I guess everyone wants to claim her for themselves.
Thanks for accepting the post, by the way. I recently heard that her and Robin are expecting their first child!!! Woo-hoooooo
YAY! I love Paula!!! There’s always an argument on the net about her background.