Penn Badgley
Badgley in 2010, photo by PRPhotos
Birth Name: Penn Dayton Badgley
Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 1, 1986
Ethnicity: Irish, English, smaller amounts of French-Canadian, German, Scottish, likely around 1/16th or 1/32 African-Jamaican, and remote Dutch, Welsh, and French Huguenot
Penn Badgley is an American actor and musician. He has starred on the shows Gossip Girl and You, and in the films John Tucker Must Die, Forever Strong, The Stepfather (2009), Easy A, Margin Call, Greetings from Tim Buckley, Parts per Billion, Cymbeline, The Paper Store, Here Today, and The Birthday Cake.
Penn is the son of Lynne Murphy and Duff Badgley. His father, a newspaper reporter and carpenter, was the Green Party candidate for governor of Washington in 2008. A picture of Penn’s father can be seen here. He was raised partly in Richmond, Virginia, and Tacoma, Washington.
One of Penn’s paternal great-grandfathers was a Jamaican immigrant, and was almost certainly of at least part African-Jamaican descent. The rest of Penn’s roots are Irish, English, smaller amounts of French-Canadian, German, and Scottish, and remote Dutch, Welsh, and French Huguenot. Penn is of the Baha’i faith.
Penn is married to British-born singer, songwriter, and doula Domino Kirke, with whom he has a son. Domino is the sister of actress and artist Jemima Kirke and actress Lola Kirke.
Penn’s patrilineal ancestry can be traced to George Badgley, who was born, c. 1616, in Bakewell, Derby, England.
Penn’s paternal grandfather was Eugene Doty Badgley (the son of William Gervaise Badgley and Florence LeRoy Mulford). Eugene was born in New Jersey. William was also born in New Jersey, the son of Eugene Doty Badgley and Anna/Annie J./M. Johnson. Florence was born in New Jersey as well, the daughter of William V. Mulford and Emma Susan Morehouse.
Penn’s paternal grandmother was Janet Adair Duff (the daughter of Howard Duff and Edna May Murphey). Janet was born in New York. Howard was born in Saint Ann, Jamaica, to John Duff and Emily James Facey. Emily’s parents were James Malcolm Facey and Emily. A James Malcolm Facey is listed as having been born into slavery, in 1815, in St. Catherine, Jamaica, the son of George Samuel Facey and Eleanor Halkett/Hackett. Thus, Penn’s great-grandfather, Howard Duff, was almost certainly of at least part African-Jamaican ancestry, though Howard listed himself as “white” in United States records. Penn’s great-grandmother, Edna May Murphey, was born in Pennsylvania, to Edward Biddle Murphey (the son of The Rev. Thomas Charles Murphey and Emily Renshaw Rhoads) and Mary Louisa Perry (the daughter of Charles P. Perry and Louisa Supplee).
Penn’s maternal grandfather was Stewart Francis Murphy (the son of Charles Stewart Parnell Murphy and Eva Josephine Seguin/Sawyer). Penn’s grandfather Stewart was born in Brooklyn, New York. Charles was born in Sprague, Connecticut, the son of Irish parents, James Murphy and Mary Tighe. Eva was born in Rutland, Vermont, of French-Canadian, and one fourth Scottish, descent, and was the daughter of Canadian parents, Leander Seguin/Sawyer, whose mother was Scottish, and Emma Vondette/Voudette/Vandette/Vendette.
Penn’s maternal grandmother was Mary Loretta (Abernathy) Pughilli (the daughter of Cleveland Levi Abernathy and Lillian McGee). Mary was born in Virginia. Cleveland was the son of Thomas William Abernathy and Mary Elizabeth Davis. Lillian was the daughter of John J. McGee and Annie E. O’Neil, who were of Irish origin.
Sources: Genealogy of Penn Badgley – https://www.geni.com
Penn’s paternal grandfather, Eugene Doty Badgley, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Penn’s paternal grandmother, Janet Adair Duff, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Penn’s paternal great-grandparents, Howard Duff and Edna May Murphey, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Birth record of Penn’s paternal great-grandfather, Howard Duff – https://familysearch.org
Christening record of Penn’s paternal great-great-great-grandfather, James Malcolm Facey – https://familysearch.org
Penn’s paternal great-grandmother, Edna May Murphey, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Penn’s maternal grandfather, Stewart Francis Murphy, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Penn’s maternal grandfather, Stewart Francis Murphy – http://www.genealogybuff.com
Marriage record of Penn’s maternal great-grandparents, Charles Stewart Parnell Murphy and Eva Josephine Seguin/Sawyer – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth records of Penn’s maternal great-grandmother, Eva Josephine Seguin/Sawyer – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org
Penn’s maternal great-grandmother, Eva Josephine Seguin/Sawyer, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Penn’s maternal grandmother, Mary Loretta Abernathy, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Penn’s maternal great-grandparents, Cleveland Levi Abernathy and Lillian McGee – https://www.familysearch.org
So he’s not part black?
Hes jamaican man!
woot! woot!
hehe…
He must be wrong about the distant African heritage. African genes are so powerful that there´s no way he would look so White if he had relatively recent African heritage. Or he might be an unique case.
He is likely about 1/16th or 1/32 African.
do u have a proof?
Well, his great-great-great-grandfather, James Malcolm Facey, received a manumission (release by owner) from slavery in Jamaica, in 1817, along with a sibling and his mother. I don’t think he was a white slave.
http://jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples/Manumit1.htm
Even if he does have that partial African ancestry, I still consider him white, just like Johnny Depp.
@JasonBaker
Nothing unique about him,it happens alot. Even a person who is 50% black,can look like him.
(African genes are so powerful )
this cracks me up every time i read it
Hahahaha, I mean it! African genes are very powerful, they take over any other race´s genes. If Penn Badgley was 1/32 black he wouldn´t be so pale. And when on earth is a Mulatto gonna look like Penn Badgley? Please show me an example!
There is no such thing as an African gene
You do realise that being 1/32 black equals having 3% black ancestry with 97% white ancestry? How can 3% of salty water be dominant in 97% of sweet water? Did you have F’s in math because brother it isn’t your stronger side :3
PS: Like multiethnicchick said, there’s only the human gene (oh Lord we’re all human with different skin tones, who’d say O.O) so yep, the African ‘gene’ doesn’t take over any other ‘gene’. It’s simple art. Mix up black and white it’ll be grey. Add more white, it’ll be light grey. Add more black it’ll be dark grey. It’s because black is a stronger colour.
Of course I know that all races are human, I just meant that, when mixed, children often look more African than Europe. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong about it, I’m just saying it because I honestly think that’s what happens most of the times (Obama, Sherri Saum…).
And yes, I had some F’s in math, but I also had C’s and B’s in math and somehow I managed to pass the subject.
Mariah Carey is 1/2 black and looks white
Mariah Carey is likely 1/4 black, not 50%
Have you seen Mariah Carey’s dad? He was a dark skinned Afro Latino. Genes are funny,there is a famous Brazilian Samba singer named, Neguinho de Beija Flor, whose skin tone is BLACK but genetically found to be 68% Euro,27% African the rest Amerindian.
Her dad isn’t dark at all.
Mariah Carey’s dad was of Venezuelan ancestry thru his grandmother however some Venezuelans have a great degree of African ancestry. She states this on Lopez Tonight years ago about her paternal genealogy. The pictures of him I’ve are of a dark guy with a decent grade of hair.
I have a friend who is a quarter black, he looks caucasian and his hair and eyes are lighter than mine, and I am completely caucasian.
Obviously you haven’t seen the rainbow that is mixed-with-black multiracial people; my cousin(our mothers are sisters) who is half African American(mom) and half white of English and Irish ancestry(dad) looks white. If I had her permission I would post a picture to show you. And the funny thing is, her younger sister looks Polynesian and her youngest sister looks Arab. :/
Look up Cameron Boyce!
correction; his eyes are hazel (light brown) and his hair is virtually black (noiret)
1/8th black?! I don’t see it in him at all. Just looks like a pure white with curly hair to me. My friend who’s 100% Spanish looks exactly like him.
His Jamaican-born great-grandfather listed himself as “White” in the United States, so it’s unlikely that he was fully black. More likely, he was mixed-race, and could pass for white in the U.S.
and why would you see black in someone who has it distantly??? Stupid… you can be HALF and still look completely white.
Yeah! Like Cameron Boyce! But he is half black and so pale