Polly Draper

Draper in 2007, photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Polly Carey Draper

Place of Birth: Gary, Indiana, U.S.

Date of Birth: June 15, 1955

Ethnicity: English, German, some Scottish, along with 1/256th Portuguese Azorean, and distant Welsh, Jersey/Channel Islander, and French

Polly Draper is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. She is known for her roles on television’s Thirtysomething, Heartbeat, The Larry Sanders Show, Monk, Too Young to Marry, and The Big C, and in the films The Tic Code, which she also wrote, Side Effects, Obvious Child, Stella’s Last Weekend, which she also directed and wrote, and Shiva Baby. She directed and wrote the film The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie, starring her children, actors, musicians, and directors Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff. She later created and showran the series The Naked Brothers Band, on which he directed, and for which she wrote for; and which starred her sons and her husband/their father, musician Michael Wolff. She also wrote the play Getting into Heaven.

Polly is the daughter of Phyllis (Culbertson), an administrator for the Peace Corps, and William Henry Draper III, a venture capitalist, and a civic leader of the United Nations Development Programme. Her brother is venture capitalist Tim Draper, and her niece is television personality and venture capitalist Jesse Draper, who is Tim’s daughter. She was raised in Chicago, Illinois, as well as in Palo Alto and Arlington, in California.

Polly has a significant amount of English ancestry, as well as a grandmother who was of German descent, and some Scottish roots. Also, one of Polly’s maternal great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers, Antonio de Zocieur, was Portuguese, born on Terceira Island in the Azores. This makes Polly of one quarter German and 1/256th Portuguese descent. Polly also has distant Welsh, Jersey Channel Islander, and French, ancestry. She is a descendant of Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke, and of Captain Joseph Weld (1599-1646), one of the founders of the prominent Boston Brahmin Weld family of Massachusetts. Among Joseph’s other descendants are Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld and actress Tuesday Weld.

Polly’s paternal grandfather was William Henry Draper II (the son of William Henry Draper and Mary Emma Carey). Polly’s grandfather William was born in New York, and was a diplomat, army officer, and banker. Polly’s great-grandfather William was the son of The Rev. James Draper and Phoebe Pringle. Mary was the daughter of Melvin Horton Morse Carey and Caroline Wood.

Polly’s paternal grandmother was Katherine Louise Baum (the daughter of George Baum and Julia Cook). Katherine was born in New York. George was the son of German parents, Henry Baum and Katharina/Catharine Emrich. Julia was also the daughter of German parents, Adam Cook and Ann J. Scholtz.

Polly’s maternal grandfather was William Howard Culbertson (the son of Claude Lanier Culbertson and Mabel Virginia Cosgrave). William was born in Ohio. Claude was the son of Howard Culbertson and Louisa Marie Safford. Mabel was the daughter of William Bowers Cosgrave and Mary Virginia Lofland.

Polly’s maternal grandmother was Phyllis Barnard Nichols (the daughter of Clifford Nichols and Albertine Louise Barnard). Phyllis was born in New Jersey. Clifford was the son of William Nichols and Julia Anna Batchelder. Albertine was the daughter of Albert Jenkins Barnard and Clara Augusta Sizer.

Polly’s matrilineal line can be traced to Sarah “Sally” Canfield, who was born, c. 1789, in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Sources: Genealogy of Polly Draper (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Polly’s paternal grandmother, Katherine Louise Baum, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Polly’s mother – https://www.legacy.com