Rebecca Hall
Hall in 2011, photo by Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Rebecca Maria Hall
Place of Birth: Hammersmith, London, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 3 May, 1982
Ethnicity:
*father – English
*mother – African-American, Dutch, English, distant German
Rebecca Hall is a British-American actress. She is known for her roles in the films Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Gift, The Night House, and Godzilla Vs. Kong.
Her father, Peter Hall, was English-born, and was a director, of theatre, opera, and film, who founded the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her mother, Maria Ewing, was American-born, and was an opera singer and actress. Rebecca is married to American actor Morgan Spector, with whom she has a daughter.
A picture of Rebecca with her parents can be seen here. Rebecca’s father was of English descent. Rebecca’s maternal grandfather, from Virginia, was African-American, with European (likely English) ancestry, and Rebecca’s great-grandfather had been born into slavery. Rebecca’s maternal grandmother, who was caucasian, was Dutch, from Amsterdam, and also had a small amount of German ancestry.
Rebecca’s half-siblings are producer Christopher Hall, actress, musician, and journalist Jennifer Caron Hall, stage director Edward Hall, set designer Lucy Hall, and actress Emma Hall. Christopher and Jennifer’s mother is actress Leslie Caron.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2022) stated that Rebecca’s genetic ancestry is:
*91% European
*9% African
Rebecca’s paternal grandfather was Reginald Edward Arthur Hall (the son of George Hall and Edith Kate Mitchell). Reginald was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. George was the son of John Hall and Mahala Vincent. Edith was the daughter of John Mitchell and Elizabeth Ann Tindall.
Rebecca’s paternal grandmother was Grace Florence Pamment (the daughter of Frederick William Pamment and Phyllis Louisa Wilson). Grace was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Frederick was the son of Charles Edwin Pamment, Jr. and Jane Linsey. Phyllis was the daughter of Henry Wilson and Elizabeth.
Rebecca’s maternal grandfather, Norman Isaac Ewing, was born, c. 1892-1894 (most likely in 1894), probably in Falls Church, Fairfax, Virginia. Norman was the son of John William Ewing and Hattie/Harriet Norman, who married on July 16, 1885 in Washington, D.C. Both of Norman’s parents were of at least part African ancestry. John was born into slavery in Lincoln County, Tennessee, the son of Violet Ewing, and of a father who was likely white. John worked for the Treasury Department in D.C., and was prominent in the city’s African-American community. Harriet was born in Marietta, Washington, Ohio, the daughter of Isaac Franklin Norman and Amanda Jane Myers. She was from a long line of free black people. Her great-grandfather, Bazabeel “Basil” Norman, a black/mixed-race man, was born, c. 1760, likely in Maryland, and fought in the American Revolution.
During part of his lifetime, Rebecca’s grandfather Norman I. Ewing was said to have been a Sioux Native American, and was a musician, who gave lectures and performances centered around his would-be Native American ancestry. The DNA test taken by Finding Your Roots found that Rebecca has no Native American genetic ancestry.
On the 1910 U.S. Census, Norman’s “race” is listed as “Mulatto” (mixed race), and so is the “race” of both of his parents. At this time, Norman’s birth place is listed as Virginia, and his residence place is listed as Washington, D.C., with his father’s birthplace listed as Tennessee and his mother’s as Ohio. On the 1915 South Dakota State Census, Norman’s race is listed as “Indian” (Native American), and on the 1920 U.S. Census, his “race” is again listed as “Indian.” On the 1920 U.S. Census, his birthplace is listed as Washington, D.C., while his father’s birthplace is listed as Oregon and his mother’s birthplace is listed as Washington, D.C. It is perhaps notable that the woman he was married to at this time, Margaret “Maggie” Culbertson (who was not Rebecca’s maternal grandmother), is listed as “Indian” on the 1920 Census also. Some African-Americans told census takers that their race was “Indian.”
Rebecca’s maternal grandmother was Hermina Maria Veraar (the daughter of Robertus Veraar and Hermina Maria Vermeulen). Rebecca’s grandmother Hermina was Dutch, and was born in Amsterdam. She was white. Robertus was born in Sloten, North Holland, the son of Robertus Veraar and Jannetje van der Steen. Rebecca’s great-grandmother Hermina was the daughter of Willem Vermeulen and Hermina Maria Schoemaker, and was of part German descent.
Rebecca’s matrilineal ancestry can be traced back to her fifth great-grandmother, Antje Roos.
Sources: Genealogy of Rebecca Hall – https://www.geni.com
Rebecca’s maternal grandfather, Norman Isaac Ewing, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Norman Isaac Ewing on the 1915 South Dakota State Census – https://familysearch.org
Norman Isaac Ewing on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-grandparents, John William Ewing and Hattie/Harriet Norman, in the District of Columbia, Marriages, 1830-1921 – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Rebecca’s mother (focusing on her own mother’s side) – https://www.findagrave.com
Marriage records of Rebecca’s maternal great-grandparents, Robertus Veraar and Hermina Maria Vermeulen – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-grandfather, Robertus Veraar – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Robertus Veraar and Jannetje van der Steen – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Robertus Veraar – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Jan Veraar and Maria van Leersum – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Jan Veraar – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandmother, Maria van Leersum – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Jannetje van der Steen – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Hijmen van der Steen and Maria Elisabeth van ‘t Kruijs – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Hijmen van der Steen – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandmother, Maria Elisabeth van ‘t Kruijs – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-grandmother, Hermina Maria Vermeulen – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Willem Vermeulen and Hermina Maria Schoemaker – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Willem Vermeulen – https://archief.amsterdam
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Johannes Jacobus Vermeulen and Petronella Wilhelmina Jubels – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Johannes Jacobus Vermeulen – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandmother, Petronella Wilhelmina Jubels – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Hermina Maria Schoemaker – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Hendrik Schoemaker and Adriana Blekkenhorst – https://www.openarch.nl
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Hendrik Schoemaker – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Rebecca’s maternal great-great-great-grandmother, Adriana Blekkenhorst – https://www.familysearch.org
White lady heavily pimping her minuscule black ancestry.
Lets cut the crap.
She’s just larping being admixed to get in the good graces of the —- —– mob —- —- ———.
Like Lizzy Warren.
Wow, finally a DNA test… But anyway, they are not 100% accurate, even less accurate when it comes to women, because they only get the maternal genes, if i remember corretly, please guys correct me if im wrong. It seems like her mother have less black ancestry than we were led to believe, since she has some strong sub-saa features, but anyone who looks at Rebecca would surely presume she is at least 85% european. That does not change the fact that she does have relatively recent black ancestry, but i don’t think it’s quite enough to describe her as being ”part black”, her mother is, since she most likely is over 18% sub-saa and has black traits.
23andme is actually pretty accurate.
23andme is a joke.
They tell people you’re “100% Ashkenazi Jewish.”
And what they hell does that even mean?
That a Jewish guy paid 100 bucks to hear he’s Jewish?
You have to take your raw data to autosomal calculators to even get a decent breakdown to what it means to be “Ashkenazi Jewish.”
All because the clowns at 23andme don’t do that basic job on their site.
23andMe puts Ashkenazi Jews under “European” unbrella too. It clashes with the principles of Zionism.
Andrew, Ashkenazi Jews are Europeans in the past 500-1000 years where the DNA markers lead back to on 22andme. But Ashkenazi Jews are indigenous to Israel and the Levant region like all ethnic Jews are. It doesn’t clash with the principle of Zionism at all.
Women get genes/results for ethnicity from both sides, the only thing sex effects is tracing haplogroups because women/people with xx chromsomes can only trace the maternal/x haplogroup, while men/people with xy chromosomes can trace both x and y. The ethnicity estimates are based on comparing the individual who took the tests’ DNA to that of reference population around the world, so sex chromosomes don’t affect it.
You’re right that they aren’t always 100% accurate anyway though, if for no other reason then because we don’t always inherit the same amount of DNA from each ancestor
Got it, thanks!
@jonasbttencourt another —- from you, Having 9 % African is not enough to be “part Black” ?, where do you get this —- from ??! lol.
The history of her African-American grandfather is fascinating. A great episode.
Her percentages are about what I expected. I didn’t think she would have any Native American DNA, just African. I see I was right about that.
I think her mother 18% SSA is a bit a downgrade.
Do you mean you thought her mother would be more than 18% SSA?
Yes, I thought like 25% or so.
Anyhow her “black man” ancestor Bazabeel Norman was actually a free mulatto being mixed-race: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazabeel_Norman
Norman Isaac Ewing gives his birthdate as 7 May 1894 on his WW1 draft registration card.
Isaac Franklin Norman appears on the 1850 census in Washington co. OH. His father was Aquilla Norman (born Virginia) and his mother was Mary Fisher (born Pennsylvania). There’s a marriage record for Aquilla and Mary in 1828 in Washington co. OH. Mary’s father Richard, at 90 years old, was also living with the family in 1850 and his birthplace is Maryland
Aquilla was named as one of the heirs to Fortune Norman when she died in 1841 in Washington co. OH. She was the widow of Bazabel Norman, who was taxed as a “free negro” in Frederick co. VA in 1802. We know that Fortune’s maiden name was Stephens as she attests in her application for a pension, and that she had a brother named James Stephens. She and Bazabel were married in 1782 in Montgomery co. MD.
Bazabel’s mother was Henrietta Norman, who was bound to Samuel Selby and then William Deakins in Prince George’s county. Henrietta’s mother in turn was Rebecca (Beck) Norman who was convicted of “Mullatto Bastardry” in 1746 for giving birth to her. Rebecca, or Beck, was born in 1720, when Elizabeth Norman confessed that she’d had a child by a “Mullato man of William Digge’s” and both she and her daughter were sold into servitude.