Ryan Reynolds
Reynolds in 2011, photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Ryan Rodney Reynolds
Place of Birth: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Date of Birth: October 23, 1976
Ethnicity: Irish (over three eighths), Scottish, Northern Irish, one eighth Luxembourgish, English, Cornish, at least 1/32 Dutch and 1/32 German
Ryan Reynolds is a Canadian actor, film producer, and businessperson. He plays Wade Wilson / Deadpool across all media. He is also known for his roles in the films Ordinary Magic, Coming Soon, Dick (1999), Finder’s Fee, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Buying the Cow, The In-Laws, Foolproof (both 2003), Blade: Trinity, The Amityville Horror (2005), Waiting…, Just Friends, Smokin’ Aces, The Nines, Chaos Theory, Definitely, Maybe; Fireflies in the Garden, Adventureland, The Proposal, Paper Man, Buried, Green Lantern, The Change-Up, Safe House, The Croods, and its sequel; Turbo, R.I.P.D., The Voices, The Captive (2014), Mississippi Grind, Woman in Gold, Self/less, Criminal (2016), Life (2017), The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and its sequel; Pokémon Detective Pikachu, 6 Underground, Free Guy, Red Notice, The Adam Project, and Spirited, and on the shows Hillside, The Odyssey, The Outer Limits, Two Guys and a Girl, and Welcome to Wrexham. Ryan was selected People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2010. He is thus far the only Canadian-born man to have been given this title by the magazine. He has an ownership stake in Mint Mobile, sits on the board of internet and technology company Match Group, and co-owns Welsh football club Wrexham A.F.C.
Ryan is the son of Tamara Lee, who worked in retail sales, and James Chester Reynolds, a Mountie who was also a food wholesaler. He was raised Catholic. His ancestry is Irish (over three eighths), Scottish, Northern Irish, one eighth Luxembourgish, English, Cornish, 1/32 Dutch, and 1/32 German. The Luxembourgers are a Germanic ethnic group. Ryan became a U.S. citizen c. 2018.
Ryan is married to American actress Blake Lively, with whom he has four children.
Ryan’s paternal grandfather was Chester Ambrose “Ches” Reynolds (the son of William Francis Reynolds and Elizabeth Frances Crowe). Chester was born in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. He was a politician, and member of the Social Credit Party of Alberta, who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, from 1940 to 1944. William was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, the son of George Edward Reynolds, who was born in Belturbet, Cavan, Cavan, Ireland, and of Sarah Nesbit Coad, who was Irish. Ryan’s great-grandmother Elizabeth was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., to Irish parents, with her father’s name being John Crowe, and her mother’s name possibly being Margaret McEnerny.
Ryan’s paternal grandmother was Helen Mary Long (the daughter of Thomas Charles Long and Katherine/Catherine/Catharine Cecelia/Cecilia “Kate” George). Helen was born in Kansas, U.S., to a father from Huron County, Ontario, Canada and a mother from Kansas. Ryan’s great-grandfather Thomas was the son of Thomas Charles Long, who was born in Inchigeelagh, County Cork, Ireland, and of Elizabeth Ann “Elisa”/Eliza Foley/Kavanaugh, whose parents were from County Wexford, Ireland. Ryan’s great-grandmother Katherine was the daughter of parents of Luxembourger origin, Nicholas Amos George and Johanna/Joanna Jane George. Ryan’s Luxembourger ancestors had lived in Attert, in the province Luxembourg, Wallonia, Belgium, as well as in the country Luxembourg.
Ryan’s maternal grandfather was Dr. Neil Alexander Stewart (the son of Alexander Maclean/Mclean Stewart and Edith Annie/Ann Lyon). Ryan’s grandfather Neil was born in Calgary, Alberta, and was of Scottish and Northern Irish descent. Ryan’s great-grandfather Alexander was the son of William Stewart and Agnes Mclean, who were Scottish, with William having been from Moral, Comrie, Perthshire. Ryan’s great-grandmother Edith was the daughter of Robinson Ernest Lyon, whose father was from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and of Sarah Marion/Maria Maxwell, whose parents were from Ireland, and were likely Protestant.
Ryan’s maternal grandmother was Verna Margaret “Peggy” Vandervoort/Van der Vert (the daughter of Earnest/Ernest Stanley Vandervoort and Emma Margaret Smith). Ryan’s grandmother Peggy was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her ancestry was a combination of Irish, English, Scottish, and Dutch, as well as Cornish and German. Earnest was the son of William Earnest Vandervoort, whose father was of Dutch descent, and of Elizabeth Woodhouse Wicher/Wicker/Witcher, who had English, Cornish, and Irish ancestry. Emma was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of John Smith and Adeline Nixon, and had Irish, German, and English ancestry.
Sources: Genealogy of Ryan Reynolds – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Ryan Reynolds (focusing on his father’s side) – http://laurenandtristan.net
Genealogies of Ryan’s paternal grandparents, Chester Ambrose “Ches” Reynolds and Helen Mary Long – https://www.findagrave.com
Death record of Ryan’s paternal grandfather, Chester Ambrose “Ches” Reynolds – https://www.familysearch.org
Ryan’s paternal great-grandparents, William Francis Reynolds and Elizabeth Frances Crowe, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Ryan’s paternal grandmother, Helen Mary Long, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Ryan’s paternal grandmother, Helen Mary (Long) Reynolds – http://www.legacy.com
Marriage announcement of Ryan’s maternal grandparents, Dr. Neil Alexander Stewart and Verna Margaret “Peggy” Vandervoort/Van der Vert – https://www.newspapers.com
Genealogy of Ryan’s maternal grandfather, Dr. Neil Alexander Stewart (focusing on his own mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Marriage record of Ryan’s maternal great-grandparents, Alexander Maclean/Mclean Stewart and Edith Annie/Ann Lyon – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Ryan’s maternal grandmother, Verna Margaret “Peggy” (Vandervoort/Van der Vert) Stewart – https://www.newspapers.com
Marriage record of Ryan’s maternal great-grandparents, Earnest/Ernest Stanley Vandervoort and Emma Margaret Smith – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Ryan’s maternal great-grandfather, Earnest/Ernest Stanley Vandervoort – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Ryan’s maternal great-great-grandparents, William Earnest Vandervoort and Elizabeth Woodhouse Wicher/Wicker/Witcher – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Ryan’s maternal great-grandmother, Emma Margaret (Smith) Vandervoort – https://www.familysearch.org
Added his full ancestry.
Alexander’s parents William and Agnes were Scottish.
https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=ryk_brown&id=I16436
Sarah Marion Maxwell’s parents were Irish. Was it the name Maxwell that made you put Northern Irish instead? She might’ve had Northern Irish ancestry, but her parents were both born in Ireland. And her mother’s name, Mary Clendenan, sounds very Irish.
The Maxwells were Anglican (buried in an Anglican cemetery).
Well then, why do you assume she was of Northern Irish descent? Her parents wasn’t from anywhere near Northern Ireland. And the Northern Irish are generally Presbyterian, like their Scottish ancestors, not Anglican, which would point towards an English background. And again, Clendenan should be evidence that at least her mother had an Irish background.
Maxwell is a Scottish name, and besides, people of English descent may fit under the imprecise “Northern Irish” designation. Clendenan is just a name, a rare one, found in Ireland and England. There may even be people of non-Irish, English descent with the name. I don’t know that it’s “Irish Catholic.” And it’s sometimes spelled Clendenon.
I think his ancestors were not Luxembourgian but Belgian, being from the Belgian Province of Luxembourg, in Wallonia region, which borders the country of Luxembourg.
A similar geopolitical case happens in Moldavia, which is split between Romania (the Western part) and the independent state called Moldova.
Reynolds’ ancestors appear to clearly have been ethnically Luxembourgian (Germanic), and not Walloon.
My point remains legit. These ancestors were from Belgium, not from Luxembourg.
I’d change into 1/8 Belgian-Luxembourgian.
I am not sure “Luxembourgians” are even an ethnic group. It’s just a tiny country for tax evaders, like Lichtenstein or San Marino.
According to geni.com, three quarters of Katherine George’s ancestors were from the Belgian side of the border, and one quarter were from the Luxembourgian side. However, the Belgian ancestors were from an area (Arlon in the Belgian region of Luxembourg) that has a significant ethnically Luxembourgian population. And given that the ancestors’ surnames are mostly Germanic, I’d agree they were Luxembourgian. We can’t let a simple border be the dividing point in my opinion.
On a separate note, I think it should be switched to Luxembourgish, like the name of their language.
It’s hard to draw the lines between what should be considered an ethnic group and not. Yes, Luxembourg is just a country that, for various reasons, didn’t end up as a part of Germany. While I’d agree that people from Liechtenstein or San Marino shouldn’t be separate groups because they’re such small countries that it seems ridiculous, Luxembourg is more famous internationally than them, giving it a bit more merit. If we should be as strict as possible, we shouldn’t have ethnicities like Belgian, Swiss, or Austrian either. So it’s a difficult problem.
wow, good find
Add this https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/surrey-bc/james-reynolds-6650635
Another dark Irish like Colin Farrell.
He tans, that’s why he looks dark. Most White people tan.
White people have brown eyes too. FYI
He is not purely Irish though, he has English as well as other European roots too. To me he looks nothing like Colin Farrell, he has lighter hair-color and paler skin.
He’s so cute.