Val Kilmer
Kilmer in 2005, Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Val Edward Kilmer
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: December 31, 1959
Ethnicity:
*father – German, English, Welsh, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, French Huguenot
*mother – Swedish
Val Kilmer is an American actor. He is the son of Gladys (Ekstadt) and Eugene Kilmer. Val’s father was of German, English, Welsh, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and French Huguenot, ancestry. Val’s mother was born in Indiana, of entirely Swedish descent.
Val has two children, including actor Jack Kilmer, with his former wife, English actress Joanne Whalley.
Val’s paternal grandfather was Thomas/Tom Walker Kilmer (the son of Jeremiah Early Kilmer and Nancy Williams). Thomas was born in Texas, and was a gold miner in New Mexico. Jeremiah was the son of James/John Kilmer, who was said to be German, and of Mary Polly Meadows/Meadors/Meador Heard. Nancy was the daughter of Wright Williams and Lucinda Pigg.
Val’s paternal grandmother was Nora/Norah Elizabeth Jones (the daughter of Stephen T. Jones and Sarah Elizabeth “Sallie” Webb). Nora was born in Tennessee. Stephen was the son of Raybie Jones and Sallie. Val’s great-grandmother Sarah was the daughter of Armistead/Armsted/Armstead Webb and Elizabeth C. Morrison.
Val’s maternal grandfather was John Edward Ekstadt (the son of John August Ekstadt and Anna Elizabeth Wester). Val’s grandfather John was born in Martin, Minnesota, to Swedish parents.
Val’s maternal grandmother was Hilma Charlotte Swanson (the daughter of Bror Swanson and Karna Elizabeth Nilsdotter). Hilma was born in Sweden. Bror was the son of Sven Brorsson and Johanna Nilsdotter. Karna was the daughter of Nils Nilsson and Ingar Pehrsdotter.
During Val’s interview on Inside the Actors Studio (2000), Val stated that he has Sephardi Jewish, Cherokee Native American, and Mongolian ancestry, perhaps jokingly, perhaps not. He has often referenced having Cherokee ancestry, usually from a paternal great-grandmother. However, no Sephardi Jewish, Cherokee Native American, or Mongolian ancestry has been documented in publicly available family trees of Val Kilmer. Both of Val’s paternal great-grandmothers, Nancy Williams and Sarah Elizabeth Webb were born to non-Cherokee families with fairly well-documented recent ancestors.
Sources: Genealogies of Val Kilmer – http://www.wikitree.com
https://www.geni.com
History of the Kilmer family – http://www.geocities.ws
Val’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Val’s paternal grandfather, Thomas/Tom Walker Kilmer (focusing on his own father’s side) – http://www.findagrave.com
Information about Val’s paternal great-grandfather, Jeremiah Early Kilmer – http://objgenealogy.com
Val’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Val’s maternal grandfather, John Edward Ekstadt – https://familysearch.org
Val’s maternal grandfather, John Edward Ekstadt, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
well said Joe
really asdf? talk about being narrow minded. and not thinking it out to much either. I’ve got a little cherokee and chokotaw in me, and i have dark hair and eyes. My cousin also does, but he has blonde hair and blue eyes, so by you logic he must be bsing about his ethnicity. Did you ever think that Val is white becuase a majority of his ancestors were of a lighter complection? Mongolian would be on the lighter side to a little dark, german and swedish i mean hello you dont get whiter than that, scot and irish also white, sephardic jews are relativily light skinned but with some color. Do you really think that because he is at MOST 1/7 cherokee he should be dark skinned? come on its a head not a hat rack, use it.
“Scottish, Irish, Sephardic Jewish, Cherokee Native American, Swedish, German and Mongolian”
That has got to be total TOTAL bullshit. How is it that every fucking famous actor has like 15 different ethnicities? Probably because it’s a lie. Famous actors get famous by being narcissistic, exaggerating, and making stuff up to make themselves seem more interesting, being actors, lots of them probably start to believe that the bullshit is true. Look at him, he is white, solid white with blond hair, unbelievable that people would believe this.
Not everyone’s ancestors stayed in the same village and never moved about, probably like yours. Some people’s heritage goes back hundreds of years in North America. Not everyone’s ancestors immigrated during the last 100 years and came by way of Ellis Island. That’s why you can’t wrap your head around the concept.
He does have almond shaped eyes do you think?
I do see the Swede and German