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
His facial structure does look indian
“His facial structure does look indian…” mmmhhhh when you have like him no more than 12,5 % of indian origin (or less) you can’t say that the structure of his face came really from that influence…
Mongolian is not very surprising…..most peoople with native american blood who take DNA tests also test as Mongolian….and it is widely believed and borderline confirmed by archaeologists that Native Americans came from Mongolia via a bridge that used to exist connecting Alaska and Siberia.
that is very possible as Native American share similar DNA with Asian people due to a common origin and relatively recent migration.
Mongolian, really? Thats odd.
Many white people (especially those of Eastern European descent) have distant traces of Mongolian ancestry dating back to the 13th Century invasion of Europe. The Mongols may have penetrated Europe as far west as Germany, and if not, then their genes did during later migrations.
http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=The_Mongol_Empire
Robert, take a look at a young Janice Dickinson. She is Polish and Belarusian (Eastern European). She looks quite Asian-esque. So does Olga Kurylenko who is Ukrainian (Eastern European).
Therein lies two likely examples of what I was referring to.
Thank you Dolphin.
How is she “Belarusian”? Is the name DickenSON a
slavic name? Chazars have some asian look
Hello Robert!
I totally agree with you. I also would like to ask Mr.Kilmer about his sources of informations about his mongolian ancestors.But I think you`re right.It is interesting,isn`t it?
Best regards!
he looks part native, more so than jani depp.
I was watching Willow again yesterday, and it suddenly stroke me that Val Kilmer had to have amerindian origins. So I searched the web, found this website, and now I see that I was right! ^^ The Cherokee origins really show on his face I think (not color, but rather the form of his nose, mouth, etc.)!