Did You Know? 20 Mixed Race Celebrities
Ever looked at a celebrity and wondered, “She looks so exotic, what is she?” There’s a saying that mixed kids inherit the best features from both parents, something these stars below can attest to. Enjoy this fun list of mixed race and mixed heritage celebrities!
Paula Abdul
Singer/Dancer best known as one of the original judges on American Idol
Father: Syrian born in Brazil
Mother: Ukranian-Jewish/Russian-Jewish
 |
| Halle Berry Photo: Flickr.com/brava_67 |
Halle Berry
Best Actress Academy Award recipient for Monsters Ball and timeless movie star
Father: African-American
Mother: Caucasian of English descent
Cheryl Burke
Professional Dancer on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars
Father: American-born of Russian/Irish descent
Mother: Filipina
 |
| Mariah Carey Image: Amazon.com |
Mariah Carey
Singer/ActressPlatinum-selling singer winning numerous accolades from the music industry
Father: Afro-Venezuelan
Mother: Irish
Phoebe Cates
Actress admired by teen boys everywhere for her 1982 bikini scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Father: Russian/Jewish descent
Mother: Russian/Chinese descent
Cameron Diaz
Actress best known for her roles in There’s Something About Mary and giving voice to the character Princess Fiona in the Shrek series
Father: Cuban-American/Spanish
Mother: English/German/Cherokee
 |
| Selena Gomez Image: Amazon.com |
Selena Gomez
Actress/Singer best known for her role on the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place
Father: Mexican
Mother: Italian
Selma Hayek
Mexican Actress, director, and producer nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Frida
Father: Lebanese
Mother: Mexican
Vanessa Hudgens
Actress/Singer best known for her role in High School Musical
Father: Irish/Native American
Mother: Filipina
 |
| Enrique Iglesias Image: Amazon.com |
Enrique Inglesias
Singer and son of crooner Julio Inglesias
Father: Spanish
Mother: Filipina
Derek Jeter
Professional Baseball Player for the New York Yankees
Father: African-American
Mother: Irish-American
Norah Jones
Singer-songwriter and five-time Grammy Award winner
Father: Bengali Indian
Mother: Caucasian
 |
| Derek Jeter Photo: Flickr.com/Keith Allison |
Kimora Lee
Fashion model, author, former President and Creative Director for Phat fashions, ex-wife of music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons
Father: African-American
Mother: Japanese born in Korea
Leona Lewis
Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter from Britain
Father: Afro-Caribbean of Guyanese descent
Mother: Welsh, Italian and Irish descent
 |
| Kimora Lee Image: Amazon.com |
Barack Obama
President of the United States
Father: African-American of Kenyan descent
Mother: Caucasian
Meghan Markle – Duchess of Sussex
Actress in the TV show Suits and married to Prince Harry of England.
Father: Caucasian
Mother: African-American
Keanu Reeves
Actor best known for his role in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Speed, and The Matrix series
Father: Hawaiian/Chinese-American
Mother: English
 |
| Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Photo: Flickr.com/david_shankbone |
The Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson)
Pro-Wrestler and Movie Actor
Father: African-Canadian
Mother: Samoan
Pete Wentz
Musician best known as the bassist and primary lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy and for being singer Ashlee Simpson’s ex-husband
Father: German/English
Mother: African-American of Jamaican descent
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods
Professional Golfer, one of the most successful of all time
Father: African-American/Chinese/American Indian
Mother: Thai/Chinese/Dutch
Who are your favorite mixed-race celebrities? Share them with others by posting them in the comments below.
Follow me on Twitter (@BiculturalMama) and “Like” on Bicultural Mama’s Facebook page.
Sources: www.IMDB.com, www.MixedChild.com, www.Wikipedia.com Photos: Labeled for commercial reuse through Google images forHalle Berry, Derek Jeter, and Dwayne Johnson. CD/Film covers within public domain via Amazon.com for Mariah Carey, Selena Gomez, Enrique Inglesias, and Kimora Lee.
ANYONE OUT HERE WHOS HALF RUSSIAN AND HALF GUYANESE?? PRETTY SURE IM THE ONLY ONE UGH
OMG I AM!! BOTH MY BROTHER AND I ARE HALF RUSSIAN AND HALFGUYANESE!
Hey, bilcultural mama, thanks for your great work, and please find me a musician, a very talented musician, who was discussed on NPR, but I forgot his name, a great bassist, half Black and half Cherokee, they said, or some other Indian tribe–his story is very well worth passing on.
Keanu is not Chinese, he is Lebanese. And
That’s where he was born (Lebanon), but the author is correct about his parents’ origins. Keanu was a Canadian citizen, too.
Thanks, I have made the change.
Thanks, I have made the correction.
I love this post! My whole family is of mixed race and it doesn’t often get any positive attention! This is much needed! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, and yes to the positive attention!
They have ethnic types within them. For example, Koreans look noticeably different to Chinese people. Also, you could uniquely call Hawaiians a race in themselves.
PAULA ABDUL IS HISPANIC!!
Jessica Sanchez was born to a Texan-born father of Mexican descent and a mother of Filipino and Chinese descent who was raised in Hawaii.
Ashanti was born to a father of African-American, Filipino, Chinese, Irish, and Sioux Indian descent and a mother of African-American, Puerto Rican, and Cherokee Indian descent.
Olivia Munn’s mother is Chinese & father is German/Irish.
I love learning about celebrities who are mixed races. I didn’t know about Pete Wentz.
A lot of people don’t know the great Bruce Lee was mixed. Tyson Beckford, too.
i forgot about meg and jennifer tilly, and tyrese. ok i’ll stop commenting now 🙂
yeah The Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson)has to be one of the best examples of a race mix. *drool*
I didn’t know about Pete Wentz! Ok I’ll like him a little better now. :p i love hines ward! and did you know that dean cain, olivia munn, darren criss, and teri hatcher are also hapa? yay hapas!
Great list. Thanks for sharing!
Hine Ward, winner of 2011 Dancing with the Stars and MVP of Superbowl. His father is Black and mother is Korean.