1 Actor/Actress / R
by ethnic · January 3, 2008
Romano in 2007, image via Joe Seer/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Raymond Albert Romano
Place of Birth: Queens, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 21, 1957
*87.5% Italian
*12.5% French
Ray Romano is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He starred in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
Seven of Ray's great-grandparents were Italian, and one of his great-grandparents was French. A picture of Ray with his parents can be seen here.
Ray is married to Anna Scarpulla, with whom he has four children.
Ray's paternal grandfather was Mario C. Romano (the son of Rocco Michele Romano and Concetta Blasi). Mario was born in New York, to Italian parents, from Province of Potenza, Basilicata. Rocco was the son of Pasquale Romano and Rose Pavese. Concetta was the daughter of Ceasare Antonio Blasi and Maria Carmela Pellettieri, who was born in Laurenzana, Province of Potenza. Actor and model Nico Tortorella also has Pavese ancestors from the area.
Ray's paternal grandmother was Augusta Blache (the daughter of August Blache and Adelaide/Adele Manassa/Manasso). Ray's grandmother Augusta was born in Italy, to a French father and an Italian mother.
Ray's maternal grandfather was named Fernando Fortini. Fernando was Italian.
Ray's maternal grandmother was Marie Canudo (the daughter of Anna Disanto). Marie were born in Italy. Anna was from Rome.
Sources: Marriage record of Ray's paternal grandparents, Mario C. Romano and Augusta Blache – https://www.familysearch.org
Ray's paternal grandmother, Augusta Blache, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ray's mother on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Passenger record of Ray's maternal great-grandmother, Anna (Disanto) Canudo – https://familysearch.org
Tags: FrenchItalianLazianLucanian
Curious about ethnicity
neiltennant says:
ANOTHER italian american who can easily pass for INDIAN
I m serious he looks like an indian
No, he doesn't.
yes he does
my sister thinks that too and she knows a lot of indians
he looks very indian
even pakistan based actor sharukk khan looks more pale than him
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Shahrukh_interacts_with_media_after_KKR%27s_maiden_IPL_title.jpg
of course you pick a pic of him on which his eyes say
CHAI LATTE and his heart CHAPATTI JALFREZI haha
pick a better pic of him
Hill says:
Sorry. He doesn't look Indian.
Maria Carmela Pelliteri was born in Laurenzana, Province of Potenza, Basilicata, Italy, and was the daughter of Rocco Vincenzo Pelliteri and Maria Lucia Vagnini.
Augusta Blache on Census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJLX-M5Y
Ray's mother on a Census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3BP-6B7
Anna Disanto was from Rome. Passenger Record:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6V1-GM4
phaedra says:
Typical Southern Italian/Sicilian looking man with large brown eyes and protruding mouth.
Not sure why people are complaining about his looks being "too dark for an Italian". Must be those Italians with an inferior complexity, who think that their people mainly resemble Germans and Swedes.
He's definitely not the most "typical" Southern Italian man (and he doesn't seem to me that he has Sicilian ancestry), not because of his complexion but for his features. Anyway these are his parents and wife, who is also of Italian descent.
http://www.superiorpics.com/pictures3/thumb728/romano_sd533300.jpg
Ironically you stated Benigni looks German, that is one the most ridiculous things I read here.
Adrian1Cram says:
I think he doesn't look arab/indian at all, he has a strong pink undertone and just looks like a tanned up white guy. He actually looks very italian to me.
Meagan Tandy