Lovell in 2017, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Place of Birth: New Mexico, U.S.
Date of Birth: September 13, 1985
Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*maternal grandfather – Ashkenazi Jewish
*maternal grandmother – English, Scottish, some Irish
Vella Lovell is an American actress.
While she is sometimes cast as a character of South Asian descent (as in The Big Sick, 2017), she herself is of mixed black and white ancestry.
Her stepfather is director Godfrey Reggio.
Vella’s maternal grandfather was Robert David Lovell (the son of Philip Morris Lovell/Saperstein and Leah Press). Robert was born in California. Vella’s great-grandfather Philip Lovell was a prominent physician and naturopath. He built the Lovell House/Lovell Health House in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. Philip was born in New Jersey, to Russian Jewish parents, Nathan M. Saperstein and Sarah Ginsberg. Leah was born in Iowa, to Russian Jewish parents, Moses Press and Sara Ada/Ida Sadd.
Vella’s maternal grandmother was Jean Pattison French (the daughter of Harold Wilson French and Martha Irwin Pattison). Jean was born in New York. Harold was the son of Albert Lincoln French, who was of Irish descent, and of Adeline Gavey “Annie” Lane. Martha was the daughter of Arthur Eugene Pattison and Martha Duncan Irwin.
Sources: Genealogy of Vella’s maternal grandfather, Robert David Lovell (focusing on his mother’s side) – – https://www.geni.com
Information about Vella’s maternal great-grandfather, Philip Morris Lovell/Saperstein – https://www.kcet.org
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