Ferrera in 2011, photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: America Georgine Ferrera
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: April 18, 1984
Ethnicity: Honduran [Spanish, Indigenous, other], as well as likely 1/32 Swedish Jewish
America Ferrera is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in the films Real Women Have Curves, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and its sequel; Lords of Dogtown, Under the Same Moon, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, The Dry Land, Our Family Wedding, It’s a Disaster, End of Watch, César Chávez, X/Y, Special Correspondents, Barbie, Dumb Money, and, in voice role, How to Train Your Dragon, as well as its sequels and spin-off properties; on the shows Ugly Betty, Superstore, and WeCrashed, and in the made-for-tv movie Gotta Kick It Up!
America is the daughter of América Griselda Ayes and Carlos Gregorio Ferrera Paz, who were from Honduras, in Central America. 90 percent of Hondurans are Mestizo, a mixture of Indigenous and European. America has stated that she has Lenca ancestry; an Indigenous tribe, native to Honduras. Her mother worked as director of the housekeeping staff at a Hilton Hotels & Resorts property. She was raised in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
America is married to actor, writer, and director Ryan Piers Williams, with whom she has two children.
America’s paternal grandfather was Don Carlos Ferrera Padilla (the son of General Gregorio Ferrera González and Maria Luisa Padilla). Carlos was born in La Esperanza, Intibucá Department, Honduras. Gregorio was a prominent general and revolutionary in Honduras, and was nicknamed “El Indio.” He was a leader of several revolutions to depose various Honduran leaders throughout the 1910s and 1920s. He was the son of Sebastian Ferrera and Gregoria González. Maria Luisa was the daughter of Luisa Padilla.
America’s paternal grandmother was Mucia/Musia Georgina Paz Mendieta (the daughter of Jacobo Francisco Paz Barahona/Baraona and María Ernestina Mendieta Cobos). America’s grandmother Georgina was born in San Pedro Sula, Cortés Department, Honduras. Jacobo was the son of Desiderio Aurelio de Paz Kazan, whose own mother, Mikaela Kazan, was Swedish, and was evidently a Swedish Jew; and of Isabel “Bela” Baraona/Barahona Leiva. America’s great-grandmother Ernestina was the daughter of Manuel Mendieta López and Clotilde “Chata” Cobos Contreras.
America’s great-grandfather Jacobo was the brother of Miguel Paz Barahona, who was President of Honduras, from 1 February, 1925 to 1 February, 1929. He was also a first cousin of Luis Bográn (Luis Bográn Barahona), who was President of Honduras, from 30 November, 1883 to 30 November, 1891, through their mothers.
America, Catalina Sandino Moreno (for Maria Full of Grace, 2004), Yalitza Aparicio (for Roma, 2018), Ariana DeBose (for West Side Story, 2021), and Ana de Armas (for Blonde, 2022), are thus far the only actors of Latin-American descent born after 1980 to have been nominated for an acting Oscar, with Ariana having won.
Sources: Information about America’s appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, 2015 – https://blogs.ancestry.com
Genealogy of America Ferrera (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
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