Ford in 2011, Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Date of Birth: July 13, 1942
Ethnicity:
*Irish and one quarter German (father)
*Ashkenazi Jewish (mother)
Harrison Ford is an American actor and producer. He is the son of Dora/Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor and advertising executive. His brother is actor Terence Ford.
Harrison’s father was born in Manhattan, New York, of three quarters Irish and one quarter German ancestry. Harrison’s mother, also born in New York, was Jewish, the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Minsk, Belarus (at that time, Minsk was part of the Russian Empire). Harrison was raised around both Catholicism (his father’s religion) and Judaism (his mother’s religion). Harrison’s father’s first wife, Celia Mast, was also Jewish.
On Inside the Actors Studio (2000), Harrison humorously stated, “As a man I’ve always felt Irish, as an actor I’ve always felt Jewish.”
Harrison was selected People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1998. He is the first man of significant Jewish heritage to have been given this title by the magazine (Adam Levine, in 2013, is the second, and David Beckham, in 2015, is the third).
Harrison is married to actress Calista Flockhart. He has five children, one with Calista; two with his former wife, Mary Marquardt; and two with his former wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison.
Harrison’s paternal grandfather was named John Fitzgerald Ford. John was of Irish descent.
Harrison’s paternal grandmother was Florence Veronica Niehaus/Von Niehaus (the daughter of Charles Niehaus and Della Conway). Florence was born in New York. Charles was of German ancestry. Della was born in New York, to Irish parents, Roger Conway and Bridget Rooney.
Harrison’s maternal grandfather was named Harry Nidelman/Needleman. Harry was born in Minsk, to a Jewish family.
Harrison’s maternal grandmother was Nachama “Annie/Anna” Lifshitz/Lipshitz (the daughter of Chaim/Khiam Ha Levi “Jacob” Lifshitz and Reisa or Leah Shmerkovitz). Nachama was born in Minsk, to a Jewish family. She met Harrison’s grandfather, born in the same city, in the United States. Chaim was the son of Eliezer Aron Lippman, who was born in Ukmergė, Vilnius, Lithuania, and of a woman whose surname was Halevi.
Sources: Jenkins, Gary (March 1999). Harrison Ford: Imperfect Hero.
Genealogies of Harrison Ford – http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
Birth record of Harrison’s father – https://familysearch.org
Harrison’s paternal grandmother, Florence Veronica Niehaus/Von Niehaus, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Death record of Harrison’s paternal great-grandmother, Della (Conway) Niehaus – https://familysearch.org
Harrison’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org