Tomei in 2011, photo by Prphotos
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 4, 1964
Ethnicity: Italian
Marisa Tomei is an American actress and producer. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny (1992). Her roles also include Chaplin, Untamed Heart, Only You, The Perez Family, In the Bedroom, Anger Management, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, The Wrestler, Crazy, Stupid, Love., and post-2015 Spider-Man sequels, among many other films.
Marisa is the daughter of Addie, an English teacher, and Gary Tomei, a trial lawyer. Her brother, Adam Tomei, is also an actor. Her parents are both of Italian descent. Her family is from Tuscany, Calabria, Campania, and Sicily. Marisa has Italian citizenship.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2019) stated that Marisa’s genetic ancestry is:
*69.5% Italian
*14.6% Broadly Southern European
*3.4% Balkan
*3.4% Broadly European
*3.3% Middle Eastern
*3.3% Northwestern European
*2.0% Iberian
*0.5% Unmatched
Marisa’s paternal grandfather was Romeo Robert Tomei (the son of Lindoro Tomei and Faustina Maria/Marie Lucchesi). Romeo was born in New York. Lindoro was born in Ghivizzano, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, the son of Nicolao Tomei and Angela Puccini. Faustina was born in Vitiana, Lucca, Tuscany, the daughter of Natale Lucchesi and Matilda Agostini.
Marisa’s paternal grandmother was Rita Albina Elvira Calvosa (the daughter of Demetrio Carlo/Charles “Albert” Calvosa and Maria/Mary Preziozi/Preziosi/Prezioso). Rita was born in New York, to Italian parents. Demetrio was born in San Demetrio, Calabria, and was the son of Raffaele Placido “Raphael” Calvosa and Serafina Aurora Corrado, whose own father, Don Carlo Maria Corrado, was a royal chancellor, in the government of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. Maria was born in Napoli, Campania, and was the daughter of Sabino Preziosi/Prezioso and Filomena/Philomina Biondo/Biondi.
Marisa’s maternal grandfather was Armando Bianchi (the son of Francesco Leopoldo Bianchi and Adelaide Maria Angiola Canovaro). Armando was Italian, and was born in Rio nell’Elba, Livorno, Tuscany, Italy. Francesco was born in Cecina, Livorno, the son of Dionisio Bianchi and Carmine Tacchini. Francesco was murdered when he was 26 years old. Adelaide was born in Elba, an island, part of the Province of Livorno, and was the daughter of Arturo Augusto Aurelio Canovaro and Marianna Taplaberro.
Marisa’s maternal grandmother was named Maria/Mary D’Ignoti (the daughter of Giacomo “James” D’Ignoti). Maria was born in New York, to Sicilian parents, from Messina. Giacomo was the son of Antonino D’Ignoti and Buta Francesca. D’Ignoti, meaning “of the unknown,” was often the surname given to foundling children.
Sources: Genealogy of Marisa Tomei – https://www.geni.com
Family history of Marisa Tomei – http://ancestraldiscoveries.blogspot.it
Marisa’s father on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marisa’s paternal grandfather, Romeo Robert Tomei, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Romeo Robert Tomei on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marisa’s paternal grandmother, Rita Albina Elvira Calvosa, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Death record of Marisa’s paternal grandmother, Rita Albina Elvira (Calvosa) Tomei – https://www.findagrave.com
Death record of Marisa’s paternal great-grandfather, Albert Charles Calvosa – https://familysearch.org
Marisa’s maternal grandparents, Armando Bianchi and Maria/Mary D’Ignoti, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
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