Glen Powell
Powell in 2013, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Glen Thomas Powell, Jr.
Place of Birth: Austin, Travis, Texas, U.S.
Date of Birth: October 21, 1988
Ethnicity:
*father – Polish, some Lipka Tatar
*mother – English, small amounts of German and Welsh
Glen Powell, also credited as Glen Powell, Jr., is an American actor, writer, and producer. His roles include the films Fast Food Nation, The Great Debaters, Red Wing, The Expendables 3, Sex Ed, Misconduct, Ride Along 2, Everybody Wants Some!!, Hidden Figures, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Set It Up, Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood, Top Gun: Maverick, Devotion, Hit Man (2023), Anyone but You, Twisters, and The Running Man (2025); and the series Scream Queens and Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, the latter in voice role.
His father’s surname is originally Chutsky, and his mother’s surname is Powell, and he was raised under his mother’s name. Glen played a Sergeant Dylan Chutsky in the film Sand Castle (2017).
His sister is singer and songwriter Leslie Powell.
Glen’s paternal grandfather was Stephen Chutsky (the son of Samuel Chutsky and Sophie Shonkowitz). Stephen was born in New York, to a Muslim family from the Russian Empire. They were likely of Lipka Tatar origin. Samuel was born in Minsk, Belarus, the son of Mustapha/Stephen Chutsky and Minnie Radlinsky. Sophie was born in New Jersey, to parents from Belarus.
Glen’s paternal grandmother is Lillian Dziuba (the daughter of Joseph Dziuba and Sophia/Sophie/Sofia Maciag). Lillian was born in New Jersey, to Polish parents, who were of the Catholic religion. Sofia was from Zielonka, near Warsaw.
Glen’s maternal grandfather was William Joe Powell (the son of Aubrey Harrison Powell and Mattie Stella Judd). William was born in Texas. Aubrey was the son of William Ingram Powell and Sophia Collins. Mattie was the daughter of Joe Meredian Judd and Minnie Ann Clinton.
Glen’s maternal grandmother was Pattie Jean Thomas (the daughter of Edgar Claude Thomas and Lacolian Eastham). Pattie was born in Texas. Edgar was the son of Ben/Benjamin Edgar Thomas and Lillian Letita Mabry. Lacolian was the daughter of John George Eastham and Celestia Crump.
Sources: Family histories of Glen Powell – https://www.hollywoodancestry.com
https://www.hollywoodancestry.com
Genealogy of Glen Powell – https://www.geni.com
Glen’s paternal grandfather, Stephen Chutsky, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy and obituary of Glen’s maternal grandfather, William Joe Powell – https://www.findagrave.com
Obituary of Glen’s maternal grandfather, William Joe Powell – http://www.legacy.com
Obituary of Glen’s maternal grandmother, Pattie Jean (Thomas) Powell – http://www.legacy.com
There is a lot of confusion here, I see. I’m a Pole, let me explain: so first, as it is written here, Glen’s grandmother from his father’s side was Polish, from parents born near Warsaw. Dziuba is a typical Polish surname, also.
Now, the Polish Muslim part means the Tatars, Lipka Tatars. And yes, the Tatars have been living in Poland for centuries! Tatars are the oldest, very historic Muslim community in Poland. They first arrived as soldiers and were granted land in exchange for military service, and the community has since become an integrated part of Polish history and culture, since the 14th century at least. Tatars were and are very loyal to Poland.
Arrival: The first waves of Lipka Tatars arrived in the 14th century and continued through the 17th century, largely as a result of migration from the Golden Horde.
And you can actually see the Tatar in Glen’s eyes – these are classic, narrow eyes from the East in Glen, exactly like many Asians and Tatars have.
So to sum up, it’s pretty clear that from his father’s side, Glen is mostly Polish, meaning his ancestors from his father’s side mostly came from Poland. Glen himself said so a few times, in various interviews.
He def looks Ukrainian, specifically a polonised ukainian. So his father being a Polish citizen kinda figures.
Ah, I can see he had a grandma with surname “Dziuba”. She might have been born to the parents “from Poand”, but at least her father had to have been ethnically Ukainian – Dziuba is a typical Ukrainian surname and it can never be Polish or other slavic. 200% Ukrainian great grandad.
Dziuba is a common Polish name, whatever other origins it might have.
No. As written here, he is clearly Polish. First, Dziuba is not a typical Ukrainian name; it’s Polish. A typical Ukrainian surname ends in -o, like Derewienko, for example. Classic Polish surnames end in -ski, -cki, etc., or -a, just like Dziuba. So, Dziuba is definitely Polish. His grandparents, as mentioned, came from areas near Warsaw, which is in Poland—plain and simple. Also, the other side of his father’s family, the Lpika Tatars, probably came from Poland, too, and Lithuania. Tatars live in Poland to this day. They are the oldest, historic Muslim community in Poland, and very loyally fought for Poland for centuries. So on his father’s side, Glen is in majority Polish, that is clear. He also said so in the interviews.
It appears that his father probably formally changed his surname to his mother’s, though I can’t find a particular document, yet, showing this.