{"id":6735,"date":"2010-04-11T22:26:23","date_gmt":"2010-04-11T13:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ethnicelebs.com\/?p=6735"},"modified":"2026-07-08T03:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:00:58","slug":"james-dean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnicelebs.com\/james-dean","title":{"rendered":"James Dean"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

publicity still of Dean for ”Rebel Without a Cause,” c. 1955, Warner Bros., in-house publicity still<\/p><\/div>\n

Birth Name: James Byron Dean<\/p>\n

Date of Birth: February 8, 1931<\/p>\n

Place of Birth: Marion, Grant, Indiana, U.S.<\/p>\n

Date of Death: September 30, 1955<\/p>\n

Place of Death: Cholame, San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.<\/p>\n

Ethnicity: English, German, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Scots-Irish\/Northern Irish, distant Dutch and French Huguenot<\/strong><\/p>\n

James Dean was an American actor. Considered a cultural icon, he appeared in three major film roles, Rebel Without a Cause<\/em> (1955), East of Eden<\/em> (1955), and Giant<\/em> (1956). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the latter two films. He died in a car accident at the age of 24.<\/p>\n

James was the son of Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton Arlando Dean, a dental technician.<\/p>\n

James’s paternal grandfather was Charles Desco Dean (the son of Calvin P. Dean and Arminta Alice Cree). Charles was born in Grant County, Indiana. Calvin was born in Indiana, the son of John W. Dean and Serena Tennell. James’s great-grandmother Arminta was born in Madison County, Indiana, the daughter of Robert Hamilton Cree, whose paternal grandfather was from County Down, Ireland; and of Sarah Elizabeth Marshall.<\/p>\n

James’s paternal grandmother was Emma Jane Woollen (the daughter of Edward Woollen and Adeline Smithson). Emma was born in Fairmont, Grant, Indiana. Edward was born in Indiana, the son of William Robinson “Billy” Woollen and Julia Ann Oldfield. James’s great-grandmother Adeline was born in Fairmont, the daughter of David Smithson and Elizabeth “Betsey”\/Betty Williams.<\/p>\n

James’s maternal grandfather was John William Wilson (the son of Levi Daries\/Darius Wilson and Agnes Schmuck). John was born in Liberty Township, Grant, Indiana. Levi was born in Wayne County, Indiana, the son of Alfred R. Wilson and Eliza Delilah Felton, whose father was German. James’s great-grandmother Agnes was born in Wayne County, the daughter of Eli Schmuck and Margaret Felton. Levi and Agnes were first cousins, once removed, through their ancestors William Felton and Margaret Mansfield. Margaret’s father likely was born in County Tyrone, Ireland.<\/p>\n

James’s maternal grandmother was Minnie Mary\/May Slaughter (the daughter of Isaac Slaughter and Sarah Margaret Leisure). James’s grandmother Minnie was born in Madison County, Indiana. Isaac was born in White County, Indiana, the son of Jeremiah Slaughter and Sarah Cain. James’s great-grandmother Sarah was born in Summitville, Madison County, the daughter of George W. Leisure and Mary Elizabeth Estes\/Easte\/Esler.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong> Genealogies of James Dean – http:\/\/www.geni.com<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/famouskin.com<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.wikitree.com<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.findagrave.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1434,10],"tags":[3685,691,690,716,686,1060,687,1043,1113,796,677,788],"class_list":["post-6735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-actoractress","category-d-celebs","tag-b1931","tag-dutch","tag-english","tag-french","tag-german","tag-huguenot","tag-irish","tag-northern-irish","tag-pennsylvania-dutch","tag-scots-irish","tag-scottish","tag-welsh"],"yoast_head":"\nJames Dean - Ethnicity of Celebs | EthniCelebs.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ethnicelebs.com\/james-dean\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Dean - 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