Who are the celebrities that you might not know are Latin or Hispanic? Slide through to find out. Getty Images
It’s always fun to find something out about celebrity we didn’t already know. Finding out this new information humanizes the celebrity, and in some cases, changes how we perceive them. Learning that a celebrity is from your hometown, or shares your birthday, is a fun piece of information that in some cosmic way connects you to them, and in another way connects you to a teensy bit of fame. For Hispanic audiences, finding out a celebrity also shares your heritage is a source of pride, and rightfully so, considering the lack of representation Hispanic people have in media, films, and TV.
There are some celebrities who are vocal about their heritage, like Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin. But others aren’t so obviously Hispanic, sometimes because that’s only one part of their ethnic background, and other times because they have attempted to hide their Hispanic heritage—this is often the case for people in the past, like singer Sammy Davis Jr. and baseball player Ted Williams, featured on this list.
But did you know Cameron Diaz is of Cuban descent? True story. So is Star Wars actor Oscar Isaac and Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte. Singer Bruno Mars and actress Aubrey Plaza are of Puerto Rican descent. Actress and The Honest Company co-founder Jessica Alba is of Mexican descent. So is Demi Lovato. These are just a few celebrities you’ll be surprised to learn are actually Hispanic.
Before we get to the list, there are a couple of things that should be noted. Firstly, let’s define some terms, because many people don’t know the difference between Latino and Hispanic (spoiler alert, they aren’t the same thing and do not refer to race or color).
“Latino” is "any person of Latin-American descent residing in the United States," Associate Director of Latino Studies Mintzi Martinez-Rivera from Indiana University, Bloomington told NPR.
“Latin-American” is any person living in Latin America. So, for example, people from Brazil are Latin-American, but not Hispanic.
“Hispanic” is any people who share “Spanish” as a common language. For example, people from Spain are Hispanic, but people from Brazil are not (because they speak Portuguese), according to Latina.com.
Surveys show that Hispanic Americans, meaning people whose heritage stems from countries where Spanish was the predominant language spoken, prefer to be called American along with the country of their heritage (Cuban-American, Mexican-American, etc.).
For the sake of this story, the headline uses “Latino” as an umbrella term based on usage from leading publications (including this one). The celebrities’ heritage cited in this slideshow is based on quotes and published sources identifying their heritage, and includes people of both Hispanic and Latino backgrounds. In every instance, we took efforts to refer to the heritage with the appropriate terminology based on their previously published statements.
So who are these celebrities? Slide through to find out the celebrities you may not have known are Hispanic.
Linda Christian The actress, known for being the first Bond girl, was born in Mexico and is of Mexican descent. David Gallagher The actor, best known for 7th Heaven, is of Cuban descent.Reggie Jackson The baseball player, inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993, was born Reginald Martinez Jackson and is of Puerto Rican descent.Martin Sheen The actor, known for the film Apocalypse Now and the TV drama series The West Wing was born Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez and is of Spanish descent. Diana Taurasi The basketball player is of Argentine descent.Morena Baccarin The actress, known for Deadpool franchise and the TV series Firefly, is originally from Brazil and is the daughter of Brazilian actress Vera Setta. Sara Paxton The actress is of Mexican descent. Kelis The singer/songwriter is of Puerto Rican descent.Andrew Keegan The Party of Five and 7th Heaven is of Colombian descent.Alex Meneses The actress is of Mexican descent.Daniel Brühl The German actor, best known for Good Bye Lenin! and Inglorious Bastards is of Spanish descent.Carmelo Anthony The basketball player is of Puerto Rican descent. Ted Williams The baseball player and manager nicknamed “The Kid” was of Mexican descent. He hid his Latin heritage during his career out of fear of a backlash or anti-Mexican bias. Kat Von D The tattoo artist and reality TV star was originally born in Mexico. She’s of Argentinian and Spanish descent. Bella Thorne The Big Love actress is of Cuban descent.Michael Trevino The Vampire Diaries actor is of Mexican descent. Q’orianka Kilcher The actress and singer, best known for playing Pocahontas in The New World, is of Quechua-Huachipaeri descent from Peru.Helena Christensen The famous Danish model is part Peruvian on her mother’s side.Heather Hemmens The actress was raised in Maine, but is of Costa Rican descent. Jordana Brewster The actress, known for The Fast and the Furious franchise, is originally from Panama and is of Brazilian descent.Kid Cudi The actor and recording artist, born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, is of Mexican descent. Odette Yustman The Cloverfield actress is of Cuban and Colombian descent. Vanessa Marcil The General Hospital actress is of Mexican descent. Noomi Rapace The Swedish actress best known for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise is of Spanish descent. Howie Dorough Don’t go breaking his heart, this Backstreet Boys singer is of Puerto Rican descent.Nicole Richie The actress, adopted by singer Lionel Richie, is of Mexican descent on her biological father’s side. Jessica Alba The actress and co-founder of The Honest Company, is of Mexican descent. Bruno Mars Born Peter Gene Hernandez, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is of Puerto Rican descent on his father’s side.Oscar Issac The actor, known for his roles in Inside Llewyn Davis, A Most Violent Year and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was born Oscar Hernandez in Guatemala to a Cuban father and a Guatemalan mother.Christina Aguilera The “Genie in a Bottle” singer, born in Staten Island, New York, is of Ecuadorian descent on her father’s side. Ryan Lochte The 12-time Olympic medalist is of Cuban descent on his mother’s side. Charlie Sheen The actor, known for films like Platoon, Wall Street and the TV comedy series Two and a Half Men, was born Carlos Estevez and is part-Spanish on his father’s side. His father is the actor Martin Sheen.Aubrey Plaza The actress known for her role on the TV comedy series Parks and Recreation is of Puerto Rican descent.Demi Lovato The actress and singer was born Demetria Devonne Lovato. She’s of Mexican descent on her father’s side. Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi The Jersey Shore star was born in Chile and was later adopted by Italian-American parents. Lea Michele The actress and singer, known for her role on Glee, is of Spanish (Sephardic Jewish) descent. Rita Hayworth The film icon was half-Spanish on her father’s side.Alexis Bledel The Emmy-winning actress known for Gilmore Girls and The Handmaid’s Tale is of Mexican and Argentinian descent.Cameron Diaz The actress, known for her roles in The Mask, Charlie’s Angels franchise and There’s Something About Mary, is of Cuban descent on her father’s side.Sammy Davis Jr. The late singer and former Rat Pack member is half-Cuban on his mother’s side. He hid his heritage because of anti-Cuban backlash in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Maxwell The R&B singer is of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent.Louis C.K. The comedian is often considered Irish thanks to his red hair, and he is, but only half-Irish. He’s also of Mexican descent on his father’s side.Anthony Quinn The Academy Award-winning actor, known for the films Lust for Life and Lawrence of Arabia, was born in Mexico to parents of Mexican descent. James Roday The Psych actor was born James David Rodriguez and is of Mexican descent. Vanna White The Wheel of Fortune star is of Puerto Rican descent on her biological father’s side. She was later adopted by her stepfather.Chris Weitz The Academy Award nominated writer/director of films like American Pie and About a Boy is of Mexican descent. His grandmother is Mexican actress Lupita Tovar, an icon of Mexican cinema who starred in Mexico’s first talkie.Raquel Welch The actress and singer is of Spanish-Bolivian descent.Dave Navarro The former member of the bad Red Hot Chilli Peppers is of Mexican descent. David Blaine The magician is of Puerto Rican descent. Frankie Muniz The actor, best known for the TV comedy series Malcolm in the Middle, is of Puerto Rican descent.
