# Celebrities you had assumed were of a different race. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931 "2010-05-27T11:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/41 "2010-05-27T19:43:50Z")
I came in to say Mariah Carey, I had no idea she was mixed race. If I had never been told I would have always assumed she was white. Another notorious case is that of Madonna, when her first single ‘Everybody’ came out there was no picture on the sleeve and no video, and she was widely mistaken for a new black artist. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/42 "2010-05-27T19:49:56Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > I thought the person who sings “Goodbye Horses” was a white man. Turns out that “he” is a black woman…doh! Wow. Until this very moment, I thought the same thing. In fact, I was so sure you must be wrong (or thinking of someone else doing a cover version), that I was going to post a link to Wikipedia to show you that Q Lazzarus was indeed a white man. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q\_Lazzarus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_Lazzarus) That was my education for the day. I think I can go home now. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/43 "2010-05-27T19:53:22Z")
Michael McDonald…white man [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk9mmto2Cdw) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/44 "2010-05-27T20:19:08Z")
Why is the news of [Norah Jones](http://www.cinecultist.com/archives/NorahJones.jpg)’ ancestry surprising? Just the fact that it’s famous Ravi Shankar? She is easily within the range where she could pass for a [north Indian native](http://www.indianmarriage.info/assets/ArticleImages/_resampled/ResizedImage400300-group_of_indian_girls_sarees.jpg). Though I kinda like [this pic](http://www.spring.net/music/norajones_sisanoshkajones.jpg) of her and (half) sister Anoushka, here looking like a couple _chicas_. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/45 "2010-05-27T20:30:00Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > that guy with Buzz Alrin obviously wasn’t Neil Armstrong! He was the completely wrong color! They might as well have shown Buzz Aldrin with Betty White! seriously, stop laughing. “And where’s his trumpet?!” 😃 Wrong Armstrong! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/46 "2010-05-27T20:38:39Z")
I thought the “[I’m just a bill](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dVo3nbLYC0)” singer was black. He’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/47 "2010-05-27T20:53:18Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I keep forgetting that [Rashida Jones](http://www.reelmovienews.com/gallery/rashida-jones-pic/) is the daughter of Quincy Jones. Granted, her mother is white (Jewish, actually) but it just seems awkward to me that she is the daughter of one of the most famous black guys around today. Wow, how could you mention “her mother” and not specify that it’s the gorgeous [Peggy Lipton](http://nyromania.air-nifty.com/photos/flim_flam_man/peggy.jpg)?? (probably best known for The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks. Her [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005152/) page) > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > She’s quite beautiful, though. Yep. [Great](http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/revolution_studios/little_black_book/_group_photos/peggy_lipton26.jpg), [great](http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee269/doves629/RashidaJonesPeggyLipton.jpg), [great](http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u20/rjimages/k9.jpg)[genes](http://images1.afamily.channelvn.net/Images/Uploaded/Share/2009/06/15/1244956348PeggyLiptonRashidaJones2.jpg). (From [Dad](http://www.wma.com/quincy_jones/imgs/Quincy_Jones_2.jpg) too) ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/48 "2010-05-27T21:02:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’m not laughing, but I’m curious. _Why_ did you think Neil Armstrong was black? Is his name particularly “black”, or did you just somehgow have the idea from some inkling that he must be black, and just never checked? The moon landing was long before I was born and as a child learning about the whole thing I only saw the pictures of men in space suits, never of their faces. I just decided as a child that **obviously** Neil Armstrong would be black. It made sense in my mind for some reason (not related to Louis Armstrong as I was about 5 and not familiar with Jazz…my dad was a big Rush fan and my mom listened to Billy Joel so I didn’t get a whole lot of other music exposure.) I don’t know if it was because the moon landing thing was around the same time as the civil rights movement or if it was because my teacher was black or what, but I totally thought that Neil Armstrong was black for the first 26 years of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/49 "2010-05-27T21:11:46Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I keep forgetting that [Rashida Jones](http://www.reelmovienews.com/gallery/rashida-jones-pic/) is the daughter of Quincy Jones. Granted, her mother is white (Jewish, actually) but it just seems awkward to me that she is the daughter of one of the most famous black guys around today. > > She’s quite beautiful, though. She is very beautiful…but why is the black father thing awkward? I’m not understanding that… ETA: When I was a LOT younger I remember seeing a lot of black and white photos of Billy Joel and just assumed he was black. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/50 "2010-05-27T22:47:47Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Also, a fair number of the Yellow Peril guest villains in H50 were played by Jews, sometimes ridiculously so. Mark Lenard played a Japanese guy in one episode (“To Hell With Babe Ruth”). Ridiculous, since everyone knows he’s a Vulcan. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/51 "2010-05-27T23:27:41Z")
I thought [Armand Assante](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000800/) was French, but he’s from NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/52 "2010-05-27T23:39:34Z")
I assumed Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield from _Prison Break_) was white, but that’s not entirely true. [According to his Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wentworth_Miller), “his father is of African-American, Jamaican, English, German, Jewish and Cherokee descent, and his mother is of Russian, French, Dutch, and Lebanese/Syrian ancestry.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/53 "2010-05-27T23:58:03Z")
For me, this almost always happens with athletes, whom I usually first hear about from a box score or a stat line from over at say Baseball Reference. The latest victim was the recently-released Pat Burrell-his last name just sounds black, doesn’t it? Noticed my error a few years ago when I casually tuned into a Phillies game and went, “Hey wait a minute…” when he came up to bat. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/54 "2010-05-28T01:24:13Z")
Another vote for Mariah Carey. I remember when he first album came out, a clerk at a CD store asked me what I thought about her. I told her the last thing the music industry needed was a white Whitney Houston. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/55 "2010-05-28T01:32:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Back when “Holding Back the Tears” was a hit, I not only assume the lead singer of Simply Red was Black, but I also assume he was female. Not sure about black but I thought it was a woman too. Also thought it was a woman singing on Led Zepplin II when I first heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/56 "2010-05-28T01:38:43Z")
Because no thread on mistaken ethnicities is complete without this Family Guy quote about The Rock… > [@](#): > > One’s a baby, and the other’s black, I think. At least part black, or Hispanic. I think you know possibly there’s some Filipino in there, yeah possibly some Filipino. I mean if he, if he’s black, it’s definitely diluted. I mean one of his parents must be white. What the hell is Jessica Alba for that matter? If I were 40 years younger I would plow that till next July. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/57 "2010-05-28T02:13:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Back when “Holding Back the Tears” was a hit, I not only assume the lead singer of Simply Red was Black, but I also assume he was female. 1. It’s “Holding Back The _Years_.” 2. He’s certainly not black, Mick’s _red_. Hence the name. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/58 "2010-05-28T02:38:06Z")
I’m still trying to decide about the great Mississippi blues musician [Charlie Patton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Patton) Audio and visual accounts conflict. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/59 "2010-05-28T02:39:57Z")
This goes back a ways, but because of “Ahab The Arab” and “Harry The Hairy Ape” I assumed Ray Stevens was black. Couldn’t believe it when I found out he was white. . ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931/60 "2010-05-28T02:44:20Z")
Not a race so much as a nativity issue: I thought that Cesar Romero grew up in Cuba and Europe, but he was born and reared in NYC. Like Desi Arnaz he was from an extremely rich family that became penniless during the Depression due to the collapse of the sugar industry and destruction of family owned farms in Cuba (though they lived in NYC Cuba was still the source of their income) by revolutionaries and bandits. I always think of Anthony Quinn as Meditteranean of some ilk, I suppose because he played Zorba and in any number of biblical movies. He was the son of an Irish father and a Mexican mother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-had-assumed-were-of-a-different-race/540931.md?page=4)