Taylor Lautner claims he is only Dutch, French, and German

May 2024 · 2 minute read

Birth Name: Taylor Daniel Lautner

Place of Birth: Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.

Date of Birth: February 11, 1992

Ethnicity: Swiss-German, German, English, Dutch, Scottish, distant Irish, French, and Welsh

Taylor Lautner is an American actor, model, and martial artist. He starred in the 2008 film Twilight, and its four sequels. In the films, he played Jacob Black, a Native American of the Quileute tribe. On the show Scream Queens, he played the son of a black father and a white mother.

Taylor’s documented ancestry includes English, Swiss-German, German (including Sudeten German), Dutch, Scottish, and distant Irish, French, and Welsh. He has Canadian-born ancestors. A picture of Taylor with his parents and sister can be seen here.

On June 24, 2005, Taylor stated of his ancestry:

I am only French, Dutch and German. I get my skin color from the French side of my family.

Then, in an interview published on May 20, 2008, he stated:

…actually, I am part Native American. We learned that through [preparing to play a Native American in the Twilight films]. I’m French, Dutch and German, and on my mother’s side, she has some Potawatomi and Ottawa Indian in her.

Later that year, in July 2008, in reply to a question about him having Native American ancestry, Taylor stated:

I have some Native American in my distant background.

It is not clear if this Native American ancestry has been verified/documented. All of Taylor’s maternal grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents are listed as “White” on United States Censuses. No Native American ancestry appears in publicly available family trees of Taylor’s mother.

Taylor is a half-second cousin, three times removed, of prominent architect John Lautner.

Taylor’s paternal grandfather is Loren Joseph Lautner (the son of LaVern Francis Lautner and Maxine Wave Draper). Loren has Sudeten German, English, German, and Swiss-German ancestry. LaVern was the son of Joseph S. Lautner and Florence Ethel Courtade. Maxine was the daughter of Lorn James Draper and Maryetta Mosher. The surname Lautner originates with Taylor’s great-great-great-grandfather, Edward M. Lautner, who was born, c. 1848, in Austria, the son of Wenzel Lautner and Helen Quiezer/Queiser. The Lautner line originates with ethnic Germans from the town of Engelsberg (now Andělská Hora, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic). Taylor’s great-great-grandmother Florence also had German ancestry, from Altenstadt, Wissembourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace (now France).

Taylor’s paternal grandmother is Sandra J. Pickard (the daughter of Howard John Pickard and Bernetta J. “Betty” Akers). Howard was the son of Sherman Issac Pickard and Viola Madilene Duell. Bernetta was the daughter of John Guil Akers and Ruth French.

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