Profile Text
Vak Acker in 2016, kathclick /bigstock.com
Birth Name: Andrew Gregory Van Acker
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Birth: April 2, 1986
Ethnicity: German, English, one eighth Belgian [Flemish], smaller amount of Irish
Drew Van Acker is an American actor, model, and producer. His roles include the shows The Lake , Tower Prep , Pretty Little Liars , Devious Maids , Training Day , and Titans , and the films Life Like , Spy Intervention , and Last Survivors .
He was raised in Medford, New Jersey.
Drew’s paternal grandfather was Thomas Raymond Van Acker, Sr. (the son of Raymond Edmond Van Acker and Marie Burke). Raymond was the son of Belgian emigrants, from the Flanders region, Aloysious Van Acker, from Clerken, and Marie Hoste. Drew’s great-grandmother Marie was the daughter of Edward Joseph Burke, whose parents were Irish, and of Magdalena Theresa Brauch, whose parents were German, from Baden.
Drew’s paternal grandmother was Shirley Anne Diekemper (the daughter of Cleophas Henry Diekemper and Amelia Anna Marie Bretz). Cleophas was the son of Bernard Diekemper and Anna Elizabeth Schroeder, who were the children of German parents. Amelia was the daughter of John Bretz, a German immigrant, and of Mary Noll, whose parents were also German.
Drew’s maternal grandfather was Glenn William Walsh (the son of William Peter Walsh, Jr. and Elizabeth Ickes). Glenn was born in Kansas. Drew’s great-grandfather William was born in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, the son of William Peter Walsh and Mary Anne Walsh, who were emigrants from Newfoundland, Canada. Elizabeth was an ethnic German emigrant, from Russia.
Drew’s maternal grandmother was Marilyn Olive Roberts (the daughter of Ivan Lester Roberts and Harriett M. Blum). Marilyn was born in Kansas. Ivan was born in Sabetha, Kansas, the son of Albert Freeman Roberts and Irma Esther Constant, whose paternal grandfather was English. Harriett was born in Texas, the daughter of Stephen Douglas Blum, whose parents were German, from Baden-Württemberg and Saxony, respectively; and of Olive Adelaide Cole, who also had deep American roots.
Sources: Obituary of Drew’s paternal grandmother, Shirley Anne (Diekemper) Van Acker – https://www.legacy.com
Genealogy of Drew’s mother – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Drew’s maternal grandmother, Marilyn Olive (Roberts) Walsh – https://www.legacy.com