Profile Text
Birth Name: Gene Eliza Tierney
Date of Birth: November 19, 1920
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: November 6, 1991
Place of Death: Houston, Texas, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, along with Irish, one eighth Sephardi Jewish, some Dutch
Gene Tierney was an American film and stage actress. She is known for her roles in the films Laura , Heaven Can Wait , Leave Her to Heaven , The Razor’s Edge , The Ghost and Mrs. Muir , Whirlpool , The Mating Season , and The Left Hand of God .
Gene was the daughter of Belle Lavinia (Taylor) and Howard Sherwood Tierney. She was raised in Westport, Connecticut. Gene was married to oil baron W. Howard Lee, until his death. She had two children with her former husband, fashion designer Oleg Cassini.
Gene’s paternal grandfather was John Henry Tierney (the son of John William Tierney and Harriet Ann Sherwood). Gene’s grandfather John was born in Brooklyn, New York. Gene’s great-grandfather John was the son of Irish immigrants, John Tierney and Ellen Fay. Harriet was the daughter of Thomas J. Sherwood and Ann Galloway.
Gene’s paternal grandmother was Harriet Eleanor “Ella” Fox (the daughter of John Albert Fox and Sarah Ann Hendrickson). Harriet was born in New York. John was the son of John J. Fox and Hannah E. Sarah was the daughter of William Ludlum/Ludlam Hendrickson and Mary/Maria Bennet/Bennett.
Gene’s maternal grandfather was Clarence Warren Taylor (the son of Col. Alfred Warren Taylor and Lavina/Lavinia/Levinia Henriques). Clarence was born in New York. Alfred was born in Massachusetts, the son of Whaton Taylor and Normanda E. “Amanda” Gray, and had deep roots in the U.S. Gene’s great-grandmother Lavina was born in New York, the daughter of Sephardi Jewish parents, Aaron Moses Henriques, who was born in London, England; and Sarah Furtado Nunes, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica.
Gene’s maternal grandmother was Carrie Belle/Bell Hollingshead (the daughter of William Mapp/Bell Hollingshead and Henrietta Manning). Carrie was born in Brooklyn, New York. William was the son of Charles Gordon Hollingshead and Ann Mapp/Pratt, who was English. Henrietta was the daughter of Henry Manning and Henrietta Reynolds, whose mother was Irish.
Sources: Genealogies of Gene Tierney – https://www.geni.com https://www.familysearch.org
Gene’s maternal grandfather, Clarence Warren Taylor, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Gene’s maternal grandfather, Clarence Warren Taylor – https://www.familysearch.org