Profile Text
Birth Name: Michael Earl Schoeffling
Place of Birth: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 10, 1960
Ethnicity: German, Irish, Welsh, likely some English, more distant Swiss-German
Michael Schoeffling is an American actor and model. He played Jake Ryan in the film Sixteen Candles . His roles also include the films Vision Quest , Sylvester (1985), Belizaire the Cajun , Let’s Get Harry , Slaves of New York , Longtime Companion , Mermaids (1990), and Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken .
He was raised in southern New Jersey.
Michael’s paternal grandfather was Louis Henry Schoeffling (the son of William Frederick Schoeffling and Bertha Marie Magdalena Young). Louis was born in Camden, New Jersey. William was the son of German emigrants, Friedrich Wilhelm Schöffling, from Bavaria; and Jeannette K. Bertha was also the daughter of German parents, Henry Young and Bertha Merz, from Württemberg.
Michael’s paternal grandmother was Mary Madelene Browning (the daughter of Thomas Ivan Browning and Mary Helen Kilday). Michael’s grandmother Mary was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thomas was the son of Thomas Browning/Brennan, an Irish immigrant; and of Delilah DeVore. Michael’s great-grandmother Mary was also Irish.
Michael’s maternal grandfather was Anthony Earl Gravlin (the son of Henry F. “Harry” Gravlin and Martha “Mattie” Espenshade). Anthony was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harry was born in Pennsylvania, to parents from Virginia. Martha was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of John Peter Espenshade and Sarah Ann Strouse, and was of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent.
Michael’s maternal grandmother was named May Reese (the daughter of Thomas Reese and Margaret). May was Welsh.
Source: Michael’s maternal great-grandparents, Harry F. Gravlin and Martha “Mattie” Espenshade, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org