Profile Text
Schrader in 2016, photo by vonora /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Paul Joseph Schrader
Place of Birth: Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Date of Birth: July 22, 1946
Ethnicity: * father – German, English * mother – Dutch Frisian
Paul Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He has directed the films Blue Collar , Hardcore (1979), American Gigolo (1980), Cat People (1982), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters , Light of Day , Patty Hearst (1988), The Comfort of Strangers , Light Sleeper , Touch , Affliction (1997), Forever Mine , Auto Focus , Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist , The Walker (2007), Adam Resurrected , The Canyons , Dying of the Light , Dog Eat Dog (2016), First Reformed , The Card Counter , Master Gardener , and Oh, Canada ; the made-for-tv movie Witch Hunt (1994); and the music video for “Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love).” He wrote his Hardcore , American Gigolo , Light of Day , Light Sleeper , Touch , Affliction , Forever Mine , The Walker , Dying of the Light , First Reformed , The Card Counter , Master Gardener , and Oh, Canada , and co-wrote his Blue Collar and Mishima . He also wrote the films Taxi Driver , Obsession (1976), The Mosquito Coast (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ , Bringing Out the Dead , and There Are No Saints ; and co-wrote the films The Yakuza , Rolling Thunder , Old Boyfriends , Raging Bull , and City Hall (1996).
Paul was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Joan/Joanne (Fisher) and Charles Allan Schrader, an executive. His brother was screenwriter and director Leonard Schrader. The family were strict Dutch Calvinists. His father had converted to his mother’s religion. Paul has described himself as “a Dutch Protestant country boy.”
Paul was married to actress Mary Beth Hurt , until her death, with whom he has two children.
Paul’s paternal grandfather was Joseph Allan Schrader (the son of Levi Paul Schrader and Matilda Pfeiffer). Joseph was born in Michigan. Levi was born in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, the son of Johann Fredrick Schroder and Johanna/Hannah Louise Krempen, who were from Mecklenburg, Germany. Matilda was the daughter of German parents, Xavier Pfieffer, who was from Ebnat, Wurtenburg, and Maria Crecentia Miller.
Paul’s paternal grandmother was Amy May Henrie (the daughter of Amy May Henrie and Elizabeth Bunnell). Paul’s grandmother Amy was born in Indiana.
Paul’s maternal grandfather was Leonard W. Fisher (the son of Wessel Broers Visser/Fisher and Janna Van Dijk/Dyke). Leonard was born in Michigan, to Dutch parents. Wessel was the son of Broer Jans Visser and Jantje Leenderts Stoutmeijer. Janna was the daughter of Johannes Van Dijk and Johanna Zwerus.
Paul’s maternal grandmother was Engberdina “Dena”/Dana/Dina Huizenga (the daughter of Cornelius/Cornelis/Kornelis Jans Huizenga/Henizenga/Hanizenga and Johanna Jans Hartman). Engberdina was Dutch. Cornelius was the son of Jan Kornelis Huizenga and Annegien Jans Bus. Johanna was born in Loppersum, the daughter of Jan/John Hendrik Frederik Hartman and Martje Jans Dekker.
Sources: http://www.avclub.com http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org
Paul’s maternal grandparents, Leonard W. Fisher and Engberdina “Dena”/Dana/Dina Huizenga, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org