Profile Text
Anderson – 17th Annual BAFTA L.A. Britannia Awards – Arrivals – Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel – Century City, CA, USA, 2008 – Photo Credit: GL / PR Photos
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: June 26, 1970
Ethnicity: Irish, Swedish, as well as English, French-Canadian, and Scottish
Paul Thomas Anderson, known as PTA and P. T. Anderson, is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for One Battle After Another (2025). He also won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film. He has also written and directed the films Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love , There Will Be Blood , The Master (2012), Inherent Vice , Phantom Thread , and Licorice Pizza .
He is the son of Edwina E. (Gough) and Ernie Anderson (Ernest Earle Anderson). His father, also known as horror host Ghoulardi, was a radio and television personality, horror host, and announcer. Paul later named his production company Ghoulardi Film Company. Paul has four children with his partner, film and television actress and comedian Maya Rudolph .
Paul’s paternal grandfather was Ernest Clifton Anderson (the son of Oscar F. Anderson and Mina L. Williams). Ernest was born in Massachusetts. Oscar was born in Massachusetts, to Swedish parents. Mina was also born in Massachusetts, to a Swedish-born father.
Paul’s paternal grandmother was Emily May Melanson (the daughter of Ranchford/Ransford Blaise/A. Melanson and Elizabeth M. Regan). Emily was born in Massachusetts. Ranchford was born in Memramcook, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of Julius Jude S. Melanson and Belinda Blandine Bourque. Elizabeth was the daughter of George A. Reagan and Elizabeth M. Keenan.
Paul’s maternal grandfather was Edward Thomas Gough (the son of James Richard Gough and Catherine Joyce). Edward was born in Ohio. James was born in Napier, Metcalfe Twp., Middlesex Cty., Ontario, Canada, the son of James Gough, who was born in Ireland; and of Nancy/Annie/Anie McIntyre, whose parents were from Argyllshire, Scotland. Paul’s great-grandmother Catherine was Irish, the daughter of Peter Joyce and Mary.
Paul’s maternal grandmother was Honora Pauline “Nan” Davern (the daughter of Edward Joseph Davern and Aloysia Johanna White). Honora was born in New York. Edward was born in Massachusetts, to Irish parents, Michael J. Davern, from Lisdoonvarna, Claire; and Eleanor T. “Ellen” Reardon. Paul’s great-grandmother Aloysia was the daughter of John J. White, who was Irish; and of Honora E. “Nora” Murphy, whose parents were from Mallow, County Cork, and County Donegal, respectively, in Ireland.
Sources: Genealogies of Paul Thomas Anderson (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com https://www.wikitree.com
Paul’s paternal grandfather, Ernest Clifton Anderson, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Paul’s paternal grandmother, Emily May Melanson, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org