Profile Text
O’Neal in 2009, photo by s_bukley /bigstock.com
Birth Name: Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal
Place of Birth: Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 6, 1972
Ethnicity: African-American
Shaquille O’Neal is an American professional basketball player, rapper, actor, television personality, and MMA practitioner. A center, he played for the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is 7′1″.
Shaquille is the son of Joseph Toney and Lucille O’Oeal. He became estranged from his biological father when he was young, and considers his stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, to be his father. Phillip had Jamaican ancestry. Shaquille has a daughter with his former partner Arnetta Yardbourgh; and five children, including professional basketball player Shareef O’Neal, with his former wife, television executive Shaunie (Nelson) O’Neal.
His mother was Baptist, and his stepfather was Muslim.
Shaquille’s maternal grandfather was Sirlester/Sirlister O’Neal (the son of Hilton O’Neal and Scillar Wright). Sirlester was born in Georgia. Hilton, a farmer, was the son of George O’Neal and Sarah Kemp; George was the son of former slaves, Freeman O’Neal and Charity/Cherry Blackshear.
Shaquille’s maternal grandmother was Odessa Perry Chambers (the daughter of Johnnie Perry and Willie S. Ucier). Odessa was born in Georgia.
Source: Family history of Shaquille O’Neal (focusing on his mother’s side) – http://laurenscountyafricanamericanhistory.blogspot.it