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LaBeouf in 2009, Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Shia Saide LaBeouf
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: June 11, 1986
Ethnicity: * father – Cajun French (one half), English, Irish/Northern Irish, German * mother – Ashkenazi Jewish
Shia LaBeouf is an American actor, filmmaker, and performance artist. He is known for his roles in the films Holes , Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd , Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle , The Battle of Shaker Heights , I, Robot ; Constantine , The Greatest Game Ever Played , Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind , A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints , Bobby , Disturbia , Surf’s Up , Transformers , and its sequels, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon ; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , Eagle Eye , New York, I Love You ; Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps , Lawless (2012), The Company You Keep , Charlie Countryman , Nymphomaniac , Fury (2014), Man Down , American Honey , Borg vs McEnroe , Honey Boy , which he also wrote, based on his life; The Peanut Butter Falcon , The Tax Collector , Pieces of a Woman , A Man Named Scott , Padre Pio (2022), Megalopolis , Salvable , Henry Johnson , and Slauson Rec ; on the series Even Stevens and The Nightmare Room ; in the made-for-tv movies Hounded , Tru Confessions , and The Even Stevens Movie ; and in the music videos for “I Never Knew You,” “Marijuana,” “Fjögur píanó,” and “Elastic Heart.” He is a member of artist trio LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner.
Shia is the son of Shayna (Saide) and Jeffrey LaBeouf. His father was a professional clown. His mother was a visual artist, jewelry designer, and dancer. His father was of one half Cajun French descent, as well as English, Irish/Northern Irish, German; and from a Christian background. Shia’s mother was Jewish, of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent. Shia’s first name, Shia, is Hebrew for “a gift from God.” Shia’s last name is French, roughly meaning “the beef.” Shia was both baptized and raised Jewish, having a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He had often described himself as Jewish.
In 2014, he was reported to have converted to Christianity while filming the film Fury , though reporting was not completely clear. In 2022, he stated that he converted to Catholicism while preparing to play Catholic Saint Padre Pio. He is a practising Catholic.
Shia has one child with his former partner, English-Brazilian model and actress Mia Goth .
Shia’s patrilineal line can be traced to Jean Jacques Baptiste Leboeuf, who was born, c. 1530, in Poitou, France.
Shia’s paternal grandfather was Dewey LeBoeuf (the son of Maurice Joseph Lebouef and Clemence Marie Chauvin). Dewey was born in Louisiana, and was a Cajun. Maurice was born in Franklin, Louisiana, the son of Hermilien Joseph “Emilien”/Emelien Lebouef and Cecilia/Cecile Hebert. Shia’s great-grandmother Clemence was born in Franklin, St. Mary, Louisiana, the daughter of Arthur Anatole Chauvin and Adeline Aurelienne Thibodeau/Thibodeaux.
Shia’s paternal grandmother was Joy Jacquelyn/Jacqueline Allen/Ginger (the daughter of Donovan Clinton Ginger and Alo/Allo Jacquelyn “Jackie” Torrence). Joy was born in Sacramento, California. Shia has described his grandmother as a beatnik poet. Donovan was born in Pomeroy, Garfield, Washington, the son of John William Ginger and Pearl B. Wade, whose mother was from Marlow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany. Shia’s great-grandmother Alo was born in California. Her father, John Dayton Torrence, was born in Oxford Township, Grenville, Ontario, Canada, to an English father and an Irish mother. Alo’s mother, Shia’s great-great-grandmother Cordelia/Delia Angeline Huntley, was born in Oakfield, Aroostook, Maine, and had a maternal grandfather from St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.
Shia’s maternal grandfather was Szaja Yeshayhu “Sam”/Shia Saide (the son of Nochim/Nochum Mendel “Max” Zajac/Zajenc/Saide and Chana “Anna” Slowa/Starynsky). Szaja was a Polish Jew, who was born, c. 1913, in Białystok. He moved to the United States in 1930. He was a comedian, performer, and artist. Max was the son of Benjamin Zajac/Zajnc/Zabludowsky and Tauba/Tobey Jasinowska/Jasienowska. Chana was the daughter of Sam/Shalom Starinsky and Belle Gurwitz, who were from Grodno, Belarus. Shia’s grandfather also had roots in Austria.
Shia’s maternal grandmother was Mary Ann “Malki” Rosen (the daughter of Abraham Aaron Rosen and Bessie Cohen). Mary Ann was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents.
Sources: http://www.talktalk.co.uk https://www.today.com https://www.independent.co.uk
Genealogy of Shia LaBeouf – https://www.geni.com
Death record of Shia’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Cecilia/Cecile (Hebert) Lebouef – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Shia’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Adeline Aurelienne (Thibodeau/Thibodeaux) Chauvin – https://www.familysearch.org
Shia’s paternal grandmother, Joy Jacquelyn/Jacqueline Allen/Ginger, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogies of Shia’s maternal grandfather, Szaja Yeshayhu “Sam” Saide (focusing on his own father’s side) – https://www.geni.com https://www.geni.com
Shia’s maternal grandmother, Mary Ann Rosen, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org