Profile Text
Lee in 2007, image via cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Shelton Jackson Lee
Place of Birth: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 20, 1957
Ethnicity: African-American, distant English
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He has directed the films She’s Gotta Have It , School Daze , Do the Right Thing , Mo’ Better Blues , Jungle Fever , Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn , Clockers , a segment of Lumière and Company , Girl 6 , Get on the Bus , He Got Game , Summer of Sam , Bamboozled , 25th Hour , She Hate Me , Inside Man (2006), Miracle at St. Anna , Red Hook Summer , Oldboy (2013), Da Sweet Blood of Jesus , Chi-Raq , BlacKkKlansman , Da 5 Bloods , and Highest 2 Lowest . He also wrote his first five films, as well as He Got Game and Bamboozled ; and co-wrote Malcolm X , Crooklyn , Clockers , Summer of Sam , She Hate Me , Red Hook Summer , Da Sweet Blood of Jesus , Chi-Raq , BlacKkKlansman , and Da 5 Bloods . He has also directed the feature documentaries 4 Little Girls , The Original Kings of Comedy , Bad 25 , Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall , and American Utopia ; the tv documentaries Spike & Co.: Do It a Cappella (which he co-directed), Jim Brown: All-American , When the Levees Broke , Kobe Doin’ Work , If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise , NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½ , and Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (which he co-directed); the made-for-tv movie Sucker Free City ; episodes of the show Miracle’s Boys ; the pilot for the series Shark ; and the stand-up specials Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife and Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store ; as well as stage shows, music videos, and the video game NBA 2K16 . He also created and directed the show She’s Gotta Have It , which he also wrote for.
Spike is the son of Jacquelyn/Jacqueline Carroll (Shelton) and Bill Lee (William James Edwards Lee III), a musician. He is married to lawyer, producer, and writer Tonya Lewis Lee , with whom he has two children. He is the brother of unit still photographer David Lee, screenwriter and producer Joie Lee, and actor and filmmaker Cinqué Lee. His cousin is filmmaker and director Malcolm D. Lee.
Spike’s paternal grandfather was Arnold Wardsworth Lee (the son of Arnold Lee and Alma Craig). Spike’s grandfather Arnold was born in Alabama, and was a musician.
Spike’s paternal grandmother was named Alberta Grace Edwards (the daughter of William James Edwards and Susie V.). Alberta was born in Alabama, and was a concert pianist.
Spike’s maternal grandfather was named Richard Jackson Shelton (the son of Myrtis Paschal). Richard was born in Georgia. Myrtis was the daughter of Richard Paschal and Mary.
Spike’s maternal grandmother was Zimmie Retha/Reatha Jackson (the daughter of Phillip/Philip Jackson and Jessie Ann/Anna Rozier). Zimmie was born in Georgia. Phillip was the son of Mars Jackson and Lucinda A. Griswold. His maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather, Samuel Griswold, was a prominent industrial pioneer, who was white, from Connecticut, and had English ancestry.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2026) stated that Spike’s genetic ancestry consists of:
*82% African ——–*18% Nigeria ——–*16% Benin & Togo ——–*9% Cameroon ——–*9% Mali ——–*8% Western Bantu Peoples ——–*8% Senegal ——–*6% Ivory Coast & Ghana ——–*4% Yorubaland ——–*2% Central West Africa ——–*1% Central Nigeria ——–*1% Northern Africa *17% European ——–*9% Scotland ——–*4% England & Northwestern Europe ——–*2% Germanic Europe ——–*1% Norway ——–*1% Ireland *1% Indigenous North American ——–*1% Indigenous North America
*82% African ——–*18% Nigeria ——–*16% Benin & Togo ——–*9% Cameroon ——–*9% Mali ——–*8% Western Bantu Peoples ——–*8% Senegal ——–*6% Ivory Coast & Ghana ——–*4% Yorubaland ——–*2% Central West Africa ——–*1% Central Nigeria ——–*1% Northern Africa *17% European ——–*9% Scotland ——–*4% England & Northwestern Europe ——–*2% Germanic Europe ——–*1% Norway ——–*1% Ireland *1% Indigenous North American ——–*1% Indigenous North America
An earlier DNA test taken by Spike stated that he has Cameroonian and Nigerien roots.
Lee in 2004, photo credit: ElFrenetico
Sources: Genealogy of Spike Lee – https://www.geni.com
Information about Spike’s appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? , 2010 – http://www.huffingtonpost.com http://www.dailymail.co.uk