Profile Text
Birth Name: Tonya Maxene Harding
Place of Birth: Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 12, 1970
Ethnicity: English, as well as Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Irish, and German, remote French Huguenot
Tonya Harding is an American professional figure skater, boxer, and reality television personality. Domestically, she won figure skating competitions Skate America (1989; two-time champion) and the U.S. National Championship (1991; 1994—later vacated); and was the bronze medalist in the U.S. National Championship in 1989 and 1992. She was the first American woman to land a triple Axel in an international competition. Worldwide, she was also the silver medalist in the World Championship in 1991, and was a two-time Olympian, competing in the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games. Her career and public image shifted in 1994 after her former husband Jeff Gillooly orchestrated an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan ; leading Tonya to accept a plea, for conspiracy to hinder prosecution, and receive a lifetime ban from U.S. figure skating. She was then a professional boxer, from 2003 to 2004. She remains a widely recognized figure, and her story has been the subject of books, documentaries, and films, including I, Tonya (2017), starring Margot Robbie . She has made several reality television appearances, including Dancing with the Stars (Season 26, third place) and Worst Cooks in America (Season 16, winner).
Tonya was born in Portland, Oregon, to LaVona Faye and Albert Gordon “Al” Harding. She was raised in East Portland. She is married to Joseph Price, with whom she has a son.
Tonya’s patrilineal line can be traced to her fifth-great-grandfather, Jasper Harding, who was born, c. 1748, in Ireland, likely in the north, and to his wife Margaret Stephenson.
Tonya’s paternal grandfather was Harold Kirk Harding (the son of David Ross Harding and Emma Mary Craig). Harold was Canadian, born in Chatham, Northumberland, New Brunswick. David was born in Little Harbour, Shelburne, Nova Scotia, the son of David Ferguson Harding and Margaret/Maggie Ross Ringer, whose own father had Colonial American roots in Massachusetts, and whose own maternal grandfather was Scottish. Tonya’s great-grandmother Emma was born in Chatham, the daughter of Samuel Wallace Craig, who was Irish; and of Eliza Jane Parker, who was born in England.
Tonya’s paternal grandmother was Josephine Marie Best (the daughter of Joseph Best and Hattie Louisa Thompson). Josephine was born in Gervais, Marion, Oregon. Joseph was born in New York City, New York, the son of William Henry Best, who was from Toddington, Gloucestershire, England; and of Hannah/Ann/Anna Goodman, who was German. Tonya’s great-grandmother Hattie was born in Edgewood, Siskiyou, California, the daughter of Harry F. Thompson, who was English, from Cheshire; and of Louisa/Eliza Maria Burton, who herself was born in California, to an English father, from Garthorpe, Lincolnshire, and to a mother from New York.
Tonya’s maternal grandfather was Vernon Leon Brown (the son of Jessie Thomas Brown and Ercy Orphia Hutcheson). Vernon was born in Walters, Cotton, Oklahoma. Jessie was born in Whitesboro, Grayson, Texas, the son of John Taylor Brown and Sarah M. Robertson/Robinson. Tonya’s great-grandmother Ercy was born in Polk, Missouri, the daughter of Charles Thomas Hutchinson and Rebecca Josephine “Josie” Clark.
Tonya’s maternal grandmother was Effie Pauline Bates (the daughter of Marvin Melborn Bates and Oma Mae Sheppard). Effie was born in Walters, Cotton, Oklahoma. Marvin was born in Wise County, Texas, the son of Cornelious C. Bates and Sophronia/Saphronia Thompson. Tonya’s great-grandmother Oma was born in Grapevine, Tarrant, Texas, the daughter of Frank Sheppard and Effie Marton Blanton.
Tonya’s matrilineal line can be traced to her sixth-great-grandmother, Mary Goodner Dryer, who was born, c. 1770, in North Carolina, and to her husband, Jonathan Coatney, who was born, c. 1771, in South Carolina.
Sources: Genealogies of Tonya Harding – https://famouskin.com https://www.geni.com
Tonya’s maternal grandfather’s family, and maternal grandmother, Effie Pauline Bates, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org