Date of Birth: September 20, 1929
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: May 23, 2015
Place of Death: Irvine, California
Ethnicity: Irish (converted to Judaism)
Anne Meara was an American actress and comedian. She was married to comedian Jerry Stiller, and was the mother of actors Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller.
Anne was born to a family of Irish descent. She converted from Catholicism to Judaism early on in her marriage to Jerry Stiller, around 1961. The decision to convert was her own.
Anne’s paternal grandparents were James Meara and Annie Breslin. James and Annie were both born in Ireland.
Anne’s maternal grandparents were John Joseph Dempsey and Mary Elizabeth Shine. John was born in New York, to Irish parents. Mary was born in New York, to an Irish father, and to a New York-born mother, Mary (born c. 1847), whose own parents were Irish immigrants.
Sources: Anne’s father, Edward Joseph Meara, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Anne’s mother, Mary T. Dempsey, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
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