Afro-Asians are people of mixed Asian, particularly Southern or East Asian ancestry and Black. It’s a term that also refers to modern descendants of aboriginal, mostly uncontacted, Asian ethnic groups with direct genetic ties to ancient first-wave migrants coming out of continental Africa. Historically, Afro-Asians sometimes referred to as Blasian, have been marginalized due to social conflict and human migration. Much hasn’t really changed for several years till this day, we have lots of celebrities proud to be Afro-Asians such as the ones mentioned below, take a look at 12 Famous Blasian (Afro Asian) Celebrities you probably didn’t know they were Afro Asians:
Famous (Afro Asian) Blasian Celebrities We Love
1. TIGER WOODS
Born: 30 December 1975, Cypress, California, United States
Profession: Golfer
Ethnicity: African American, American Indian, Dutch, Thai, and Chinese
Tiger Woods is a World-class expert golfer. He is one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, a quarter African-American, one-eighth Dutch, and one-eighth Native American. The golf star, Tiger Woods Edrick was born in the USA in California. His father, Earl Woods was of mixed ethnicity specifically a quarter Chinese, a quarter American Indian, and half African-American. His mother Kultida is of mixed ethnicity as well, she is a quarter Chinese, a quarter Dutch, and a half Thai. Woods likes to call himself “Cablinasian“, which is a composite of Caucasian, black, Indian, and Asian. He is a practising Buddhist. Tiger’s achievement today ranks him among the most successful golfers of all time. He tops the list of world’s best golfers and has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years according to Forbes.
See Also: Famous Celebrities who were born in South African
2. NE YO
Born: 18 October 1979, Camden, Arkansas, United States
Profession: Singer and dancer
Ethnicity: Chinese American and African-American
Shaffer Smith Chimere popularly known by his stage name as Ne-Yo is an American R&B and pop singer, record producer, songwriter, actor and occasional rapper. He was born on October 18, 1979; some sources say 1982. Since his first appearance, Ne-Yo has had 5 top ten songs on Billboard Hot 100 as the leading artist and 2 number-one albums on Billboard 200.
In addition, Ne-Yo has a collective catalogue of chart-topping songs which he’s written for other musicians. Ne-Yo was born in Arkansas, Camden, and baptized as Shaffer Smith Chimere. His mother is of mixed Chinese American and African-American descent while his father is African-American; both of them were musicians.
3. DENYCE LAWTON
Born: 2 May 1978, Seoul, South Korea
Profession: Model and actress
Ethnicity: African American and Korean
Denise Lawton Marie, born on May 2, 1978, in South Korea, Seoul, is an actress and a model popular as Denyce Lawton. Denyce is the second child of 3 children. She survived a military life with the family abroad in countries like Korea, Germany, and Japan. Her family moved to the US where they lived in Neptune, New Jersey, and then went to Washington D.C. In the year 1996. Denyce graduated from Largo High School, in Maryland. She attended the same high school with R&B songster Harrison Mya. Lawton has long been involved romantically with actor Jonathan Wesley. Lawton is of Korean and African-American descent.
4. KELIS
Born: 21 August 1979, Harlem, New York, United States
Profession: Singer and songwriter
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican and Chinese
Kelis Jones, who was born as née Rogers on August 21, 1979, is an American R&B Songwriter and singer. She’s popularly known as Kelis, which is pronounced as /kəˈliːs/. She is Puerto Rican, Chinese, and African-American. The Harlem-born songster was born to a half Puerto Rican and half Chinese Mother and an African-American Father. In an interview, Jones stated that she considers herself black, even if the mother is technically half-Puerto Rican and half-Chinese, she said that the father is black.
5. NAOMI CAMPBELL
Born: 22 May 1970, London, United Kingdom
Profession: Model and actress
Ethnicity: Chinese and Jamaican
Naomi Campbell is an English model who was born on 22 May 1970. She is a Blasian of Chinese and Jamaican descent. The British top model was born to a father of Black Jamaican ethnicity but with some Chinese ancestry. Her paternal grandmother was believed to be of Chinese ancestry, with a family name Ming as reported by the Independent, a British newspaper. Naomi Campbell had never met her true father who left his family before she was even born. Her mum is of Black Jamaican ethnicity.
6. TYSON BECKFORD
Born: 19 December 1970, Rochester, New York, United States
Profession: Model and Actor
Ethnicity: Ghanian, Chinese, Panamanian, and Jamaican
Tyson Beckford Craig was born on December 19, 1970, he is an American actor and supermodel who became popular as a Ralph Lauren model. Tyson Craig was born on December 19, 1970, to a Black Jamaican mum with some Chinese ethnicity and a Black Jamaican father believed to be of Panamanian descent. His grandmother was born in Ghana, he is 1/4 Chinese on his father’s side (his paternal grandmother is 100% Chinese). Tyson is of Afro-Asian descent.
7. AMERIE
Born: 12 January 1980, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States
Profession: Singer, songwriter, actress, and author
Ethnicity: African American and Korean
Born on January 12, 1980, in Massachusetts, Fitchburg, Amerie Mi Marie Rogers who is professionally known as Amerie, is an American singer, producer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is also a two-time Grammy nominee, who was born to an African-American father and a Korean mother.
8. SEAN PAUL
Born:9 January 1973, Kingston, Jamaica
Profession: Musician
Ethnicity: English, Portuguese, Jamaican, and Chinese
Sean Paul Francis Ryan Henrique was born on January 9, 1973, and performs under his name Sean Paul. He is a dancehall musician of Jamaican ethnicity. Sean’s father is half Afro Caribbean and half Portuguese whereas his mother is of Chinese Jamaican and English descent.
9. WILL DEMPS
Born: 7 November 1979, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Profession: Former American football safety
Ethnicity: African American and Korean
William Henry, Jr. was born on November 7, 1979, in South Carolina, Charleston. He is an American soccer safety and in 2002, Will Demps was signed by Baltimore Ravens to be an undrafted free agent. He played football for the state of San Diego in college; Demps has in addition played for Houston Texas and the New York Giants. He is the elder brother to ex NFL safety Demps Marcus. Demps’ mother is Korean and the father is African-American.
10. RAE DAWN CHONG
Born: 28 February 1961, Edmonton, Canada
Profession: Actress
Ethnicity: African Canadian, Scotch-Irish, and Chinese
Rae Dawn Chong was born on February 28, 1961, she’s a Canadian-American actress. Chong is popularly known for appearing in several films. She won Genie Award for the best actress performance in a top role in the year 1983 for the film Quest for Fire. Chong believed her most active times in films was throughout the late 1980s and during the 1990s. She continued being active in TV acting roles in 2007, and in film till today. Chong’s father is of Scotch-Irish and Chinese ancestry while her mum is of African Canadian ancestry.
11. CASSIE
Born: 26 August 1986, New London, Connecticut, United States
Profession: Model, actress, and singer
Ethnicity: African American, Mexican, and Filipino
Cassandra Ventura who was born on August 26, 1986, popularly recognized by her stage name as Cassie, is an American model, a part-time actress, and a singer. Cassie was born in Connecticut, New London, and later relocated to New York City once she graduated from high school to continue with music and her modelling career. She is a Blasian who was born to an African/Mexican and American mother and a Filipino father.
12. LA’SHONTAE HECKARD
Born: April 14, 1978, Seoul, South Korea
Profession: Model and actress
Ethnicity: African American and South Korean
La’Shontae or Tae as she’s well known is a model and an actress. She has appeared in several magazines in addition to music videos by lots of artists such as T.I., Ne-Yo, Kelis, Nelly, Fat Joe, Kanye West, and 50 Cent. Additionally, She had a role as well in the film ATL of 2006. She is half black and half Korean.
13. NICKI MINAJ
Born: 8 December 1982, Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Profession: Rapper
Ethnicity: Indian, Afro- and Indo-Trinidadian
Born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982, Nicki Minaj is a Trinidadian. The Chun-Li rapper who rose from becoming a waitress into one of the most famous female rappers ever, also finds herself part black and part Asain thanks to her father whom she said is half Indian. Her mother, Carol Maraj, also a singer, has been said to be of Afro- and Indo-Trinidadian ancestry.
14. ROBINNE LEE
Born: 16 July 1974, Mount Vernon, New York, United States
Profession: American actress and author
Ethnicity: Jamaican and Chinese
American actress and author, Robinne Lee has been around for quite a long time, having made her debut as an actress in 1997. Although many may get to believe she is purely African-American, the actress is actually half Jamaican and half Chinese. Born on July 16, 1974, in Mount Vernon, she also has British and Arawak Indian blood.
15. KIMORA LEE SIMMONS
Born: 4 May 1975, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Profession: Former model, entrepreneur, and TV personality
Ethnicity: African American, Korean, and Japanese
Kimora Lee was born on May 4, 1975. She rose to fame as a model, entrepreneur, and TV personality. Also a fashion designer, she is of African American, Korean and Japanese heritage. Her mother, Joanne Perkins was born Joanne Kyoko Syng in Japan where she spent her early life before she moved to the States after the Korean war while her father, Vernon Whitlock Jr., is African-American.
The former model grew up mostly estranged from her father, hence it was her mother that had a great influence in her life.
16. FOXY BROWN
Born: 6 September 1978, New York, New York, United States
Profession: Rapper
Ethnicity: Trinidadian and Chinese
Yet another female rapper, Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, who is better recognized as Foxy Brown surprisingly, has Asian blood running in her veins as she is part Chinese. That said, it is not clear which of her parents has Asian roots. She was raised mostly by her mother, Judith Marchand as her Trinidadian father, Keith Stahler abandoned the family.
17. apl.de.ap
Born: 28 November 1974, Sapang Bato, Philippines
Profession: Singer and rapper
Ethnicity: African American and Filipino
Born Allan Pineda Lindo, apl.de.ap is a professional singer and rapper who gained fame as a member of the Grammy-winning group, The Black Eyed Peas which also has Will.I.Am. He is originally from the Philippines and got to move to the United States as a teenager when he was adopted by a sponsor, Joe Ben Hudgens. Before then, he was raised alongside five siblings by his mother, Cristina Pineda, a Filipino. His father who was African American, was not part of his life as he abandoned the family when Allan was just a baby.
18. NAOMI OSAKA
Born: 16 October 1997, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Japan
Profession: Tennis Player
Ethnicity: Haitian and Japanese
Tennis star, Naomi Osaka is one Blasian who has identified herself more as a Japanese than anything else. She was born to a Haitian father, Leonard Francois, and Japanese mother, Tamaki Osaka. At the time that her father and mother met, it was not acceptable among many Japanese for blacks to date and marry Japanese. Tamaki insisted she was going to end up with Leonard, leading to a union that would have her being estranged from her family. The blessing, however, is two great daughters, Naomi, and Mari Osaka; great tennis players.
19. JHENE AIKO
Happy Juneteenth 🖤 i love YOU ! pic.twitter.com/hp2kwkYZaM
— Chilombo (@JheneAiko) June 19, 2020
Born:16 March 1988, Los Angeles, California, United States
Profession: Singer and songwriter
Ethnicity: Spanish, Dominican, Japanese, African American, Native American, German-American, and Jewish descent
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is a woman of many roots. The Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter was born on March 16, 1988, to Christina Yamamoto and Karamo Chilombo. While her mother was of Spanish, Dominican, and Japanese, her father have African American roots as well as Native American, German-American, and Jewish ancestry.
20. PAMELA GRIER
Born: 26 May 1949, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
Profession: American actress
Ethnicity: African-American, Hispanic, Chinese, Filipino, and Cheyenne
Better known as Pam Grier, Pamela is a Golden Globe-nominated actress who gained fame for appearing in films such as Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Jackie Brown. She was born Pamela Suzette Grier on May 26, 1949, and was raised alongside two siblings by her parents, Gwendolyn Sylvia and Clarence Ransom Grier, Jr. Pam is blessed with a beauty that is only attainable thanks to multiple ancestries; she is of African-American, Hispanic, Chinese, Filipino, and Cheyenne roots.
21. CHANEL IMAN
Born: 1 December 1990, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Profession: Former model and entrepreneur
Ethnicity: African American and South Korean
In the 2000s, there were not many models that ranked better than Chanel Iman. She was born Chanel Iman Robinson on 1 December 1990 to American basketball coach Tic Price, and writer, China Robinson. Iman became famous as a Victoria’s Secret Angel. While her father is African American, her mother is half African American and half Korean.
22. PATRICK CHUNG
Born: 19 August 1987, Kingston, Jamaica
Profession: American football player
Ethnicity: Jamaican and Chinese
Patrick Christopher Chung gained fame as a professional American football player. The Jamaican was born on 19 August 1987 in Kingston, Jamaica to Jamaican singer, Sophia George, and Ronald Chung who served as Sophia’s manager. He was raised in the United States since he was 10. While his mother is dark-skinned, his father is half Chinese and half Jamaican, although he was born in Jamaica.
23. KARIN TAYLOR
Born: 28 November 1971, Kingston, Jamaica
Profession: Former fashion model
Ethnicity: Jamaican, Brazilian, and Chinese descent
A former fashion model and one-time Playboy Magazine’s Playmate of the Month, Karin Taylor was in Kingston, Jamaica on November 28, 1971. She is of Jamaican, Brazilian, and Chinese ancestry. The highly celebrated model started her career professionally when she was only 17 after she was discovered by a Miami based Ford Modeling agency.
24. KHALIL KAIN
Born:22 November 1964, Harlem, New York, United States
Profession: Actor, film producer, and rapper
Ethnicity: African American and Chinese descent
Khalil Kain is a son of an African American father, Gylan Kain, who gained fame as a poet, and a mother, June Kain who is herself a Blasian, being of African American and Chinese descent. He is an American actor and film producer who was born on November 22, 1964,
25. AYESHA CURRY
Born: 23 March 1989, Toronto, Canada
Profession: Actress, celebrity cook, and TV personality
Ethnicity: African-American, Polish, Afro-Jamaican, and Chinese-Jamaican
Ayesha Curry is a Canadian-American actress and celebrity cook whose path to becoming famous was carved even before she was a teenager. She first appeared in the music vide of Sevn Thomas (then Suga Prince), “Too Young for Love”. Also a Blasian, she is a woman of many ancestries; her father, John Alexander is of African-American and Polish descent while her mother is Carol Alexander (née Chin) is of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent. She is the wife of American basketball star, Steph Curry.
If you have been so eager to find out if any of your favourite celebrities is an Afro-Asian or blasian, then look no further. The aforementioned celebrities are the 25 famous Blasian you probably didn’t know! Take a look at them one more time.