Larsa Pippen’s ethnicity is mixed, as she is of Assyrian-Lebanese ancestry and American nationality. She is a reality TV star, businesswoman, fashion designer, and podcaster born in Chicago, Illinois, to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother.
Larsa Pippen has spent much of her life in the United States but is still attuned to her culture thanks to her parents’ influence and the travels she has embarked on over the years. She has been quite forthcoming about her identity but has also been caught up in allegations of cultural appropriation. Read all about it below.
Where is Larsa Pippen From?
Larsa Pippen is from Chicago, Illinois. She was born there on the 6th of July 1974 to parents of Assyrian heritage. Her father, Glen Younan, is from Syria, while her mother is originally from Lebanon.
Larsa Pippen, whose full name at birth is Larsa Marie Younan, spent her formative years in Chicago and completed her early education within a reasonable time. She later attended the University of Illinois Chicago and attained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
Boy u know I'm from Chicago!!! @scottiepippen @jeremih #50isthenew33 https://t.co/tzdZcl9EFC
— Larsa Pippen (@larsapippen) September 26, 2015
Since coming of age, Larsa Pippen has become a well-traveled fellow. However, she retains her American and Chicago identity and deeply loves the city she grew up in. One fact that Larsa Pippen appreciates about Chicago is that the city has a low-key culture, and its people are humble. According to Larsa, one can be super successful in Chicago, and you wouldn’t know it because Chicago people don’t need to show off.
What is Larsa Pippen’s Ethnicity?
Larsa Pippen is of Assyrian ethnicity. She owes her heritage to her Syrian father and Lebanese mother. She has also revealed that her grandparents came from Morocco. Pippen is proud of her heritage and has declared the same on social media. Her love for her heritage doesn’t come as a surprise, given the antecedents of her parents.
Her father, Glen Younan, a wealthy real estate tycoon who runs his own real estate company in Chicago, is on record as an active member of the Assyrian American Association Chicago chapter, and they celebrated their 100 years of existence in 2018.
I’m Assyrian, my moms from Lebanon and dad is from Syria https://t.co/hrS9EaTE7g
— Larsa Pippen (@larsapippen) September 6, 2019
Is Larsa Pippen White?
The straightforward answer to this poser is that Larsa Pippen is not white, given that she has Middle Eastern origins and, as such, can be considered a person of color, especially in the American context. However, it is more complicated than this.
A look at Larsa Pippen will show that she is quite fair in complexion and, as such, can pass for a white woman. Also, recent U.S. census data categorizes people from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as white. However, most Middle Eastern and North African individuals in the U.S. experience discrimination in housing, at work, and other parts of daily life. Their experiences are thus closer to that of people of color, such as African Americans, rather than Caucasians,
Also, most white people who do not identify as Latina or MENA do not see MENA people as white either. Therefore, although Larsa Pippen, like most persons of Middle Eastern origin, is quite fair in color and can pass for a white woman, she is not necessarily a white woman going by certain parameters.
Larsa Pippen defends wearing box braids on ‘RHOM’ vacation: ‘I’m not white’ https://t.co/MLqRXr7O5o pic.twitter.com/rlk7PvryWC
— Page Six (@PageSix) March 25, 2023
Additionally, Larsa Pippen has stated that she is not a white woman. She said this following a backlash she received for cultural appropriation in February 2023. That month, the teaser for season 5 of The Real Housewives of Miami aired, and in it, Pippen and her cast mates were seen vacationing in the Bahamas. She wore box braids, a hairstyle traditionally worn by African-American women.
Pippen was asked whether her hairstyle amounted to cultural appropriation, and she was criticized in several quarters. She, however, stuck to her guns. Larsa Pippen made it clear that she is not a white woman. According to her, her mom used to wear braids, and she herself had been braiding her hair for vacations ever since she could remember. She also pointed out that she always wears braids whenever she travels and that she also had braids on when she embarked on her honeymoon.
Larsa Pippen’s explanations assuaged certain persons, but some others still hung onto their belief that a non-black woman should not be donning braids. One of Pippen’s costars named Kiki Barth, who is Black, came to her defense and pointed out that people should be free to rock whatever hairstyle they want as long as they look good.
What Nationality is Larsa Pippen?
Larsa Pippen is an American national. She owes this to the fact that she was born in Chicago, as mentioned above. Even though her parents are originally from Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and Syria, her birth on American soil automatically grants her American citizenship.
Larsa Pippen can also acquire citizenship in other countries in the future, but there is nothing to indicate that she has done that or is planning to do that. She has strong roots in the U.S. and is taking advantage of those roots to build an empire for herself. Larsa Pippen is a famous reality TV star who appears on the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Miami. She was a cast member when the show first aired in 2011 and returned following its revival in 2021.
Larsa Pippen is also a jewelry designer and entrepreneur with a high-end jewelry line known as Larsa Marie. It is a luxurious collection of different types of jewelry for women, such as diamond-studded bangles, sapphire huggie hoop earrings, rings, bracelets, and gold chain link necklaces.
Larsa Pippen launched her jewelry line in August 2020 and has revealed that she put so much energy and love into it and had no room for error. She describes her collection as self-love and empowering women to feel like their best selves.
Larsa Pippen also pointed out that she wants to set a good example for her kids so that they can know that they can do it all. Larsa shares four kids with her ex-husband, the legendary basketball player Scott Pippen. She and Scott were married from 1997 to 2021. They welcomed four kids namely; sons Scotty Jr., Preston, and Justin, and a daughter named Sophia.
