During Hispanic Heritage Month, it’s important to acknowledge those around us who are of Hispanic descent and how the history of their culture matters. In discussion of this topic, it is also interesting to learn that more people than you may realize are Hispanic, especially so many celebrities that we know and love.
Here is just a few of many famous women that you possibly didn’t know were Hispanic:
Aubrey plaza
Not only is Plaza a star in the beloved NBC series, Parks and Recreation, but she is a member of the Hispanic community. Growing up in Delaware, she won many awards for her diversity and heritage. She is “half-Latina,” meaning her father’s side of the family is Puerto Rican.
nicole ‘snooki’ polizzi
Now personally, as a big Jersey Shore fan, this one came as a really interesting surprise. As a celebrity known for being an Italian icon, Snooki doesn’t actually have any Italian blood. She was actually born in Santiago, Chile and adopted into an Italian-American family.
mariah carey
Also known as the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey is actually Latina! When her grandfather immigrated from Venezuela to New York, he decided that he wanted to change his last name to sound more “American.” During this time, many immigrants changed their last names as well, but if he hadn’t, All I Want For Christmas Is You singer would have the name Mariah Núñez.
Demi Lovato
The iconic Camp Rock star and beautiful singer has claimed in many interviews that as a child, she always took her Mexican roots and heritage for granted. Part of the reason for this is because she thought that since she passed more as “white,” people wouldn’t care about her background and the fact that she is actually Mexican. When discussing body image, Lovato told Glam magazine, “But my genetics gave me a curvy figure, and I’ve come to understand that in the Latina culture, that is beautiful.”
vanna white
Having the last name “White,” most people had no idea that this game show hostess is of Hispanic descent. She adopted her current last name from her stepfather, but her biological father was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Alexis Bledel
When watching this star’s performance in Gilmore Girls, a lot of viewers probably paid no mind to her Spanish speaking in occasional scenes. But the truth is she was just pretending to not know how to speak it. Bledel was raised in a Spanish speaking household, with a mother from Mexico and father from Argentina. In many interviews, you can hear her speaking fluent Spanish.