What’s Hailee Steinfeld’s Ethnicity? How Researching Her Multi-Racial Background for Sinners Brought Her ‘So Much Closer’ to Her Family
Sinners has been a knockout horror thriller at the Box Office. The Ryan Coogler-directed film deals with the particular themes about race, and many people online are wondering if Hailee Steinfeld really is Black in real life.
In Sinners, Hailee Steinfeld plays Mary, a white-passing woman who mourns her mother after she was attacked for being in a bi-racial relationship. She ends up being bitten by a vampire, and the consequences wreak havoc on the local Black community and ultimately the death of her best friend Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) and her partner Stack’s twin Smoke (both played by Michael B. Jordan).
Here’s what Hailee Steinfeld has said about her ethnicity and how Sinners affected her viewpoint about her family.
What is Hailee Steinfeld’s ethnicity?
Hailee Steinfeld is of Jewish, Black, and Filipino descent. Her father is Jewish, while her maternal grandfather was of half Filipino and half African-American descent.
Hailee Steinfeld learned a lot about her heritage by working on Sinners. ““It sparked a lot of questions for me,” she told Blavity. “The research for the job is always the best part, right? One of the best parts. And a lot of times you’re learning about something that you may know a little about or nothing about, and you make discoveries about yourself through those things, but it’s not about you, right? It’s about something that you’re learning, something else. And with this, it was my family. The research was my family and my family history. And ‘the best part of the job’ didn’t feel like part of the job. It felt like these amazing conversations that…it’s easy to say [that], I wish happened sooner, but I’m so grateful that they’re happening now.”
The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse actress watched the movie with her family, and said that it had a profound impact on the way she viewed her ancestors. “After seeing the movie last night with just some family, it’s like the conversations about this movie are so important, but it brought me so much closer to my mom and to my grandfather,” she told the outlet. “[With this role], my imagination ran wild with thoughts of what his life might’ve looked like growing up, what his parents’ life might’ve looked like. I’m just so honored to be a part of this story and of this world that, while it’s wild, and exciting, and fun, and there’s jump scares that’ll really get you, and the music is incredible– it’s so important. And this served me in a way that I didn’t know I needed so bad.”
Steinfeld previously talked to StyleCaster about being proud of her Filipino heritage when she was promoting her newsletter. “With the cryptic teasing of Beau Society, it’s been the first time in several months that I’ve been active on social media, and working to connect with my people again—my followers, my family, really. That’s how I always refer to them—and I love nothing more than when I see my fans from the Philippines, they come in so hot, and they’re so vocal, and they’re so supportive. And that’s one thing I love. That’s just in our blood as Filipinos, there’s love and support that’s unwavering. And I’m so grateful they’re part of my community.”
