Ciara

Ciara in 2007, Joe Seer/bigstock.com

Birth Name: Ciara Princess Harris

Place of Birth: Bell, Texas, U.S.

Date of Birth: October 25, 1985

Ethnicity: African-American, small amount of English

Ciara is an American singer, songwriter, businessperson, record producer, dancer, model, and actress. Her songs include “1, 2 Step,” “Oh,” “Get Up,” “Promise,” “Like a Boy,” “Love Sex Magic,” “Ride,” “Body Party,” “I Bet,” “Level Up,” and, in a featured role, “Lose Control” and “Like You.” She has been a Global Brand Ambassador for Revlon cosmetics, and formed her own label, Beauty Marks Entertainment. Her roles include the films All You’ve Got, Mama, I Want to Sing!, That’s My Boy, and The Color Purple (2023), and the series The Game.

Her parents, Jackie Smith and Carlton Clay Harris, are both African-American. She was born in Austin, Texas, and grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada, as her parents served in the U.S. army. She spent her teen years in College Park, an Atlanta suburb.

Her name, Ciara, is of Irish origin, and means black or dark. She was said to have been named after Revlon fragrance Ciara.

Ciara is married to professional football player Russell Wilson. She has a son with her former fiancé, rapper, singer, and songwriter Future; and three children with Russell.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2024) stated that Ciara’s genetic ancestry consists of:

*85% African
*13% European
*2% Native American

Genetically, she was found to have a common ancestor with professional baseball player Derek Jeter, through Derek’s maternal European ancestry.

Ciara’s paternal grandfather was named William Edward Harris.

Ciara’s paternal grandmother was Ruth Armstrong (the daughter of Luther Armster/Armstrong and Nazarine/Nazarene/Nazzarene Russell). Ruth was born in New York, New York, to parents from South Carolina. Luther was the son of Charles “Charlie”/Charley Armster and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Gardner, whose own father, Aaron Gardner, likely was born into slavery. Nazarine was the daughter of Henry Russell and Lula Daniels.

Ciara’s maternal grandfather was Eddie Lee Head (the son of Willie Bub Head and Louella Griffin). Willie was the son of Walker Lafayette Head, who was white, and of Emily Redding, who was black. He was raised by his mother and her husband, Nathan Head, who was black, and came from a family that had worked for Walker’s family.

Ciara’s maternal grandmother was named Gladys Mae Stewart.

Sources: Meaning of the name Ciara – http://members.tripod.com

Marriage record of Ciara’s maternal great-grandparents, Luther Armster/Armstrong and Nazarine/Nazarene/Nazzarene Russell – https://www.familysearch.org

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