Ringer in 2010, photo by PR Photos. A more recent picture of Noah can be seen here.
Birth Name: Noah Andrew Ringer
Place of Birth: Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 18, 1996
Ethnicity: German (almost half), along with English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, Irish, remote Welsh
Noah Ringer is an American actor and martial artist. He is known for starring as Aang in the 2010 film The Last Airbender. The film’s director, M. Night Shyamalan, stated of Noah, “To me, he felt mixed race with an Asian quality to him.” He also co-starred in the film Cowboys & Aliens in 2011, his only other role to date. As of 2010, he was a second degree black belt in American Taekwondo.
Noah’s father is of three quarters German descent, with his other ancestry being English, and remote Welsh. Noah’s mother has German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, English, and Irish lineage. All in all, Noah is of at least 43.75% German ancestry, though adding in more distant lineages, his total percent of German ancestry is probably in the high 40s.
In a 2010 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Noah stated that he has Native American ancestry:
Racebending.com confirmed that when asked by Entertainment Weekly reporter Karen Valby about his ethnicity, Noah Ringer self-identified as “American Indian.”
It is not clear if this Native American ancestry has been verified/documented. As far as can be found, Noah’s recent American ancestors, going back to all of his American great-great-grandparents, are listed as “White” on United States Censuses.
In this video, he states about his Native American ancestry:
…and I don’t know why it came out so strong in me ’cause it’s literally like 1/25ths or something ridiculous like that…
A picture of Noah’s paternal grandmother can be seen here (on the far left of the page). A picture of Noah’s maternal grandfather can be seen here.
Noah’s paternal grandfather is Jurgen Fritz Ringer (the son of Friedrich Karl Franz Ringer and Ernestine M. Lorinser). Jurgen was a German who immigrated to the United States after World War II, along with his parents and siblings. Noah’s great-grandfather Friedrich was a chemist, who worked for the IG Farben chemical company, and was responsible for all of IG Farben’s contracts with major oil companies. Friedrich was the son of Friedrich R. Ringer and Holst.
Noah’s paternal grandmother is Barbara Maynard (the daughter of Harold Bright Maynard and Hilda Marie Koch). Barbara was born in Pennsylvania. Noah’s great-grandfather Harold was from a New England family. Harold’s parents were William Clement Maynard (the son of Charles Albert Maynard and Mary Bailey Clement) and Edith Lucia Clark (the daughter of Lucius Clark and Julia Sandford Bright). Noah’s great-grandmother Hilda was from Pennsylvania, and was of German descent. Hilda’s parents were Edward Nicholas Koch (the son of Charles E. Koch and Anna Martha Maria Stippy) and Laura A. Kingelhofer (the daughter of William Klingelhofer and Susan Backofer).
Noah’s maternal grandfather was Willis Floyd Fagan (the son of William Ellis Fagan and Lottie Helen Martin). Willis was born in Oklahoma. William was the son of William Lon Fagan and Rosa/Rosie May Dillard. Lottie was the daughter of Jett Imri Martin and Lois Earnest/Ernest Hudspeth.
Noah’s maternal grandmother was Ann Elizabeth McDonald (the daughter of Cecil C. McDonald and Gladys Mary Altman). Ann was born in Oklahoma. Cecil was the son of Norman McDonald and Mattie Stiteler. Gladys was the daughter of William Yoder Altman, who was of German descent, and of Myrtle B. Sargent.
Sources: Wedding announcement of Naoh’s paternal grandparents, Jurgen Fritz Ringer and Barbara Maynard – http://news.google.com
Who’s who in Germany, Volume 2; Volume 4, Part 2, 1972, by Horst Kliemann – http://books.google.com
Marriage record of Noah’s paternal great-great-grandparents, William Clement Maynard and Edith Lucia Clark – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s paternal great-great-grandparents, William Clement Maynard and Edith Lucia Clark, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s paternal great-grandmother, Hilda Marie Koch, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Hilda Marie Koch on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Noah’s paternal great-grandmother, Hilda Marie (Koch) Maynard – http://nl.newsbank.com
Birth record of Noah’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Edward Nicholas Koch – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Laura A. Kingelhofer, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary and genealogy of Noah’s maternal grandfather, Willis Floyd Fagan – http://www.findagrave.com
Obituary of Noah’s maternal grandfather, Willis Floyd Fagan – http://azlenews.net
Noah’s maternal great-grandfather, William Ellis Fagan, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s maternal great-great-grandparents, William Lon Fagan and Rosa/Rosie May Dillard, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s maternal great-grandmother, Lottie Helen Martin, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Lottie Helen Martin on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Jett Imri Martin and Lois Earnest/Ernest Hudspeth, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Noah’s maternal grandmother, Ann Elizabeth McDonald, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Noah’s maternal grandmother, Ann Elizabeth (McDonald) Fagan – http://nl.newsbank.com
Noah’s maternal great-grandfather, Cecil C. McDonald, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogies of Noah’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Norman McDonald and Mattie Stiteler – http://findagrave.com
Noah’s maternal great-grandmother, Gladys Mary Altman, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
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