Derek Klena

Birth Name: Derek Anthony Klena

Place of Birth: San Dimas, Los Angeles, California, United States

Date of Birth: October 3, 1991

Ethnicity:
*75% Jewish [Ashkenazi, Sephardi]
*25% Slovak

Derek Klena is an American actor and singer. He is known for his roles on the shows Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Code, and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, in the made-for-tv movies A Holiday Spectacular and Private Princess Christmas, and in the original Broadway productions of The Bridges of Madison County, Anastasia, and Jagged Little Pill.

He was raised in West Covina, California. His brother is actor Dillon Klena. Derek is married to Elycia Scriven, with whom he has two children.

Derek’s paternal grandfather was Anthony Klena (the son of Robert Klena and Albina Salaba). Anthony was born in Pennsylvania, to Slovak parents. Robert was the son of Matyas/Mike Klena and Rosa. Albina was the daughter of Anton Salaba.

Derek’s paternal grandmother was Thea Dora De Leeuw (the daughter of Siegfried de Leeuw and Dorothea Johanna Polak). Thea was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, to Dutch Jewish parents. Siegfried was the son of Gerzon Salomon de Leeuw and Estella van Gelder. Dorothea was the daughter of Salomon Polak and Rosa Cahn.

Derek’s maternal grandfather was Sol Altman (the son of Joseph/Joe Altman/Aldiman and Lillian/Lillie Behar). Sol was born in New York, to Turkish Jewish parents. Joseph was the son of Solomon Altman and Simha Almeleh.

Derek’s maternal grandmother is Olga Wien (the daughter of Harry Wien and Etta Horwitz). Olga was born in California, to a German Jewish father and a Russian Jewish/Latvian Jewish mother. Etta was born in Kraslava, Latvia, the daughter of Harry Horwitz and Chava Gitel “Eva” Lifschitz.

An AncestryDNA test (2018) whose results were displayed on YouTube stated that Derek’s genetic ancestry consists of:

*97% Europe
——–*52% European Jewish
——–*13% Europe East
——–*11% Great Britain
——–*7% Italy/Greece
——–*7% Europe West
——–*6% Iberian Peninsula
——–*<1% Scandinavia
*3% West Asia
——–*2% Middle East
——–*<1% Caucasus

At the time, many DNA tests did not pick up specifically on Sephardi Jewish ancestry, instead classifying it as “Italy/Greece” and “Iberian Peninsula,” among other matches.

Sources: Genealogies of Derek’s paternal great-grandparents, Siegfried de Leeuw and Dorothea Johanna Polak – https://www.geni.com

Marriage record of Derek’s maternal grandparents, Sol Altman and Olga Wien – https://www.familysearch.org

Derek’s maternal grandfather, Sol Altman, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Derek’s maternal grandfather, Sol Altman – https://www.legacy.com

Derek’s maternal grandmother, Olga Wien, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org