Jared Leto

Leto in 2014, photo by PR Photos

Birth Name: Jared Joseph Bryant

Place of Birth: Bossier City, Louisiana, U.S.

Date of Birth: December 26, 1971

Ethnicity: English, Cajun/French, smaller amounts of Irish, German, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, at least 1/512 Spanish, remote Dutch and Mi’kmaq First Nations

Jared Leto is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club (2013). He is also known for his roles in the films How to Make an American Quilt, Prefontaine, Urban Legend, The Thin Red Line, Fight Club, Girl, Interrupted; American Psycho, Requiem for a Dream, Panic Room, Alexander (2004), Lord of War, Chapter 27, Mr. Nobody, as Joker, in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League; Blade Runner 2049, The Little Things, House of Gucci, and Morbius, and on the shows My So-Called Life and WeCrashed. He directed the documentary films Artifact and A Day in the Life of America. He is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, for which his brother, Shannon Leto, is the drummer. He has also been credited as Bartholomew Cubbins and Angakok Panipaq.

Jared is the son of Constance (Metrejon) and Tony Lynn Bryant. Jared’s father was from Kentucky. His mother is from Louisiana. Some of Jared’s ancestors were born in Acadia, now Canada, and Barbados. Leto was the surname of Jared’s stepfather/adoptive father, Carl Leto. The surname is Italian. Pictures of Jared’s mother can be seen here (at the far left) and here.

At a concert, Jared waved the Spanish flag and stated that his maternal grandfather was of part Spanish descent. One of Jared’s maternal seven times great-grandfathers, Manuel Quintero, was Spanish, and was born, c. 1745, on Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. This makes Jared of 1/512th Spanish descent. It is not clear if he has any other Spanish ancestry, as some Cajuns do.

Jared’s mother’s Metrejon line can be traced to Joseph Marie Maitrejean, who was born, c. 1778, in Belle-Île-en-Mer, France, an island off the coast of Brittany.

Jared’s paternal grandfather was Felix Eugene Bryant (the son of Paul Sherman Bryant and Beulah Vasti Edwards). Felix was born in Wilmer, Tangipahoa, Louisiana. Paul was born in Long Beach, Harrison, Mississippi, the son of Thomas Monroe Bryant, whose maternal grandmother was from Dol, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France; and of Elizabeth Parker. Beulah was born in Wilmer, the daughter of Daniel Edwards and Ollie E. Stevens.

Jared’s paternal grandmother was Ann/Annie Kate Carter (the daughter of Ollin C. Carter and
Sue Kathryn Katie/”Kate” Hutto). Ollin was born in Bienville, Louisiana, the son of Daniel Rivers Carter, whose father was born in Ireland; and of Mary Missouri Morgan. Kate was born in Blanchard, Caddo, Louisiana.

Jared’s maternal grandfather was Edmond William “Willie” Lee Metrejon (the son of Charles J. Metrejean and Ethel Ryder). Edmond was born in Louisiana, and was of part Cajun (French) ancestry. The Metrejon/Metrejean surname had originally been spelled Maitrejean. Charles and Ethel were born in Louisiana. Charles was the son of Joseph-Frédéric Metrejean and Victoire-Octana Savoy. Ethel was the daughter of William/Willie Ryder and Marie Berthilde “Bertha” Wyble.

Jared’s maternal grandmother was Ruby Mae Russell (the daughter of Joseph Lee Russell and Helen Hessie Hoffpauir/Houfpauir/Huffpain). Ruby was born in Louisiana. Joseph was born in Florida, to a father from Alabama, Pat H. Russell, and a mother from Georgia, Ella. Helen was born in Louisiana, of part Cajun descent, the daughter of Henry Marshall Hoffpauir and Katherine Euranie/Urina Foreman.

Sources: Genealogies of Jared Leto – http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com

Jared’s maternal great-grandfather, Charles J. Metrejean, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Jared’s maternal grandmother, Ruby Mae Russell, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Jared’s maternal great-grandparents, Joseph Lee Russell and Helen Hessie Hoffpauir/Houfpauir/Huffpain, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Jared’s maternal great-grandmother, Helen Hessie Hoffpauir/Houfpauir/Huffpain, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Jared’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Henry Marshall Hoffpauir, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org