In the Mix: Biracial Celebs Are Turning Heads And Breaking Boundaries

Meghan Markle, Drake, Lauren London and more stars with diverse racial backgrounds..

042423-celebs-meghan-markle-drake-lauren-london.jpg

1 / 19

While there is a lot of debate about racial identity, a mixed racial background is consistent with the Black experience. Despite misinformation, biracial is not a racial identity but a racial descriptor, check out our list of biracial stars from Hollywood to music.

Photo By (Photos from left: Samir Hussein/WireImage, Karwai Tang/WireImage, Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

GettyImages-1207765760.jpg

2 / 19

Sofia Richie, the daughter of Lionel Richie, has made a name for herself with her business endeavors and recent wedding to Elliot Grainge are married! The couple married in the South of France on April 23.

Photo By https://mediaservices.viacom.com/Watch/RAEBWJQHUS

042423-celebs-lauren-london.jpg

3 / 19

Actress Lauren London is the daughter of a Black mother and Jewish father. Back in 2011, she told Skin Deep, “If someone thinks I’m not Black enough that’s their issue. I’m okay with who I am and it is what is. I’m a Black woman like my mother, and I love who my father is, and I love both sides of me."

Photo By (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

Meghan Markle on BET BUZZ 2020.

4 / 19

Meghan Markle's father is white and her mother is Black. Although she was raised by her Black mother, she has said due to her lighter skin, she wasn't treated like a Black woman until she married her husband Prince Harry. The British press was vicious to Markle and there was reportedly racial tension in the Royal Family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the Royal Family in 2021.

042423-celebs-halle-berry.jpg

5 / 19

The Academy Award-winning actress has a white mother and a Black father, but she has never played the racially ambiguous card. Halle Berry has proudly stated she is a Black woman because that is what she is seen as, she even said about her daughter Nahla, who has a white father, "I feel she's Black. I'm Black and I'm her mother, and I believe in the one-drop theory."

Photo By (Photo by Cindy Ord/VF23/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

ADVERTISEMENT
61882724

6 / 19

Born Helen Folasade Adu, the British singer has a Nigerian father and an English mother. Along with her younger brother, the family lived in Nigeria until her parents split when she was four years old. Back in 2010, she told the Los Angeles she identifies as "more Black than white." (Photo: Kevin Mazur/Child/WireImage)

J. Cole -  A mixed racial background is consistent with the African-American experience.  Check out our list of biracial stars from hip hop to Hollywood, starting with J Cole.  The Roc Nation artist has a Caucasian mother, but claims, "I never felt white." He adds that he "can identify" with white culture, but "never have I felt like I am one of them." (photo: John Ricard / BET)

7 / 19

J. Cole has a white mother, but said way back in 2011, "I never felt white." He also added that he "can identify" with white culture, but "never have I felt like I am one of them." (photo: John Ricard / BET)

MVP of the Year: Drake -  Drake may have started from the bottom but now he's here. In the running for an award that would place him at the top of the food chain. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

8 / 19

The Canadian rapper was born to a Black father and Jewish mother. He was even Bar Mitzvah'd when he turned thirteen! (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Photo By Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Lenny Kravitz @LennyKravitz - Tweet: "You never know who you will run into in the jungle. Oh s--t, @pharrell! pic.twitter.com/pZsXsOvh"Rock legend, Lenny Kravitz shares this cool pic of him and Pharrell chilling and chatting in the lush greens of some beautiful place.(Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images)

9 / 19

This rock star's background is as diverse as his music. Lenny Kravitz's mother is the late, great actress Roxie Roker, best known for her role on The Jeffersons. His father, Sy Kravitz, is a television executive. Showbiz runs in his blood. (Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images)

85554385

10 / 19

Just like her ex-husband Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Bonet is also Black and Jewish. The Cosby Show star's father, who is Black, was an opera singer and her mother, who is white, is a teacher.(Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)

ADVERTISEMENT
Boris Kodjoe  - You've seen him host Rip the Runway and star on Real Husbands of Hollywood, this weekend witness him as a presenter on the 2013 BET Awards  

11 / 19

It took a tapestry of cultures to create this work of art. Boris Kodjoe is German and Jewish on his mother's side, and Nigerian on his father's. He was born in Austria and named after a Russian poet. (Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for BET's Rip The Runway)

Shemar Moore - This chiseled actor is a combination of Black, Irish and French-Canadian. Moore spent his early years living abroad in Denmark, Bahrain and London before moving back to America. (Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

12 / 19

This chiseled actor is a combination of Black, Irish and French-Canadian. Shemar Moore spent his early years living abroad in Denmark, Bahrain and London before moving back to America. (Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Faith Evans - The R&B singer credits her striking beauty to a Black mother and Italian father. (Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images for TV One)

13 / 19

Faith Evans has a Black mother and a white father. Sadly, Evans never met her father. (Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images for TV One)

Alicia Keys vs. Earl Shuman - Earl Shuman, credited with co-writing the popular 1960's song, "Lonely Boy," sued Alicia Keys for mimicking certain melodic intonations when she sings the words "lonely girl" in her "Girl on Fire." The suit was settled; the terms, undisclosed to the public.(Photo:  Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

14 / 19

Easily one of the most beautiful women in the world, Alicia Keys is a mix of Black, Italian, Scottish and Irish. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Mariah Carey - The diva's exact racial makeup has been a bit of a mystery (she claims she doesn't even know), but she has Black, Venezuelan and Irish blood. Regardless, it's all working for her. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET)

15 / 19

Mariah Carey has been open with her struggles around racial identity. Her mother is white and her father is Black American. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET)

ADVERTISEMENT
Tiger Woods - Woods describes himself as one quarter Black, one quarter Thai, one quarter Chinese, one eighth white and one eighth Native American. He even coined the term "Cablinasian" to describe himself. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

16 / 19

Tiger Woods describes himself as one quarter Black, one quarter Thai, one quarter Chinese, one eighth white and one eighth Native American. He even coined the term "Cablinasian" to describe himself. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Tia & Tamera Mowry - America's favorite twins grew up as Army brats in Germany, where they were raised by a white father and Black mother.   (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

17 / 19

Tia and Tamera Mowry, America's favorite twins, grew up as Army brats in Germany, where they were raised by a white father and Black mother. (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images)

Marley_Bob_007.jpg

18 / 19

Bob Marley's father was a white Jamaican and his mother was Afro-Jamaican. Marley once said about his background, "Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the Black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from Black and white." (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

75094015

19 / 19

Bob Marley's father was a white Jamaican and his mother was Afro-Jamaican. Marley once said about his background, "Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the Black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from Black and white." (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)