Daveed Diggs Parents Are of Different Ethnicities — The Actor Had a Poor Happy Childhood

Daveed Diggs is a mixed-race actor whose parents were black and white. He was born to a white Jewish mother and an African-American father. In numerous interviews, the actor has pointed out that he grew up poor, but his childhood was filled with much fun and laughter.

Born on January 24, 1982, Diggs is a native of Oakland, California. He attended Brown University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts in 2004. He had a very slow beginning to his acting career until 2015, when he appeared in the musical “Hamilton.” Since then, his career has grown in leaps and bounds.

The actor, who provided the voice of Sebastian in “The Little Mermaid” in 2023, often speaks about his childhood which he says was an enjoyable one despite the financial constraints. Now grown up, the actor maintains a good relationship with his parents. His mother is an activist who tackles social justice issues in the country.

Before the idea of having Diggs lighted their minds, his parents fell in love. They met at a club where Diggs’ mother, a Jewish white woman, was a DJ. She later went back to school, where she enrolled for a social welfare Ph.D. Diggs’ father was a bus driver.

After giving birth to Diggs, they named him David, which means beloved in Hebrew. However, his name is uniquely spelled as Daveed because the actor’s father liked the look of it with the two E’s. Although Diggs attended Hebrew school, he opted out of a bar mitzvah. He explained:

“I went to Hebrew school but opted out of a bar mitzvah. My mom is a white Jewish lady and my dad is black. The cultures never seemed separate—I had a lot of mixed friends. When I was young, I identified with being Jewish, but I embraced my dad’s side too.”

Growing up in Oakland, California, Diggs’ family did not have much, but “The Little Mermaid” actor said his childhood was happy and did not recall many sad moments. He noted, “What I remember is laughing so much my face hurt, and never ever being bored.”

Additionally, Diggs spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about having to shuttle between the homes of his white mother and black father, who had some financial difficulties but getting all the basic needs that satisfied him. Moreover, as he went to acting, many would look at the early years of his career and see a struggling artist who appeared in peripheral roles and projects.

Although Diggs concedes to having challenges establishing his career, the actor pointed out that he chose those projects, and it was an experimental art that he enjoyed and still does even now when he is more renowned. He said, “I didn’t accidentally end up in ‘Word Becomes Flesh,’ or whatever it was, I chose to do that choreopoem, and I liked living like that.”

Diggs, who voiced Dos in “Ferdinand” alongside John Cena and Anthony Anderson, has a mom who goes with the times. Barbara Needell is quite an active social media user. She usually shares photos about various aspects of her life, from her time with her son to her activist work.

Needell presents a happy woman who seems to enjoy much of her life, reflecting the happy childhood that Daveed says he had. The actor noted that his parents were rather strict and told him that he would be policed differently from his white friends, but that disciplined upbringing did not dampen his fun times.

The mother of two is also an avid social justice campaigner and frequently gives her voice to various socio-cultural and socio-political issues gripping the country. For example, she has campaigned against anti-muslim sentiment, posing with a banner written “WE ARE ALL MUSLIM!” in December 2015.

In May 2017, she supported the Black Lives Matter(BLM) movement. She shared a picture of herself in a BLM t-shirt, highlighting that “women’s rights are human rights,” “no human is illegal,” “science is real,” and “love is love.” In March 2018, she was photographed at a protest against gun violence.