Birth Name: Mary Bing Jamie Alfreda Kit Nighy
Place of Birth: Camden, London, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 17 July, 1984
Ethnicity: English, Scottish, Irish, 1/32 Indian
Mary Nighy is an English actress and filmmaker. She is the daughter of actors Diana Quick (Diana Marilyn Quick) and Bill Nighy.
Mary father is of English, Scottish, and Irish descent. Her mother is of English, Scottish, and least one sixteenth Indian, ancestry.
Mary’s paternal grandfather was Alfred Martin Nighy (the son of Joshua Nighy and Mary Ellen Duff). Alfred was born in Croydon, Surrey, England. Joshua was the son of William Nighy and Sarah Rowland. Mary’s great-grandmother Mary was the daughter of George Duff and Elizabeth Janes.
Mary’s paternal grandmother was Catherine Josephine Whittaker. Catherine was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and is said to have had Irish ancestry.
Mary’s maternal grandfather was Leonard Albert Groves Quick (the son of Albert Norman “Bertie” Quick and Mildred Elizabeth Rumbold). Leonard was born in India. Mary’s great-grandfather Albert was also born in India, the son of Christopher George Quick, who was English, and of Margaret Johnstone/Kerr. Mary’s great-great-grandmother Margaret was the daughter of Jacob Johnstone, who was Scottish, and of Lakshmi, who was Indian.
Mary’s maternal grandmother was Joan Gwendoline Brise (the daughter of William John Brise and Annie Maud Bailey). Joan was born in Woolwich, London, England. William was the son of John W. Brise and Ann/Annie. There is speculation within Mary’s mother’s family about William’s background; in Mary’s mother’s book, A Tug On The Thread: From the British Raj to the British Stage: A Family Memoir (2009), she describes the man as “olive-skinned and black-eyed with thick black hair.” One article describes him, from a photograph, as “very dark-skinned with an enormous nose.”
Sources: Genealogy of Mary Nighy – https://www.geni.com
Family history of Mary’s father (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Family histories of Mary’s mother – https://www.theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com
https://www.telegraph.co.uk
Mary talks about her mother’s ancestry – https://www.hayfestival.com
Mary’s maternal great-grandfather, William John Brise, on the 1901 England and Wales Census – https://www.familysearch.org
William John Brise on the 1911 England and Wales Census – https://www.familysearch.org