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Being biracial doesn’t mean choosing one side and pretending the other doesn’t exist. For many celebrities with Black and non-Black heritage, identity has been a lifelong conversation about family, culture, appearance, and the way the world sees them. Check out these biracial celebrities who proudly identify as Black.
From Hollywood heavyweights to Grammy-winning artists, athletes, and cultural icons, these stars have embraced their Blackness while also honoring the other parts of their heritage. As Buzzfeed’s roundup of mixed-race celebrities shows, stars including Yara Shahidi, J. Cole, Mariah Carey, Tracee Ellis Ross, H.E.R., Maya Rudolph, and Zendaya have spoken publicly about navigating their identities. Ranker’s list of famous people who are half Black also highlights other celebrities like Halle Berry, Rashida Jones, Dwayne Johnson, Kimora Lee Simmons, and others.
Scroll below for the list of biracial celebrities who identify as Black.
Biracial Celebrities Who Identify As Black
Halle Berry
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With a white mother and Black father, Halle Berry has long embraced her Black identity. In 2002, she became the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, making history while also becoming a major figure in conversations about race and representation in Hollywood.
Lenny Kravitz
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The rock star was raised with both Black and Jewish influences. His mother, actress Roxie Roker, was Black with Bahamian heritage, while his father was Jewish. Kravitz has spoken proudly about embracing both sides of his family while acknowledging that society often reads him primarily as Black.
Tracee Ellis Ross
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Diana Ross’s daughter has Black and Jewish heritage and has openly discussed how being mixed shaped her understanding of race, beauty, and belonging. Ross has embraced both sides of her family while identifying strongly with her Black American experience.
Drake
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Drake has a Black father and white Jewish mother. Growing up with both Black and Jewish influences, the rapper has spoken about navigating both identities and has consistently embraced his identity as a Black man.
Alicia Keys
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Keys has an African American father and a mother of Italian, Irish, and Scottish descent. The Grammy winner has described herself as Black and Italian while embracing the complexity of her multiracial background.
J. Cole
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The rapper has a Black father and white mother. J. Cole has spoken about recognizing both sides of his family while also acknowledging how his appearance and the way society treats him have shaped his relationship with Black identity.
Maya Rudolph
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The comedian and actress is the daughter of Black singer Minnie Riperton and a white Jewish father. Rudolph has openly discussed growing up mixed and the complicated relationship she developed with race, family, and cultural identity.
Rashida Jones
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With a Black father, music producer Quincy Jones, and white Jewish mother Peggy Lipton, Rashida Jones grew up navigating multiple cultural identities. She has spoken about her mixed heritage and her connection to Black culture throughout her career.
Misty Copeland
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The groundbreaking ballerina has Black and German heritage and has consistently embraced her identity as a Black woman. As the first Black woman promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, Copeland has also challenged longstanding ideas about who gets to represent classical ballet.
Zendaya
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Zendaya has African American roots through her father, along with German and Scottish ancestry through her mother. She has proudly discussed her Black heritage while also acknowledging the privileges and complexities that can come with being light-skinned and biracial.
Yara Shahidi
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The actress is Black and Iranian and has spoken openly about embracing both sides of her heritage. Shahidi has pushed back against the idea that biracial people should have to prove how much they belong to either culture.
Jesse Williams
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Williams has a Swedish mother and a Black father with Seminole ancestry. The actor has described himself as both white and Black while discussing the complicated experience of moving through different racial spaces.
Mariah Carey
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Carey’s Black and Irish heritage has been central to her conversations about identity. The superstar has openly discussed growing up feeling caught between racial categories and eventually embracing her mixed heritage as an important part of who she is.
Bob Marley
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The reggae legend was born to a Black Jamaican mother and a white Jamaican father. Marley’s music and Rastafarian identity became deeply connected to Black liberation, African identity, Jamaican culture, and the global Black experience.
Dwayne Johnson
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The Rock has a Black Nova Scotian father and Samoan mother. Rather than choosing between his backgrounds, Johnson has consistently embraced both his Black and Samoan heritage, making his multicultural identity a visible part of his public persona.
Kimora Lee Simmons
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Kimora Lee Simmons has a Black father and Japanese mother, giving her a multicultural background that has long influenced her identity and career. The model, entrepreneur, and fashion mogul has openly embraced her Black and Asian heritage while becoming a major figure in fashion and business.
H.E.R.
Source: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage / Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
The Grammy-winning singer, born Gabriella Wilson, has a Black father and Filipina mother. H.E.R. has embraced both sides of her heritage, often celebrating her Filipino roots alongside her identity as a Black woman and artist.
Saweetie
Source: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic / Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Born Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, Saweetie has a Black father and Filipina-Chinese mother. The rapper has openly celebrated her multicultural background, incorporating both her Black and Asian heritage into her identity, style, and artistry.
Naomi Osaka
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The tennis champion was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father. Osaka has proudly embraced both cultures throughout her life while becoming one of the most visible biracial athletes in the world. Her Haitian heritage and connection to Black identity have been particularly important parts of her public story.
Tiger Woods
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Tiger Woods has a multicultural background that includes Black, Asian, Native American, and European ancestry. Woods famously coined the term “Cablinasian” to describe his heritage, but he has also spoken about being perceived and treated as a Black man, particularly during his rise as one of golf’s most groundbreaking stars.
Tessa Thompson
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The actress has a Black father of Afro-Panamanian descent and a mother of Mexican and European ancestry. Thompson has embraced her multicultural background while identifying strongly with her Black heritage and using her platform to challenge narrow ideas about Black identity and representation.
Halsey
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The singer, born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, has a Black father and white mother. Halsey has spoken about being biracial and the complicated ways their racial identity has been perceived, particularly as someone who can be racially ambiguous or white-passing.
Lisa Bonet
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Lisa Bonet has a Black father and Jewish mother and has spoken about growing up with a strong awareness of her mixed heritage. Her identity and unconventional approach to beauty and culture have long challenged Hollywood’s expectations of what a Black woman should look like.
Miguel
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The Grammy-winning singer has a Black father and Mexican mother. Miguel has embraced both sides of his heritage, with his multicultural upbringing influencing his music, personal style, and perspective as a Black and Latino artist.
These celebrities prove there is no single way to be biracial—or Black. For some, embracing Blackness means connecting to family history, culture, community, or lived experience. For others, it means acknowledging the privileges and challenges that come with having a more complicated racial identity.
Ultimately, being biracial doesn’t require a person to erase one part of themselves to validate another. These stars have shown that Black identity can exist alongside Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, Jewish, Irish, Samoan, Iranian, German, and countless other cultural identities—and that complexity is worth celebrating.
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