What is Tatiana Maslany’s ethnicity? All about her parents

Tatiana Maslany’s breakthrough role(s) in Orphan Black earned her recognition and acclaim which resonates to this day. She became the first Canadian actor to not only receive an Emmy award for the best lead actress but also for achieving the feat while starring in a Canadian series.

Although Maslany is notoriously private about her personal life, she had previously touched upon the close ties of her family in interviews and appearances. Her parents may not come from the film industry but they have, in her own words, played a part in grounding her in reality.

Tatiana Maslany hails from a diverse range of European ancestry – she is of Ukrainian, Polish, German, Austrian and Romanian descent

Born on September 22, 1985, to Renate and Dan Maslany, Tatiana Gabriele Maslany grew up with two younger brothers in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The Canadian-born actress hails from a mixture of European heritage as she is part Ukrainian and Polish from her father’s side and has German, Austrian, and Romanian ancestry from her mother’s side. Apart from English, she is fluent in French and German and also speaks a little Spanish.

Maslany’s mother is a French/English translator who taught her German from a young age. On the other hand, her father is a woodworker and cabinet maker.

“My mom taught me German before I knew English. And I went to a French immersion school. It’s been around me. I think because I learned it at a young age, your brain understands how languages are structured,” she told BuzzFeed.

Moreover, Maslany easily acquired the language by being around her maternal grandparents as a child. Today, she is not the sole actor in the family as her younger brother, Daniel, is also an actor, singer, and composer. Whereas, her youngest brother, Michael, is an animator.

“I had a younger brother whom I grew up with who was my best friend and a little, little brother who’s 12 years younger than me. So, he was a baby that we raised,” she said.

Tatiana’s parents were initially wary about her acting career and wanted her to pursue a “tangible career path”

Maslany’s passion for performing began in her childhood. She first started dancing when she was only four years old and then went on to act in community theater at nine years old. She soon started acting in television and film in her small hometown. In an interview with Anthem Magazine, she said:

“It just seems like performance was always a part of my life. Maybe that impulse was rooted in my desire to be the center of attention or something… I really don’t know how all of this happened, but I was fortunate enough to start booking jobs.”

Although she was getting cast in various small roles and traveled across Canada for her job, her parents were initially apprehensive about her carving a career in acting. They wanted her to pursue a “tangible career path” such as journalism and other safer options to fall back on to in case things did not pan out.

“When I was younger, they were like ehhhh… Acting was colossally up in the air according to their philosophy. It’s so hit-and-miss. Acting is really difficult to pursue professionally and keep the inflow of work consistent. They just wanted me to be OK,” she said.

Nonetheless, they let her carry on with acting since it was something she loved to do. Maslany is also understanding of her parents’ protectiveness of her being in the entertainment industry and credits them for the good work ethic she developed. As of now, her parents fully support her decision. She explained:

“The more that I got work, the more they saw how much I loved doing it and how much I was committed to it… They’re so supportive of my decision now. It’s a world that none of us are familiar with, but they’re very much behind me along the way.”