Tina Fey and Pedro Pizarro
Table of Contents
Tina Fey is one of the most celebrated comedians and writers of her generation, known for Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and Mean Girls. Pedro Pizarro was a 16th-century Spanish conquistador and chronicler who took part in the Spanish conquest of Peru. Though they lived nearly five centuries apart, both carry rich European heritages — and this article explores the ethnic backgrounds of each.
Quick Info
| Tina Fey | Born May 18, 1970, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania — Greek, German, Scottish and English ancestry |
| Pedro Pizarro | Born c. 1515, Toledo, Spain — Spanish (European) ancestry |
Tina Fey’s Ethnicity and Background
Tina Fey, born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey on May 18, 1970, in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, comes from a mixed European background. Her mother, Zenobia “Jeanne” Xenakes, was born in Piraeus, Greece, giving Fey strong Greek roots — her middle name, Stamatina, is itself Greek. Her father, Donald Fey, was of English, German, and Scots-Irish ancestry.
Fey’s Greek heritage runs deep: her maternal grandmother, Vasiliki Kourelakou, left the Greek village of Petrina and arrived in the United States in 1921, while her maternal grandfather, Constantine Xenakes, was from the island of Ikaria. According to a genealogical DNA test arranged by the television series Finding Your Roots, Fey’s ancestry is 94% European, 3% Middle Eastern, and 3% from the Caucasus.
She rose to fame as a head writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live (1997–2006), created and starred in 30 Rock, and wrote the hit film Mean Girls. Learn more about her life and career on her Wikipedia page.
Pedro Pizarro’s Ethnicity and Background
Pedro Pizarro (c. 1515–1587) was born in the Spanish city of Toledo and was of Spanish (European) descent. Through his father, he was a first cousin of the famous conquistador Francisco Pizarro and his half-brothers Gonzalo, Hernando, and Juan Pizarro.
Pedro sailed with Francisco’s third expedition from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in February 1530, arriving in Tumbes (in present-day Peru) in January 1531. Starting as a page to his cousin, he became a cavalryman around 1533 and took part in most of the chief events of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, including campaigns against Manco Inca, the Battle of Las Salinas (1538), and the foundation of Arequipa (1540), where he later settled.
Beyond his military role, Pedro Pizarro is remembered as a chronicler: he wrote the Relación del descubrimiento y conquista de los reinos del Perú (“Account of the Discovery and Conquest of the Kingdoms of Peru”), finished in 1571, which remains one of the most important eyewitness sources on the conquest. More details are available on his Wikipedia page.
For more celebrity pairing profiles, see our article on Jim Taiclet and Martin Scorsese.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tina Fey’s ethnicity?
Tina Fey is of mixed European ancestry — Greek on her mother’s side (her mother was born in Piraeus, Greece) and English, German, and Scots-Irish on her father’s side.
Who was Pedro Pizarro?
Pedro Pizarro (c. 1515–1587) was a Spanish conquistador from Toledo, Spain, a cousin of Francisco Pizarro who took part in the conquest of Peru and later wrote a famous chronicle of it.
What is Pedro Pizarro’s ethnicity?
Pedro Pizarro was Spanish, of European descent, born in Toledo, Spain.
Are Tina Fey and Pedro Pizarro related?
No. They are an unrelated pairing — a modern American comedian and a 16th-century Spanish conquistador, separated by nearly five centuries.
