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When you come across people of black origins or of African descent, you can almost always tell immediately.

I may be wrong but it’s usually the complexion.

However, there are some famous celebrities that you’d be surprised are of black origins because they simply don’t look it.

Seriously.

Well, I promise, some of the names on this list will genuinely surprise you.

For starters, we have NBA superstar,

Blake Griffin

blake-griffin black origins

I mean, you can kind of see it, right?

Not initially, though. But once you do, you can’t unsee it.

Blake Griffin is an American basketball player currently signed to the Los Angeles clippers.

When he was in college, he played for the University of Oklahoma’s basketball team – Oklahoma Sooners.

Blake Griffin was also the first overall pick by the Clippers in during the 2009 NBA draft.

He is a five-time NBA all-star as well as a four-time ALL-NBA selection.

For basketball fans, you might feel like you know all there is to know about the man who has been called one of the NBA’s greatest rookies of all time by Sports Illustrated… but did you know that Griffin is of mixed descent.

That’s right, his father is black and his mother is white.

His father, who is Afro-Haitian, played for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University as a basketball center.

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Meghan Markle

Do you watch Suits?

Do you follow recent, tabloid news?

If your answer is yes to any of these questions then maybe you know the name ‘Meghan Markle’.

meghan-markle black origins

Meghan is an American actress who gained international recognition for her portrayal of Rachel Zane on the hit legal television show Suits.

She is also known to science fiction fans as FBI special agent Amy Jessup on Fringe.

Lovers of celebrity gossip will no doubt know her name because she was recently revealed to be the girlfriend of Prince Harry.

prince-harry

Yes, the Prince Harry.

Meghan is mixed race and is of black origins from her mother’s side.

Her mother who works a yoga therapist in social welfare is African American while her father is caucasian.

Her father is Thomas W. Markle – an Emmy Award-winning director of photography.

On her heritage, Meghan said,

“My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. … I have come to embrace [it, and] to say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.”

Wentworth Miller

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If you have literally ever owned a television set then you are familiar with Wentworth miller, probably not the name but definitely the face.

Wentworth played Michael Scofield on the critically acclaimed show Prison Break.

If you haven’t already seen it, you should.

Side note: There’s this trend I’ve noticed and you should keep a lookout for it too – shows set in prisons usually turn out to be pretty great.

Prison Break, Orange Is The New Black, Oz…see what I mean?

Comic book fans will probably know him for his portrayal of Leonard Snart/Captain Cold on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

Here’s hoping we see his return on the big crossover with The Flash, Supergirl, Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow.

Here’s a surprising fact about the actor that you probably didn’t know: the actor is biracial.

His father is African-American and his mother is caucasian.

I won’t lie, I was a little surprised when I found this out.

Troian Bellisario

troian-bellisario-black-origins

Believe it or not but the girl who portrays White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Spencer Hastings on Pretty Little Liars is actually biracial.

But yes, Troian Bellisario is the daughter of caucasian Donald Paul Bellisario and African American Deborah Pratt, both of whom are television producers.

The actress, writer, and director gained fame when she began portraying Spencer Hastings on Pretty Little Liars but she didn’t get the recognition she deserved until she played Lauren on the WIGS episode series Lauren.

Troian won the New York Film Festival Award for Best Performance by an Actress for her profound portrayal of Lauren.

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Pete Wentz

This has to be the most surprising name on our list of Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Of Black Origins.

pete-wentz-black-origins

Pete Wentz is known all over the world for being part of the American rock band – Fall Out Boy.

He also owns the record label – DCD2 Records, which has signed the bands “Gym Class Heroes” and “Panic! at the Disco”.

Well, Pete’s black origins are more distant than most of the other people on this list but his they are from his grandfather who is Jamaican.

It still counts, right?