Is Demi Lovato Italian?
Since ‘Lovato’ is a Northern Italian name, people often wonder whether former Disney star Demi Lovato is Italian.
Despite her Italian surname, Demi Lovato is not of Italian descent. In 2017, she posted her ethnicity DNA results from ancestry.ca that showed she is a mix of 7 different regions, none of which are Italian.
Continue reading to find out what ethnicity Demi Lovato really is.
Demi’s Background
Demi Lovato was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1992 to her mother, Dianna de La Garza and father, Patrick Martin Lovato. Her parents got divorced when she was only two years old and Demi did not have a relationship with him as she says that he was abusive. He was also a musician though, so this is likely where she gets her musical talent from. Demi grew up in Dallas, Texas where she started her career in music by playing guitar and piano as a child. She also started her acting career quite young in 2002 on Barney & Friends.
DNA Results
The website ancestry.ca is a popular DNA testing site. Once you send them your DNA (by spitting in a tube or swabbing your cheek) they send you a report that tells you what percentage of your DNA is from what area in the world. They can also tell you what health conditions you and your family are genetically disposed to so you can take action against the conditions if possible. The site can also create a family tree for you and connect you with family that have also done the test and share the same DNA.
In 2017, Demi did one of the DNA tests and posted her ethnicity results on Twitter. After tweeting a screenshot of her results, she tweeted: “And I’m 1% African!!!!” She received a lot of backlash for this tweet as people believed she should not be claiming a heritage that she technically only 1% belongs to. The rest of her results were: Native American, Iberian Peninsula (more specifically Portuguese and Spanish), Scandinavian, Irish, English, Western European (ancestry.ca states this could be either French, Belgian, German, Dutch, Swiss, Luxembourgian or Liechtenstein). Her biggest percentage was 32% Iberian as her father is Mexican with mostly Spanish and Native American ancestors. He also has distant Portuguese ancestry which falls under Demi’s Iberian percentage as well. That being said, despite being 85% European and having an Italian name, Demi has no Italian genes.
Proud Latina
As Demi’s background is largely Spanish, she considers herself a proud Latina—a woman who is a native Latin American. Despite being predominantly Spanish and identifying with the culture, Demi does not speak Spanish. When asked by Jimmy Fallon whether or not she speaks Spanish, Demi said, “Not at all!” She does however, have a song called ‘Lo Que Soy’ which means ‘This is me’ which is half-sung in Spanish. She also has a song called ‘Echame La Culpa’ which translates to ‘Blame me’ with Luis Fonsi, a native Spanish speaker and singer. In the song, she sings a verse in Spanish and one in English.
So, even though Demi cannot speak Spanish, she says she can memorize songs in Spanish. Luis Fonsi also said she was a natural at singing in Spanish, yet still retaining her natural voice. He says she did excellent with the lyrics right from the first take.
European Tour
As Demi Lovato does not have Italian heritage, the only connection she seems to have to Italy is when she has previously visited the country on her “Tell me you Love me World Tour” in 2017. She visited multiple cities in North America and Europe like Manchester, Amsterdam and most notably Bologna, Italy. Demi is a successful musician and actress as she has won over 60 awards with 191 nominations. She has even won a few Brazilian and Spanish awards for her music, no Italian awards though. So, despite her Italian surname, Demi Lovato is not Italian.
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