What Is Mark Wiens' Ethnicity? — DNA Test Reveals Parents' Ancestry
Famous food vlogger Mark Wiens' DNA test clarified that he possessed not only Asian ancestry but many other lineages.
In a YouTube video posted in 2017, the Pheonix native disclosed information about his DNA test, and the result was astounding.
He Was Born to Chinese and Caucasian Parents
Wiens was born in Phoenix, Arizona, the United States, in 1986. His Hawaii-born mother has a Chinese origin, whereas his father has a Caucasian descent.
Both of his parents were Christian missionaries. His grandfather from his mother’s side was a Chinese chef.
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DNA Test Reveals Parents' Ancestry
Before the test, Wiens told people he was half-Chinese. While he got his looks from his mother's side, he also knew that he had German-Austrian ethnicity from his father’s side.
However, that was all he knew. In May 2017, he got his DNA tested from 23andMe to find his actual and detailed ancestry.
The DNA report showed that his claim of being "half-Chinese" was not entirely true. He was, technically, only 44.4% Chinese.
The report also revealed that he had varying degrees of French, German, Southeast-Asian, British, Irish, Scandinavian, and Eastern European ancestry from his father's side.
Wiens should have a second, third, fourth, or fifth great-grandparent who was 100% Dutch or German. That person was most likely born between 1780 and 1870.
The test further suggested that he was 51.3% East-Asian/Native American and 48.7% European.
His Father Also Took the Test
Following Mark’s test results, his father also took the DNA test.
His dad is 99.3% Northwest European. He also has 30% French-German and 30% Scandinavian heritage.
The father-son duo compared their results to see if they had similarities in their tastes and other aspects.
They found that they share a love of spicy foods and caffeine.
The results also suggested that Wiens had a tendency to drink a slightly more than average amount of caffeine, which, he revealed, was true. The YouTuber mentioned in his video that he drank an unusually large amount of tea and coffee.
The test also correctly predicted his love for salty food. Referring to that, Wiens said that he preferred salty food to sweet food 71% of the time.
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Wiens Traveled throughout His Childhood
When Wiens was five years old, his family moved to Albertville, a town in the Alpes region of France. He attended his first year of school in France.
His family then moved to live in the heart of Africa: Tandala village of the Democratic Republic of Congo (which was then known as Zaire). There, he learned a lot of things regarding food and culture.
But because of the toxic political climate and the upcoming war in Congo, they moved to Nairobi, Kenya.
He completed his education from the 5th grade to high school at the Rosslyn Academy. After graduation, he moved back to the US.
The fact that Mark lived among various cultures from early in his life is also what he attributes to his love for food and travel.