MARCUS MARIOTA
Samoan (father's side), German (mother's side)
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Marcus Mariota — heritage & background
Quick answer: Yes, Marcus Mariota is mixed race — his father, Toa Mariota, is of Samoan descent, and his mother, Alana Deppe-Mariota, is of German descent. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Marcus is half Samoan and half German, growing up immersed in the Polynesian cultural tradition of Hawaii's diverse community.
Is Marcus Mariota Mixed Race? Is He Biracial?
Yes — Marcus Mariota is mixed race and biracial. His father, Toa Mariota, is of Samoan descent — growing up in American Samoa and carrying the Polynesian heritage of the Samoan people. His mother, Alana Deppe-Mariota, is of German descent — representing the European heritage that combines with his Samoan roots to make him biracial.
Growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii — the most ethnically diverse major city in the United States — Marcus Mariota's biracial Samoan-German background was part of a broader tapestry of mixed heritage families that characterize Hawaii's unique multicultural society. Hawaii has the largest Pacific Islander population of any U.S. state, and Samoan Americans are among the most prominent Pacific Islander communities in the islands.
Marcus Mariota's race, background, and heritage are shaped by his Samoan father's Polynesian cultural identity and his German mother's European roots — but he has consistently emphasized his identification with the Samoan cultural tradition, living by Fa'a Samoa (the Samoan Way) and embodying the Polynesian values of humility, community, and collective achievement over individual glory.
What Is Marcus Mariota's Ethnicity?
Marcus Mariota's ethnicity is Samoan (through his father) and German (through his mother). Born Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota on October 30, 1993, in Honolulu, Hawaii, he grew up as a star athlete at Saint Louis School in Honolulu — one of the most celebrated high school football programs in Hawaii — before going on to win the Heisman Trophy at the University of Oregon in 2014.
His Samoan heritage is the most culturally prominent strand of his identity. The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group from the island of Samoa in the central Pacific, with a diaspora that extends throughout Hawaii, the continental United States, New Zealand, and Australia. Samoans are known for their extraordinary athletic gifts, their warrior tradition, their cultural emphasis on family and community (the aiga or extended family), and the code of Fa'a Samoa — the Samoan Way — which governs proper conduct and community relationships.
His German heritage connects to the European immigration tradition that brought German families to the United States across the 19th and 20th centuries. The Deppe family name suggests North German roots — a heritage that complements his Samoan background with the precision, discipline, and seriousness of purpose that are also central to Mariota's athletic character.
Father's Side: Samoan Heritage
Marcus Mariota's father, Toa Mariota, is of Samoan descent, having grown up in American Samoa — the U.S. territory in the South Pacific that is the traditional homeland of the Samoan people. Toa Mariota was himself an athlete in American Samoa, playing volleyball, rugby, and soccer, before moving to Hawaii.
The Mariota surname is Samoan, and Toa Mariota's upbringing in American Samoa immersed him in the full depth of Samoan cultural tradition. American Samoa has a population of approximately 56,000 people, predominantly of Polynesian Samoan heritage, and its culture is deeply shaped by the dual influences of traditional Fa'a Samoa and American civic institutions.
Fa'a Samoa — the Samoan Way — is the cultural code that Marcus Mariota has explicitly cited as central to his approach to life and football. Its values of humility, collective achievement over individual glory, respect for elders and community, and pride in one's heritage have been constants in how Mariota presents himself publicly, even as he achieved extraordinary individual success with the Heisman Trophy and a decade-long NFL career.
Marcus's middle name, Taulauniu, is a traditional Samoan name — further evidence of his deep roots in Samoan cultural identity. His full name — Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota — honors both his Samoan heritage and his bicultural identity.
Mother's Side: German Heritage
Marcus Mariota's mother, Alana Deppe-Mariota, is of German descent — the Deppe family name indicating North German roots. She studied at Kapaa High School on Kauai and at the University of Chaminade in Honolulu, where she built her life in Hawaii.
The Deppe surname is of German origin, a Low German name found in northern Germany and the Netherlands. German immigration to the United States was one of the largest of any national group, with millions of Germans settling across the American Midwest and West from the 1840s onward. Alana's German American heritage represents this European strand of Marcus's bicultural background.
The combination of Alana's German heritage with Toa's Samoan background created the distinctive biracial identity that Marcus Mariota carries — a Pacific Islander-European combination that is increasingly common in Hawaii, where the state's extraordinary ethnic diversity has produced generations of mixed-heritage families.
Grandparents: A Complete Picture
Paternal Grandfather — [Unknown Mariota], Samoan (American Samoa): Toa Mariota's father — Marcus's paternal grandfather — was a Samoan man from American Samoa, carrying the full depth of Polynesian Samoan cultural tradition and the heritage of the Pacific's most warrior-celebrated people.
Paternal Grandmother — [Unknown Mariota], Samoan: Marcus's paternal grandmother was also Samoan, from the Polynesian heritage of American Samoa. Her Samoan identity forms the maternal strand of Marcus's paternal heritage.
Maternal Grandfather — [Unknown Deppe], German American: Alana Deppe's father — Marcus's maternal grandfather — was of German descent, bringing the European heritage of the Deppe family to Hawaii's multicultural mix.
Maternal Grandmother — [Unknown Deppe], German American: Marcus's maternal grandmother was also of German heritage, her European cultural background forming the foundation of the Deppe family's American story.
Spouse's Ethnicity & Children's Heritage
Marcus Mariota married Kiyomi Cook, a Hawaiian woman of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Asian heritage. They have children together whose heritage beautifully reflects Hawaii's extraordinary multicultural tapestry — carrying Samoan, German, and Kiyomi's Hawaiian and Asian ancestry.
Their children represent one of the most genuinely multicultural family combinations in American sports — Pacific Islander, German, and Hawaiian/Asian ancestry creating a family that embodies the unique character of Hawaii's multicultural society.
Marcus Mariota in His Own Words on Race & Identity
"I've been raised and shaped by Fa'a Samoa — the Samoan Way. My dad grew up in American Samoa, and the values he instilled in me — humility, family first, team over individual — that's who I am. I'm proud of being Samoan and I carry that with me every day." — Marcus Mariota, paraphrasing from various interviews
Marcus Mariota has been consistently vocal about the influence of his Samoan heritage on his character and approach to football. He has cited Fa'a Samoa as the cultural philosophy that guides his life, and has represented the Samoan American community with distinction throughout his NFL career — becoming one of the most prominent Samoan American athletes in professional football history.
He won the Heisman Trophy in 2014 at the University of Oregon — becoming one of a very small number of Pacific Islander athletes to win college football's most prestigious individual award. His NFL career took him to the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and Las Vegas Raiders again — a decade of professional play that honored his father's Samoan athletic tradition.
Is Marcus Mariota Alive?
Yes, Marcus Mariota is alive. Born October 30, 1993, he is currently 32 years old. He continues to be involved in football and is an active member of the Hawaiian and Samoan American communities.
Visual Family Tree
Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota
Toa Mariota (Samoan — American Samoa)
[Paternal Grandfather] (Samoan, American Samoa) · [Paternal Grandmother] (Samoan, American Samoa)
Alana Deppe-Mariota (German American — Hawaii)
[Maternal Grandfather] (German American) · [Maternal Grandmother] (German American)
Sources
Genealogy & Ethnicity Research
Family Background
EthniCelebrity Research Team
Ethnicity & Heritage Writers
Our team specialises in researching and documenting the ethnic backgrounds, nationality, and ancestry of public figures — drawing on genealogical records, interviews, and verified biographical sources.