Days of our Lives Alum True O’Brien Addresses Irritating Question

 

Although True O’Brien popped up in her former Days of our Lives role of Paige Larson last year, appearing as a spirit to her mom in a time of need, the actress hasn’t been on the canvas regularly since 2015 when she fell victim to Ben, the necktie killer. Now the actress talks frankly on a subject that truly irritates her.

True O’Brien Talks Frankly

A Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Younger Actress, O’Brien has remained in fans’ hearts and still is dating former DAYS co-star Casey Moss (ex-JJ Deveraux).

The actress recently took to Instagram to address something that has bothered her for most of her life. “Growing up, and still to this day, people can never figure out what ‘ethnicity’ I am,” O’Brien wrote. “People always ask ‘What are you?’, a question that has irritated me for many years. A lot of the time my impulse is ‘Human, you?’ Some think Native American, some think Asian, some think Spanish… ect… ect… You get the point.”

She goes on to express how it shouldn’t matter as it doesn’t define who she is. Plus, she gets uncomfortable when those around her try to pigeonhole her based simply on what they think her ethnicity may be.

“So that they decide how worthy I am to them,” she shared. “But, whatever, I shake it off and move on.” In her post, she added a recent image of her and one photo of her grandparents and another of her great grandparents, which you can see below.

“I’m sure my parents dealt with it as well,” O’Brien wrote. “My mom appears extremely Caucasian with fair skin but has gorgeous, untamed hair that seems African, when she was a Filipino/Caucasian/ and (some) African roots. My Dad has Irish and Austrian roots but bodes an extremely dark complexion- almost Spanish in appearance. Looks always deceive the eye. Genetic traits skip generations and come out in others. I ask you- what does it REALLY matter?”

Still, the actress has thought about the question of her ethnicity a lot lately, but only out of a curious mind and interest in the culture of her grandparents and great-grandparents.

“I was fortunate to receive a gift to do a DNA test and got to gain some clarity about what WAS in my DNA,” O’Brien shared. “I want to advise and encourage people to be more sensitive when inquiring what someone’s cultural heritage is. Your language, tone and intention has a lot of power. Even a well-intentioned, innocent question can sound like a micro aggression. Not saying this just from my own experiences, but from others I know.”

The results revealed that she is Filipino, Austrian, Irish, Scottish, English, Balkan, Welsh, Baltic, Swedish, Eastern European, and BalkaNigerian/Congolese.

“Ultimately, I am a self- proclaimed ‘mutt’, and proud of it,” she wrote and sent a shout-out to her ancestors. “Thank you for following your love and demonstrating that love crosses and transcends all racial boundaries. I am proud to call you my relatives.”