All About Vin Diesel's Parents, Delora and Irving Vincent

Vin Diesel keeps his family at the center of his life

Vin Diesel's parents, Delora and Irving Vincent, have always been among his biggest supporters.

The Fast & Furious franchise star's mom and stepdad have continuously encouraged his creative work after raising him in an artist commune alongside his siblings in New York City.

Though he was born as Mark Sinclair in California, Diesel found his footing in the Big Apple. From his time as a bouncer at New York’s infamous club Tunnel to his days as an indie filmmaker and his current Hollywood fame, the actor has been cheered on by Delora and Irving from the sidelines.

Related: Vin Diesel's Siblings: All About His Brothers and Sister

Diesel is especially close with his mom, who has walked the red carpet with him numerous times and seen all of his movies. In 2015, the actor wrote on Instagram that she even asked him to take her to see his newest movie at the time, The Last Witch Hunter.

Diesel has also drawn inspiration from Irving, who held different positions in the entertainment industry. Now the pair collaborates on their nonprofit, the One Race Global Film Foundation, which is an offshoot of Diesel’s production company, One Race Films.

Here's everything to know about Vin Diesel’s parents, Irving and Delora Vincent.

They raised Diesel and his siblings in an artist commune

Irving and Delora raised Diesel and his siblings in Westbeth, a low-income artist commune in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood.

“It was an artist community, everyone was expressing themselves,” Diesel told TIME in 2015. “Great painters, poets, sculptors, musicians and thespians all lived in this building. It was kind of a mecca for artists. What a magical place for a young artist to grow up in.”

According to the outlet, residents of Westbeth had to prove that they were both low-income and artistically gifted. A review board would even judge a potential resident’s art to see if they qualified.

Before becoming a housing unit in 1970, the building used to house Bell Laboratories, which is where the first TV broadcast, talking movie and binary computer were demonstrated.

Diesel considers Irving his dad

Diesel was raised by his stepfather Irving, and according to CNN, he never met his biological father.

The actor told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, “I am truly multi-racial. I never knew my biological father. I’ve always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.”

Diesel's background eventually led him to success: His first film Multi-Facial follows a multiracial actor who auditions for different roles but never gets the part because he’s never quite the “right” race the casting directors are looking for.

“I guess I've always looked past the exterior and the ambiguity that my existence represents," he told ABC 7 Los Angeles in 2013. “When I was in my mother's stomach, it was still illegal in parts of America for people of color and white people to procreate.”

Director Steven Spielberg saw Multi-Facial and loved it so much that he created a part specifically for Diesel in Saving Private Ryan, launching the actor to stardom.

Delora and Irving share two children

After embracing Diesel and his twin brother, Paul, as his own, Irving welcomed two children with Delora, Samantha and Tim Vincent.

Diesel also sees Irving as his dad, writing a touching Instagram post in 2022 for Irving’s 88th birthday: “Happy 88th birthday to my first inspiration… my dad. All love, Always.”

The entire family is incredibly close, and Diesel has even worked with his siblings on his films. Paul has done sound editing and Samantha is a film producer who has worked on all of Diesel’s films over the last decade.

Irving also worked in the entertainment industry

Diesel’s stepfather held jobs in TV production and was an off-Broadway director who put on shows at the New Federal Theatre in Hell’s Kitchen. He later taught entertainment studies at New York University and his curriculums there inspired Diesel to launch his nonprofit, the One Race Global Film Foundation.

In a 2013 interview with Variety, Diesel explained how his nonprofit helps teach underserved communities to share their stories through filmmaking, using coursework that Irving developed for his classes at NYU.

"We came up with this deal where I brought my father down, and the concept was to teach these kids how to do things right," the actor told the publication.

Diesel is close with his mom Delora

Though Diesel never had contact with his biological father, he has always been close with his mother, who is an astrologer. Diesel has shared special glimpses of his special bond with Delora over the years.

In 2021, the actor posted a photo on Instagram of the pair with the caption, “Momma’s boy... proud of it. All love, Always.”

He has also posted yearly birthday messages to Delora, calling her “the most wonderful woman I have ever known" in 2015.

In honor of Delora’s 80th birthday in 2023, Diesel shared another post on Instagram, writing, “My beautiful and incredible mother just turned 80!!!! At her birthday, I asked what she wished for.” He wrote that her response was “peace.”

Delora wanted Diesel to direct The Fate of the Furious

Delora has always been supportive of Diesel’s film career: In 2015, after Furious 7 became a massive hit and grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, Diesel announced that an eighth film (which would eventually be titled The Fate of the Furious) was in the works.

Initially, the 2017 movie was without a director, and Delora thought that the job should go to Diesel.

“I will share something crazy that my mother said six months ago after the studio had me announce the date for 8 to the world,” Diesel wrote on Facebook at the time, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Either you direct 8 yourself... or don’t do it.”

He continued, “I wrote it off as just a mother’s love and belief in me, though she has seen first hand what I’ve done to make these movies defy expectations and become increasingly successful, even when the studio thought I was crazy... haha.”

Though Diesel didn’t end up directing the movie, he has served as a producer for his biggest franchises, including xXx, Riddick and Fast & Furious.

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