Pokimane’s ethnicity is mixed, having North African & Arabian ancestry with a blend of Spanish and Portuguese roots. She is a Moroccan-Canadian streamer and social media star who was born in Morocco but spent a better part of her growing years in Canada.
Her parents moved from Morocco to Canada when she was four years old, and though she didn’t grow up in her country of birth, the Internet star still identifies with Morocco. To date, she can speak her Moroccan dialect, which is Darija, and she also has a good command of the English and French languages. Pokimane claims to be super proud of her African heritage, and all the ingredients of the Moroccan culture are embedded into her makeup.
Where is Pokimane From?
Pokimane hails from Morocco but grew up in Canada; hence, she is of dual nationality.
Called Imane Anys at birth, Pokimane was born in her home country on the 14th of May 1996 to parents whose identities are not known, though they are said to be academics. In 2000, after Imane clocked four, she migrated to Canada with her parents and older brother, where they put down roots in Quebec.
She spent a part of her growing up years in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, and when the time came for the social media star to proceed with higher studies, she decided to join McMaster University in Canada to study for a degree in chemical engineering. However, she couldn’t wait to complete her course and dropped out to pursue a career in live streaming and social media.
With that said, it is glaring that Pokimane only saw her home country, Morocco, with the eyes of a little child, as most of her formative years were spent in Canada. This is the reason she identifies more as a Canadian than Moroccan. However, the gamer has reiterated that she will continue to be proud of her Moroccan heritage even though she didn’t have much contact with the African country. While living in Canada, she made it a point to achieve fluency in her Moroccan dialect, known as Darija, but she also has a good command of the English and French languages.
After she became an adult, Pokimane made the decision to relocate from Canada to the United States in pursuit of greener pastures. When she touched down on American soil, the social media influencer settled down in Los Angeles, California, and that is where she has been living since 2022.
Anys Comes from a Mixed Ethnic Background
Imane Anys is a social media star with a fascinating personality, as her ethnic background is a unique one.
Because of the gamer’s physical appearance, many have wondered whether she has some East Asian roots in her bloodline. Before she decided to go for a DNA test, Pokimane had always believed that the majority of her ancestry is West African, and she has been vocal about how proud she is to come from that part of the world. However, the atom of doubt she experiences about her real heritage led the social media influencer to go for a DNA test in 2019.
The result of the DNA test that Pokimane did came with a full breakdown of the Moroccan-Canadian’s racial heritage, and its content was a huge surprise to everyone, including Pokimane herself.
Breakdown of Pokimane’s Ethnicity Test Result
- 84.9% North African & Arabian
- 1.1% Broadly Western Asian & North African
- 0.4% Western Asian
- 10.5% European
- 8.3% Spanish & Portuguese
- 1.8% Broadly Southern European
- 0.3% Sardinian
- 0.1% Broadly European
- 2.3% Sub-Saharan African
- 1.2% Sudanese
- 0.5% Senegambian & Guinean
- 0.4% Broadly Northern East African
- 0.2% Broadly West African
- 0.6% Unassigned
- 0.1% Broadly Chinese & Southeast Asian
Pokimane is 84.9% North African and Arabian. Note that the 10.5% European roots consist mainly of Spanish and Portuguese heritage. The Asian ancestry that fans previously thought was going to dominate her DNA test result turned out to be just a minor streak of 0.4% East Asian and 1% West Asian, which, when put together, was less than 1.5%.
