Red Hair Inheritance

If both parents provide a red hair allele of their MC1R gene, the child will have red hair. If one parent provides a red hair allelle and the other parent provides a non-red hair allele, the chance of the child having red hair increases but is not a certainty. Sometimes if only one red hair allele is present, the red hair may show up in a less obvious manner, such as highlights in a beard.

My Mom is an Italian-Polish brunette with an olive complexion, and up until my Dad lost all of his hair in his thirties, he was a fair-skinned Czech blonde. BUT my Aunt Delores on my mother's side was a redhead. From that, I know for certain that at least one of my red hair alleles came from my Grandpa Leo, the Italian. Sometime in the 1950s, Grandpa Leo, Grandma Helen and Uncle Ronny traveled to Grandpa's home town of Lucca, Italy. Grandma Helen used to tell me that many of my cousins there had red hair. Since Grandpa Leo had about 15 brothers and sisters, I imagine there may be quite a bit of redheads in the larger family by now. Grandma Helen was also very surprised to board a bus in Lucca to find it full of redheads! So I guess that's where Titian got his inspiration!!! Incidentally, I also had a great uncle that delivered bread to Puccini's house in Lucca. Every time anyone in my family hears or sings Puccini, we all break down crying including me at a recital about 13 years ago, but that's another story.

Regarding my Dad's side of the family, he doesn't seem to recall any redheaded relatives, but according to the above, a red hair allele from one parent may dominate the fair-blonde allele from another parent so that the red "shines through". I recently read my Grandma Anna's journal. About 100 years ago, she worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, farming sugar beets and working in a sugar factory in Prisnotice, Moravia. She moved to the United States, studied English and Italian, and became one of the first social workers in Pittsburgh, PA. She assisted immigrant workers and their families, many of whom were injured in steel mills and coal mines. So to me, Grandma Anna Hornicek Sirney is an honorary redhead for her courage, love, hard work, and inspiration.

So where does your red hair inheritance come from?