Penn's paternal GRANDparents were jews, but not his mother... Sean Penn  was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan (née Annucci), an actress. He has one living brother, musician Michael Penn. Another brother, actor  Chris Penn , died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia, descended from Rabbis. Penn's mother is a Roman Catholic of Italian and Irish descent.  According to Penn's mother, Leo Penn had distant Spanish ancestry, as the family's surname was originally Piñón.  Penn was raised in a  secular  home and is an  Agnostic .       That distant Spanish ancestry is Sephardic Jew by the way;)