Is Melanie Martinez Spanish? Which Language Does She Speak? Her Ethnicity

Born in New York City, Melanie Martinez is American, not Spanish. But, being a Puerto Rican and Dominican, Martinez is somewhere linked with Spanish as both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic consider Spanish as their official language. If that’s the case, does Martinez know her native language? Which language does the singer-songwriter actually speak?
Here, we include all the details regarding her nationality, the languages Melanie speaks officially, and her ethnic background.
Key Takeaways:
- Melanie Martinez is not Spanish but is an American. She has her family roots in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
- She speaks the English language. Besides, Martinez occasionally speaks Portuguese, French, and Espanol.
- She doesn’t speak the Spanish language despite growing up in a Spanish-speaking family.
- Martinez is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent.
Is Melanie Martinez Spanish?
Martinez is not Spanish but belongs to American nationality. The singer has her roots in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Island where people officially accepted Spanish as their language.
The Dollhouse singer who has no connection with Spain was born and raised in Astoria, Queens, New York City, the United States of America.
Which Language Does Melanie Speak? Does She Know Spanish?
Well, being born and raised in the United States, Melanie purely speaks the English language. Besides English, the singer also has spoken other languages such as Portuguese, French, and Espanol.

In the case of Spanish, Martinez once stated that she doesn’t use much Spanish in her everyday language as she isn’t fluent in it. Three years ago, when she appeared on Zoom to have a question-answer session with her fans, one of her fans questions her, “How harder is it being a Latino artist with your unique style and music.” While answering, she mentioned about Spanish language and said,
people are racing me being Latin because I don’t speak Spanish even though I grew up with the food and the music and the culture and my family
Looking at the statement, it can be said that Melanie, who is now dating her boyfriend Justin Greenwood is familiar with Spanish culture and language, it’s just that she doesn’t speak the language.
Martinez’s Ethnicity & Family Ancestry
Talking about her ethnicity, Melanie is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Her parents Mery and Jose Martinez originally come from Caribbean Island, Dominican, and Puerto Rico. They later settled in New York where Martinez was born in.
Moving on to her family background, her maternal grandfather was Juan Vargas and one of her grandmothers was Lydia Rivera. Apart from this, no other details about her family background are available in the media.
But her family ancestry includes Latin American that includes Puerto Rican American and Dominican American.
Facts About Melanie Martinez’s Parents
As earlier said, her parents Mery and Jose Martinez moved from their native land to New York and settled In Astoria where Martinez was born and raised in. When she was 4, they moved to Baldwin where her mom started working as a payroll and her dad owned an advertising business.
Apart from their business life, they always have been great supporters of their daughter Melanie. Talking with Vogue, the singer and songwriter said that she will always be grateful for what her mom Mery and dad Jose did for her. She stated,
I have a great family life and my parents are super-supportive of everything that I want to do, and I’m grateful for that.
Martinez further added,
My parents would let me make a mess around the house just so I could create. They wouldn’t care if I ruined something if I got a good painting out of it. They were just really supportive of anything creative. I’m really grateful, because I know that a lot of people don’t have that.