Downey was born in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children. His father, Robert Downey Sr., is an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films, and his mother, Elsie (nee Ford), is also an actress and appeared in Downey, Sr.'s movies. His paternal grandfather was of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry and his paternal grandmother was of Irish Canadian and Hungarian Jewish ancestry. His mother is of Scottish, English, German, and Swiss German ancestry. His father was born "Robert Elias", and changed his last name to "Downey" (after his stepfather James Downey), when he was a minor and wanted to enlist in the Army. He and his older sister, Allyson, grew up in Greenwich Village.