Delora Vincent: Age, Net Worth, Family and Bio

Delora Vincent, born Delora Sherleen Sinclair, is an American astrologer and psychologist best known as the mother of global action star Vin Diesel, born Mark Sinclair on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California. She raised Vin and his fraternal twin brother Paul Vincent in an artists’ housing project in Greenwich Village, New York, alongside her second husband Irving H. Vincent, an African-American acting instructor and theater manager who adopted both boys. Her estimated net worth is between $500,000 and $1 million from her career as an astrologer and psychologist; her son Vin Diesel’s net worth is estimated at $225 million as of 2025.

Quick Bio

Who is Delora Vincent?

Delora Vincent, born Delora Sherleen Sinclair, is an American astrologer and psychologist who raised four children in Greenwich Village, New York, and is best known as the mother of Vin Diesel, one of the highest-grossing actors in Hollywood history with a net worth of $225 million.

Delora’s public profile exists almost entirely through Vin Diesel’s public acknowledgements of her role in his career and character. She appears regularly at his premieres and events, featured in his social media tributes, and has been photographed alongside him at major Hollywood occasions including the premiere of HBO’s Spielberg documentary in 2017 and the premiere of Riddick in 2013. Vin has publicly credited her with giving him the book that launched his career and with instilling the family-first values that define both his screen persona and his personal life.

Her background as an astrologer and psychologist shaped a creative, spiritually engaged household within the Westbeth artist commune in Manhattan’s West Village, one of the most culturally distinctive residential communities in New York City. The environment she created, combining artistic freedom with psychological grounding and spiritual inquiry, produced not only a global action star but also a film producer in Samantha Vincent and a sound editor in Paul Vincent. Comparable profiles of parents whose influence shaped major entertainment careers can be found in the Heather Carmillia Joseph biography.

Early Life and Background

Family and Origins

Delora Vincent was born Delora Sherleen Sinclair in the United States to Carmen Lucille Wells and Angus McBain Sinclair, and is of English, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry, a heritage that stands in notable contrast to the African-American background of Vin Diesel’s unknown biological father.

Delora’s exact birth date remains private. Published biographical estimates place her birth year between 1943 and 1948, with one source noting that Vin Diesel publicly celebrated her 80th birthday in 2023, which would put her birth year at approximately 1943. Some sources list a California birthplace, consistent with Vin Diesel’s own birth in Alameda County, California on July 18, 1967, suggesting Delora was in California at the time of his birth before relocating to New York.

Her parents, Carmen Lucille Wells and Angus McBain Sinclair, are identified in Wiki Fandom sources cited by MEAWW. No further biographical detail about her parents, siblings, or formal education has been confirmed in the public record. Her career as an astrologer and psychologist suggests a combination of formal academic training and personal spiritual study, though the specific qualifications she holds have not been publicly disclosed.

Education

Delora Vincent’s formal educational qualifications have not been publicly confirmed, though her dual career as a practising psychologist and astrologer implies both academic study in psychology and sustained engagement with astrological practice from early adulthood.

The combination of psychology and astrology as parallel professional interests reflects a pattern visible across the mid-twentieth century period when Delora would have been building her career: both disciplines were practiced by individuals who bridged empirical and intuitive approaches to human behaviour. Her application of both in raising her children, which Vin has described in interviews as a household shaped by curiosity about personality, emotion, and individual purpose, produced a distinctive and clearly effective parenting environment.

Marriages and Family

First Marriage and the Birth of Vin Diesel

Delora Vincent’s first husband, whose identity has never been publicly confirmed, is the biological father of her twin sons Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair) and Paul Vincent, born on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California. Neither Vin nor Paul has ever met their biological father.

Vin Diesel has spoken in interviews about his biological father’s African-American heritage, stating that he believes his parents’ relationship would have been illegal in parts of the United States due to anti-miscegenation laws in effect in many states until 1967, the year of his birth. He has said that “all I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures,” indicating Delora chose to share limited information about the biological father while keeping his identity private. The biological father was reportedly absent from Vin and Paul’s lives from birth.

Delora’s deliberate privacy around her first husband and the twins’ biological parentage is one of the most consistent and long-standing privacy decisions in her life. Vin has never expressed any desire to locate his biological father, speaking instead of Irving H. Vincent as the man he considers his true father and the origin of his stage name.

Marriage to Irving H. Vincent

Delora married Irving H. Vincent in 1970 in New York, and Irving subsequently adopted Vin and Paul, giving them the surname Vincent. Together, Delora and Irving had two more children, Tim Vincent and Samantha Vincent, and raised the family in the Westbeth artist commune in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.

Irving H. Vincent was an African-American acting instructor, theater manager, and performing arts mentor. His professional world, centered on theater and the performing arts in New York City, provided the immediate context in which Vin Diesel’s passion for acting first developed. At age seven, Vin and his friends broke into the Theater for the New City on Jane Street in Greenwich Village with the intention of vandalizing it. A woman stopped them and offered each child a script and $20 on the condition that they attend rehearsals every day after school. That accidental audition led to Vin’s stage debut in the children’s play Dinosaur Door, written by Barbara Garson and produced at Theater for the New City.

Irving’s day-to-day environment, the people he brought home, the conversations about theater and performance, and the proximity of the Westbeth community’s resident artists, painters, musicians, sculptors, and actors, created the backdrop against which Vin Diesel formed his artistic identity. Delora and Irving’s combined influence, her psychological insight and astrological worldview alongside his practical theater knowledge, produced a household that was both creatively stimulating and emotionally grounded.

The Westbeth artist commune, located in the former Bell Laboratories building on West Street in Manhattan, was converted into subsidised housing for artists in 1970, the same year Delora and Irving married. Its residents across the decades have included some of the most significant figures in American avant-garde art, music, dance, and theater. Growing up within that community gave Vin and his siblings direct exposure to working artists at every stage of their careers. Profiles of parents who provided formative creative environments for their famous children appear across the xxbrits archive.

The Book That Changed Vin Diesel’s Career

Delora Vincent gave Vin Diesel the book “Feature Films at Used Car Prices” by Rick Schmidt, which directly inspired him to write, direct, produce, and star in the short film Multi-Facial (1995) on a $3,000 budget, a film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival and led to Steven Spielberg casting him in Saving Private Ryan (1998).

By the early 1990s, Vin Diesel had spent years struggling to secure acting work in New York and had made an unsuccessful attempt to break into Hollywood, returning to New York defeated and working as a nightclub bouncer at the Tunnel. Delora’s decision to give him Schmidt’s book at that point was a practical act of maternal intervention. The book’s central message, that aspiring filmmakers should stop waiting for permission from studios and create their own opportunities with whatever resources they have, directly addressed Vin’s frustration with an industry that was repeatedly failing to cast him because of his ambiguous racial appearance.

Vin used the book’s framework to make Multi-Facial in 1994, shooting the autobiographical short film, about a mixed-race actor’s experience auditioning for roles across different ethnicities, in under three days for $3,000. The film was selected for the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Steven Spielberg saw Multi-Facial at Cannes and was impressed enough to create a role for Vin in Saving Private Ryan (1998), for which Vin reportedly earned $100,000. That role opened every door that followed. Without Delora’s gift of that specific book at that specific moment of career crisis, the trajectory of one of Hollywood’s most commercially successful acting careers would have been fundamentally different.

Vin subsequently made his debut feature Strays (1997), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2001, he was cast as Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious, launching the franchise that now generates over $1 billion per film and has made him one of the highest-earning actors in the world.

Her Son: Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel, born Mark Sinclair on July 18, 1967, in Alameda County, California, is an American actor, filmmaker, and producer with a net worth of $225 million as of 2025, best known for portraying Dominic Toretto across the Fast and Furious franchise, voicing Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and founding One Race Films.

Vin’s stage name combines “Vin” from the Vincent surname given to him by his adoptive father Irving, and “Diesel,” a nickname given by friends during his time as a bouncer, a reference to his inexhaustible energy. He attended Hunter College in New York City, studying creative writing, then dropped out to pursue filmmaking full-time. His first on-screen credit came as a hospital orderly in Awakenings (1990). Multi-Facial (1995) and Strays (1997) established his credentials as a filmmaker before Saving Private Ryan (1998) brought him into mainstream Hollywood.

The Fast and the Furious franchise, which Vin has both starred in and produced through One Race Films since 2001, is one of the highest-grossing film series in cinema history. The franchise’s emphasis on family as the ultimate value, a theme Vin has described in interviews as personally authentic rather than purely commercial, reflects the values Delora instilled. He has also voiced Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Guardians of the Galaxy films (2014 onward), helmed the Chronicles of Riddick franchise, and appeared in the xXx series.

Vin Diesel has been in a relationship with Mexican model Paloma Jimenez since 2007. They have three children: Hania Riley (born 2008), Vincent Sinclair (born 2010), and Pauline (born 2015), named in memory of his late Fast and Furious co-star and close friend Paul Walker, who died in November 2013. Vin has spoken publicly about continuing to honour Walker’s memory through his daughter Meadow Walker, for whom he serves as a mentor and father figure.

Her Other Children

Delora Vincent has four children: Vin Diesel and Paul Vincent from her first marriage, and Samantha Vincent and Tim Vincent from her marriage to Irving H. Vincent. Paul works as a film sound editor; Samantha is a film producer who works closely with Vin on major projects.

Paul Vincent, Vin’s fraternal twin, has maintained a private life throughout the years of his brother’s fame. His IMDb page confirms his work as a sound editor. He served as sound editor on Vin’s autobiographical short Multi-Facial (1995). Vin has shared birthday tributes to Paul on social media, including a post celebrating Paul as “such a wonderful dad and family man.” Paul’s low public profile stands as a deliberate contrast to his brother’s global visibility.

Samantha Vincent is a film producer who works on projects within Vin’s production ecosystem. Her role within the family’s professional network reflects the collaboration that Delora and Irving encouraged across all their children’s careers. Tim Vincent has pursued a private life separate from the entertainment industry, though he is sometimes confused in published sources with Welsh actor and television presenter Tim Vincent, who shares the same name but is a completely different person.

Net Worth and Career

Delora Vincent’s estimated net worth is between $500,000 and $1 million, derived from her long career as a practising astrologer and psychologist. Her son Vin Diesel’s net worth is estimated at $225 million as of 2025 by Celebrity Net Worth.

All figures are estimates from published sources and represent approximations rather than verified declarations. Delora has never disclosed her income or assets publicly. Her career as an astrologer and psychologist spans several decades and represents the primary source of her own earnings, entirely independent of Vin Diesel’s wealth.

Physical Appearance

Height and Body Stats

Delora Vincent’s physical measurements have not been confirmed in any public source. She is estimated at 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm) based on comparative assessments in published biographical accounts, none of which cite a primary source.

Personal Life

Relationship with Vin Diesel

Delora Vincent maintains a close and publicly visible bond with Vin Diesel, who has brought her to red carpet premieres throughout his career, posted birthday tributes calling her “the most wonderful woman I have ever known,” and credited her directly with the book gift that launched his filmmaking career.

Before Vin began his relationship with Paloma Jimenez, Delora was his regular premiere companion for major Hollywood events. At the 2017 HBO premiere of the Spielberg documentary at Paramount Studios, she attended alongside Vin wearing a satin Mao jacket in stripes of blue, gold, and green. The two were also photographed together at the 2013 premiere of Riddick at Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California, where Irving Vincent also attended. Vin has asked Delora to accompany him to see his own films on their opening nights, including The Last Witch Hunter. His social media birthday tributes to her, including one featuring Gal Gadot in which he called Delora the most wonderful woman he has ever known, demonstrate that the closeness documented in press photographs is genuine rather than performative.

Achievements and Milestones

Delora Vincent’s most consequential achievement is the direct role she played in launching Vin Diesel’s career through a single book recommendation at a moment of professional crisis, an intervention that set in motion a $225 million career and one of cinema’s most lucrative franchises.

• Raised four children in the Westbeth artist commune in Greenwich Village, providing a creative and intellectually rich environment that shaped all of them toward careers connected to film, performance, and the arts.
• Built a dual career as an astrologer and psychologist across several decades, establishing professional independence from the celebrity status her son’s career would later bring.
• Gave Vin Diesel the book “Feature Films at Used Car Prices” by Rick Schmidt at the moment he needed it most, directly resulting in Multi-Facial (1995), the Cannes selection, and the Spielberg casting that changed everything.
• Instilled the family-first values that Vin has translated into both his screen persona as Dominic Toretto and his real-life relationships, including his decade-long commitment to Paloma Jimenez and his role as a mentor to Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow.
• Attended major Hollywood events alongside Vin across more than two decades, including the 2013 Riddick premiere and the 2017 HBO Spielberg documentary premiere, representing the family connection Vin publicly celebrates as foundational to his identity.

Interesting Facts About Delora Vincent

Delora Vincent’s maiden name Sinclair is the origin of Vin Diesel’s birth name Mark Sinclair, while the Vincent surname came from Irving H. Vincent’s adoption of the twins, and “Diesel” was a nickname given by friends for his energy as a bouncer at New York’s Tunnel nightclub.

• Vin Diesel has stated that he believes his parents’ relationship would have been illegal in some parts of the United States in 1967 under anti-miscegenation laws, given his mother’s white heritage and his biological father’s African-American background.
• The Westbeth complex where Delora raised her family opened in 1970, the same year she married Irving, and has housed some of the most significant artists in American cultural history across its 50-plus years as a subsidised artist community.
• Delora’s son Paul Vincent served as sound editor on Multi-Facial (1995), the film Delora’s book gift inspired, making the family’s collaborative creative dynamic visible even in Vin’s earliest and most independent production.
• Vin Diesel’s stage name preserves both sides of his parental influence: “Vin” from Vincent (Irving’s surname), and his energy and resilience, which his friends called “Diesel,” qualities that both Irving and Delora cultivated.
• Samantha Vincent, Delora’s daughter with Irving, works as a film producer and collaborates professionally with Vin, continuing a pattern of family involvement in his career that Delora established from the beginning.
• Delora’s practice of astrology and psychology influenced Vin’s self-described approach to acting and his understanding of human motivation, traits visible in the emotional depth he brought to the Riddick character and the Fast franchise’s family dynamics.

For comparable profiles of celebrity parents who shaped their children’s careers and values, see the Donna Raye Bautista profile and the Heather Carmillia Joseph biography.