Mark Sydney Davis is the adopted son of famous entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. and Swedish actress May Britt. He joined the Davis family as a small child in the early 1960s. As an adult, he chose a quiet life far from his father’s fame. Years later, one question brought him back into public view: was Sammy only his adoptive father, or was he also his birth father?
That question drives much of the interest in Mark today. But his story is wider than a DNA test. In this article, you will learn about his adoption, childhood, bond with Sammy, work life, siblings, sons, and the search for his birth parents.
Mark Joined the Davis Family in the Early 1960s
Sammy Davis Jr. married Swedish actress May Britt in 1960. Their interracial marriage drew huge attention. At that time, interracial marriage was still illegal in many U.S. states.
The couple had a daughter, Tracey Davis. They then grew their family through adoption. PBS American Masters places Mark’s adoption in 1963. It says Sammy and May later adopted another son, Jeff, in 1965.
A newspaper report from June 1963 described Mark as a three-year-old boy. It said court approval for the adoption had just been given. That report used the name Mark Sidney Davis.
Today, many people search for Mark Sydney Davis. Both spellings point to the same person. “Sidney” appears in older material, while “Sydney” is common in newer profiles.
Childhood Meant Living Beside Enormous Fame
Mark grew up in a home unlike most others.
Sammy Davis Jr. was already a major star. He sang, danced, acted, did comedy, and performed live. His career took him from nightclubs to Broadway, TV, films, and the Rat Pack years with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
May Britt had also worked in films. She stepped back from acting after her marriage.
Mark did not follow the same path. He grew up around show business, but he did not become a singer or actor. His adult life moved in a much quieter direction.
That contrast helps explain why people still find him interesting. Sammy lived in front of huge crowds. Mark later chose regular work and a private family life.
Sammy Was His Father Long Before the DNA Test
For most of Mark’s life, the family bond was simple. Sammy Davis Jr. was his father. May Britt was his mother.
Sammy’s official estate still names Mark and Jeff as the two sons he and May adopted. Tracey Davis also spoke about growing up with her two adopted brothers.
Family life was not always easy. Sammy spent long periods away for work. Tracey later said his career often came first. She also made clear that her father loved his children.
Mark’s later search for his birth parents did not erase that bond. Sammy was the man who raised him and the man Mark knew as Dad.
Mark Worked Behind the Curtain
Mark did spend time in his father’s work world. He just stayed off the stage.
Later accounts say he helped backstage during one of Sammy’s tours. He handled simple stage jobs and helped prepare items for the show.
That work fits the larger pattern of his life. Mark knew fame from the inside, but he did not chase it for himself.
By 2015, Mark was working at a Costco photo counter near Los Angeles. That detail caught attention because his father had been one of the biggest entertainers in America.
Mark did not talk about his working life as a failure. It was simply his own path.
Sammy’s Final Words Left Mark With a Big Question
Sammy Davis Jr. was dying from throat cancer in 1990. Mark later said he went to his father’s bedside. Sammy told him, “You are my son.”
Those words stayed with Mark for years.
They may have been a father telling his child that adoption did not matter. Mark wondered if Sammy meant something else. He began to ask if Sammy might also have been his birth father.
The question became harder when Mark said he found a birth certificate that named Sammy and May as his parents.
May Britt did not say that she had given birth to Mark. Mark still wanted a clearer answer.
The 2015 DNA Test Changed the Story
Mark and Tracey agreed to take a sibling DNA test in 2015.
Inside Edition filmed the process and showed the result on TV. The test found that Mark and Tracey did not share a common birth parent.
The result made one idea much less likely. If Tracey was Sammy and May’s birth daughter, Mark was not her birth sibling through either parent.
The test did not tell Mark who his birth parents were. It only answered the sibling question.
The most human moment came after the result. Mark and Tracey told each other they still loved one another. The test changed a fact about blood. It did not change the family they had shared for decades.
His Birth Parents Have Not Been Identified
Mark’s search did not end with a full answer.
The DNA test showed that he and Tracey were not birth siblings. It did not name Mark’s birth mother or father.
That difference matters. Sammy was Mark’s legal father and the father who raised him. The DNA question was about where Mark came from by birth.
As of 2026, Mark has not publicly named confirmed birth parents.
Tracey, Jeff, and Manny Were Part of the Same Family Story
Mark grew up with Tracey and Jeff during Sammy’s marriage to May Britt.
Tracey was Sammy and May’s birth daughter. Mark and Jeff were adopted. Sammy and May divorced in 1968.
Sammy later married dancer Altovise Gore. In 1989, they adopted Manny Davis. Manny later became the person who runs the Sammy Davis Jr. estate.
Tracey died in 2020. Before her death, she spoke openly about growing up with Sammy and her brothers.
The 2015 DNA test created an unusual public moment for Mark and Tracey. Their reaction showed that a family bond could survive a hard result.
Mark Became a Father Too
Mark also built a family of his own.
Older reporting linked Sammy Davis Jr. with a young grandson named Andrew through Mark by the mid-1980s. Mark later spoke about his sons and about the value he placed on being a present father.
That gives his adult life a different center from Sammy’s.
Sammy spent decades on stage and on the road. Mark focused more on work, children, and life outside the spotlight.
Mark Sydney Davis’s Net Worth Is Private
Mark has never publicly stated a personal net worth.
His father had fame and money, but that does not tell us Mark’s own finances. By 2015, Mark was working at Costco and living far from a flashy celebrity image.
His known work and family life tell readers far more than a guessed dollar amount.
A Different Side of the Sammy Davis Jr. Legacy
Mark’s story is far from the usual Rat Pack image.
It shows another side of Sammy Davis Jr.’s life. There was fame, but there was also fatherhood, adoption, divorce, and a family trying to live beside a huge career.
For Mark, the biggest public event of his adult life was not a show. It was a search for identity.
The 2015 DNA test gave him one answer and left another open. He learned that he and Tracey did not share a birth parent. He still did not learn who his birth parents were.
What did not change was the family he already knew. Sammy raised him as a son. Tracey remained his sister. Mark built a family of his own and chose a life that did not depend on his father’s fame.
For another story about a son who grew up in a famous acting family but chose a much more private adult life, read our profile of Alexander Bauer, the son of Melanie Griffith and Steven Bauer.
