According to a recent survey, three of the most mind-blowing experiences in life are:
- Finding out you’re pregnant with triplets
- Winning millions of dollars in a state lottery
- Discovering a celebrity you never thought was Jewish is Jewish
While I can’t help you out with the first two, I have done some research on the third. As it turns out, there is a multitude of Jewish celebrities out there who don’t exactly present themselves as obviously Jewish. For example, most folks probably know that Barbra Streisand is Jewish. Elliot Gould is Jewish. Gilda Radner and Gene Wilder were Jewish. Adam Sandler and Jackie Mason are Jewish.
Today, however, we deal with celebrities whom you either didn’t think were Jewish, or were not sure. And yet all of the following were born to Jewish mothers, which is the determining factor to whether or not one is officially a Member of the Tribe. So, should you run into them in the future, you’ll have something else to discuss besides how wonderful they are in their chosen fields. The Chosen People in their chosen fields. Check them out…
Daniel Radcliffe
Who knew when you watched the movie, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, that one of the secrets is that Harry himself, portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, is a Member of the Tribe? Radcliffe’s mother, Marcia Jeannine Jacobson, who was born in South Africa, is Jewish and his ancestors were all Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland. If they make another sequel, might I suggest Radcliffe taking advantage of his heritage with something along these lines: “Heshie Potawitz and the Magical Mezuzah”?
Paula Abdul
The famous American Idol judge and triple threat has completely Jewish roots. Her father is a Syrian Jew, and her mother is a Canadian Jew. Paula still identifies with her Jewish roots and is very proud of them. In fact, during a 2013 10-day trip to Israel, there were many highlights, ranging from a personal meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres to emotion-charged moments at the Kotel and Yad Vashem. Perhaps the most special, though, was when Abdul fulfilled a long-held dream to celebrate a belated bat mitzvah with a ceremony at the International Centre for Kabbalah, in Tzfat, in northern Israel. At that moment, judge Abdul gave Israel a Yes and became an Israeli idol.
Mila Kunis
The “That 70’s Show” and “Black Swan” star, who is married to Ashton Kutcher, was born Milena Markovna Kunis to a Jewish family in Ukraine. Kunis has said that most of her family was killed in the Holocaust and that she had to hide that she was Jewish in Ukraine out of fear of persecution. She moved to America in 1991 at the age of seven. In terms of Jewish tradition, Kunis revealed during an Armchair Expert podcast interview last year, “What I grew up with was tradition and I think tradition is beautiful. I don’t think it needs to be based on a book. I think tradition is what you make it. But to that point, I also think the stories in the book [or] books, however you look at it, are really beautiful moral stories.”
Rashida Jones
Jones is best known for her role in NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” The actress is half African American and half Jewish by birth. She was raised as a Reform Jew and attended Hebrew school. Jones is the daughter of music mogul Quincy Jones, and an Ashkenazi Jewish mother, Peggy Lipton, who starred in “The Mod Squad”. Growing up, she attended a Hebrew school and was raised as a reform Jew, though she did not have a bat mitzvah. She told American Jewish Life Magazine that Judaism still informs her spiritual life. “In this day and age, you can choose how you practice and what is your relationship with God. I feel pretty strongly about my connection, definitely through the Jewish traditions and the things that I learned dating the guy that I dated. My boyfriends tend to be Jewish and also be practicing.”
Pink
Pink, born Alecia Beth Moore, is a singer, songwriter, and dancer with R&B and pop influence. With a Jewish mom, her religion has been in evidence in the wake of everything going on around the world, and she even wants her kids to learn about it. While visiting the Holocaust memorial in Berlin with her 6-year old daughter, Willow, the girl slowly spoke her thoughts: “My mom’s Jewish … then I’m Jewish … Well, then this could have been us.” When Pink was struck by the parallels of performing in Berlin while the Charlottesville march was occurring, she observed: “It’s incredible to watch neo-nazis march in 2017, while I, a Jewish woman, headline a show in Berlin… Hate will not win if we don’t let it. It’s up to each of us to choose love and acceptance.”
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake is an American actor who is best known for his roles in October Sky, Donnie Darko, The Good Girl, Brokeback Mountain and Love and Other Drugs. Born to a Jewish family in New York City, he considers himself Jewish. Jake’s mother, screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, is Jewish and her credits include the scripts for Running on Empty and Losing Isaiah. She said that she was raised with only a little formal exposure to Judaism and that, in effect, social liberalism substituted for religion in her household. She added that this is the way she raised Jake and his sister, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Scarlett Johansson
The movie star’s surname name comes from her father's Danish side, but her mother, Melanie Sloan, is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. In an Israeli TV interview, she said that she identified as Jewish and had been brought up with basic observance of Shabbat and holidays like Chanukah. She even said she had a smattering of Yiddish. When the actress appeared on the PBS show “Finding Your Roots”, she learned some specifics about those branches of her family tree – and broke down in tears upon learning about their tragic Holocaust experiences.
(10) Harold, July 15, 2020 1:00 AM
Excellent
We need more articles. Like. This to show People at large around the world. That we. JEWS come in all shapes. Sizes. Colors countries Judaism is a way of living treating our fellow humans with respect and dgnity
(9) Elliyahu Genesove, December 16, 2019 6:53 PM
Incorrect statement
There is no such thing as a half-Jew. Either you're a Jew or not. (Rashida Jones)
Terry, December 26, 2019 2:28 PM
Why?
Why does tge Jewish half take precedence over the other half? Shouldn't they be of equal importance?
cj, January 22, 2020 6:44 PM
The whole point of this article is about the Jewish half, so that's how Daniel Radcliffe made the list. The author thought Radcliffe would make a good addition to it. Radcliffe could also make a list of Christian celebrities, because he identifies as half Christian.
(8) Ruth Broch, November 19, 2019 7:19 PM
Becoming a bat or bar mitzvah
Just one thing, maybe minor, but you don't "have" a bat or bar mitzvah. You BECOME a bat or bar mitzvah. In other words, you are now responsible for living up to the mitzvot in the Torah as best as you can. You can have a party celebrating that fact, but you cannot "have" a bat or bar mitzvah. The word makes no sense.
(7) Laura, October 23, 2019 3:10 PM
Being Jewish is not just genetic
None of these celebrities ever speak out in defense of Israel or about Islam anti-semitism or against the BDS. They are liberals first, Jews by 50% DNA last. To label them as Jews is a gross misrepresentation.
(6) Christopher Collins, August 28, 2019 12:41 AM
Troye Sivan, the new pop sensation, is also Jewish!
Troye Sivan, the new pop sensation, is also Jewish!
(5) Mindy Altusky, August 27, 2019 3:34 PM
Photo of Daniel Radcliffe
Hi, I just wanted to tell you I think you have Frodo There not Harry Potter.?
(4) Anonymous, August 27, 2019 3:18 PM
Wrong picture
Pic shown is of Elijah Wood not Daniel Radcliff
(3) Bea, August 27, 2019 2:46 PM
Headline photo
I see that there is a photo of Elijah Wood at the top of the article but no mention of him. Always wondered if he is Jewish?
Matthae, September 1, 2019 6:05 PM
He is not.
He isn’t. Elijah Wood is devoutly Catholic and has no Jewish ancestry.
It is supposed to be a picture of Daniel Radcliffe.
(2) MESA, August 27, 2019 1:53 PM
I remember when Scarlett Johanssen was endorsing Soda Stream and she resisted BDS pressure to stop. All I thought was that she was an intelligent and good human being. I had no idea that she's Jewish herself. Wow.
(1) Dee, August 25, 2019 2:02 PM
Jewish actors
Actors with two Jewish parents: Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Logan Lerman, Paul Rudd, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bar Refaeli, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Adam Brody, Kat Dennings, Gabriel Macht, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Erin Heatherton, Lisa Kudrow, Lizzy Caplan, Gal Gadot, Debra Messing, Jason Isaacs, Jon Bernthal, Robert Kazinsky, Melanie Laurent, Esti Ginzburg, Shiri Appleby, Justin Bartha, Margarita Levieva, James Wolk, Elizabeth Berkley, Halston Sage, Seth Gabel, Corey Stoll, Michael Vartan, Mia Kirshner, Alden Ehrenreich, Julian Morris, Debra Winger, Eric Balfour, Dan Hedaya, Emory Cohen, Corey Haim, Scott Mechlowicz, Harvey Keitel, Odeya Rush, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is Jewish, too (though I don’t know if both of his parents are).
Actors with Jewish mothers and non-Jewish fathers: Timothée Chalamet, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dave Franco, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Radcliffe, Alison Brie, Eva Green, Joaquin Phoenix, River Phoenix, Emmy Rossum, Ryan Potter, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Connelly, Sofia Black D’Elia, Nora Arnezeder, Goldie Hawn, Ginnifer Goodwin, Brandon Flynn, Amanda Peet, Eric Dane, Jeremy Jordan, Joel Kinnaman, Ben Barnes, Patricia Arquette, Kyra Sedgwick, Dave Annable, and Harrison Ford (whose maternal grandparents were both Jewish, despite those Hanukkah Song lyrics).
Actors with Jewish fathers and non-Jewish mothers, who themselves were either raised as Jewish and/or identify as Jewish: Ezra Miller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zac Efron, Alexa Davalos, Nat Wolff, Nicola Peltz, James Maslow, Josh Bowman, Andrew Garfield, Winona Ryder, Michael Douglas, Ben Foster, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nikki Reed, Jonathan Keltz, Paul Newman.
Mark Miller, August 27, 2019 12:21 AM
Your Jewish actors lists
Thanks, Dee. Very comprehensive! And how talented we are!
Joel, August 27, 2019 2:35 PM
Fantastic list
Very comprehensive list. I was wondering about a few of them myself. Scarlett Johannsen was a surprise to me I must admit
shira, September 6, 2019 6:25 AM
Just want to add to your list- Dianna Agron and Lea Michele would both be in your last category of Jewish fathers with a Jewish identity