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Showing posts with label Actors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Actors. Show all posts

Is Angelina Jolie Jewish?

No, Angelia Jolie is not a Jew. Jolie is an actress known for her roles in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wanted and Changeling.

Angelina Jolie Jewish

Jolie was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. On her father's side, Jolie is of German and Slovak descent and on her mother's side, she is of primarily French Canadian, Dutch, and German ancestry. Like her mother, Jolie has stated that she is part Iroquois.

Jolie is divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton and now lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship well covered by the media. Jolie and Pitt have three biological children and have adopted three children.

Is Brad Pitt Jewish?

No, Brad Pitt is not a Jew. Pitt is an actor known for his roles in Legends of the Fall, Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club, Ocean's Eleven, Troy, and Moneyball.

Brad Pitt Jewish


Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and is the son of Jane Etta, a high school counselor, and William Alvin Pitt, a truck company owner. The family moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he lived together with his younger siblings, Doug and Julie Neal. Pitt was born into a conservative household and was raised as Southern Baptist, although he has since described himself as oscillating between atheism and agnosticism.

Is Mila Kunis Jewish?


Mila Kunis is a Jew. The actress was born Milena Markovna Kunis, but is professionally known as Mila Kunis and she is Jewish.

Is Mila Kunis Jewish

Born August 14, 1983 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, the American actress moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles with her family at 7-years-old. Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher who runs a pharmacy, and her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer who works as a cab driver. Kunis has a brother, Michael who is six years older

Kunis is Jewish and has cited anti-Semitism in the former Soviet Union as one of several reasons for her family's move to the United States. She has stated that her parents "raised [her] Jewish as much as they could," although religion was suppressed in the Soviet Union.

After being enrolled in acting classes as an after-school activity, she was soon discovered by an agent. She appeared in several television series and commercials, before acquiring her first significant role prior to her 15th birthday, playing Jackie Burkhart on the television series That '70s Show. A year later, she was cast as the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy. Her breakout  film role came in 2008, playing Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Subsequent film roles included Mona Sax in Max Payne, Solara in The Book of Eli, Jamie in Friends with Benefits, and Lori in Ted. Her performance as Lily in Black Swan gained her worldwide accolades, including receiving the Premio Marcello Mastroianni for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. At the age of 18, she began a relationship with actor Macaulay Culkin that lasted eight years.

Is Jennifer Lawrence Jewish?


Jennifer Lawrence, born August 15, 1990, is not Jewish. She is Christian. The American actress has had roles in such movies as Silver Linings Playbook , The Hunger Games, and X-Men.

Is Jennifer Lawrence Jewish?

Lawrence was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine. Her parents are Karen (née Koch).

Is Betty White Jewish?

Betty White is not a Jew. The  octogenarian Betty White is an American actress, comedian, singer, author, and television personality. Her career has spanned over nine decades.

Is Betty White Jewish?

White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922. She is the daughter of Tess Curtis, a homemaker, and Horace Lawrence White, a traveling salesman and electrical engineer. Her mother was of Greek, English, and Welsh descent, and her father was of Danish and English ancestry. White's family moved to Los Angeles, California during the Great Depression.


Is Michael J. Fox Jewish?

Michael J. Fox is not Jewish, but his wife Tracey Pollan is Jewish. The actor, born Michael Andrew Fox on June 9, 1961, is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. He is famous for Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990); Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties (1982–1989); and, Mike Flaherty from Spin City (1996–2000).

Is Michael J. Fox Jewish?

Michael Andrew Fox was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the son of Phyllis (née Piper), an actress and payroll clerk and William Fox, a police officer and member of the Canadian Forces.

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and disclosed his condition to the public in 1999. Fox semi-retired from acting in 2000 as the symptoms of his disease became more severe. He has since become an activist for research toward finding a cure. This led him to create the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

According to Nate Bloom:

At the Union for Reform Judaism's biennial convention last month, actor Michael J. Fox, 47, was the co-winner of the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award. Fox's body shook from Parkinson's disease as he accepted the award on Dec. 14 in San Diego.

The former star of TV's "Family Ties" and "Spin City" has been tireless in his work for Parkinson's disease research and has been a strong advocate for stem cell research. The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which the actor started, has raised and spent over $50 million for Parkinson's research in the last three years. His work was praised by Union President Rabbi Eric Yoffie as "in keeping with the highest ideals of Judaism."

Fox told the Union convention that he was helping his twin daughters with their Torah homework when they came across a passage about David's fight with Goliath. Other Israelites wanted to give David a sword and armor for the fight, but David refused. Fox, making an analogy to misinformation about stem cell research, said, "I think David understood something fundamental about the deepest ideals of repairing the world. The armor, the weapons, the swords, they're just distraction--and distraction is not what wins the battle. You just need the truth."

So far as I know, Fox, who was not born Jewish, has not converted to Judaism (although that is possible). He belongs to a Reform synagogue in Manhattan, which he attends with his Jewish wife, actress Tracy Pollan, 47, and their four children (They have an 18-year-old son, twin 12-year-old daughters, and another 6-year-old daughter).

Pollan and Fox have a marriage that confounds the stereotype of Hollywood marriages as shallow and short-term. The couple met when Pollan, a teen actress, played Fox's girlfriend in several episodes of "Family Ties." They met again on a movie set a few years after "Family Ties" ended. A real-life romance ensued, and they married in 1988. In his autobiography, Fox credits Pollan as being amazingly steadfast as he conquered a problem with alcohol and as battled Parkinson's disease.

An acquaintance of mine happened to be present at the synagogue that Fox belongs to when the Foxes' son was bar mitzvah. He was seated not far from Fox and Pollan. After the ceremony was over, he overheard Michael say to some well-wishers, "This is the proudest day of my life."

Is Conrad Bain Jewish?


Conrad Bain was not Jewish. Famous for playing the role of Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and as Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude, Bain was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

Conrad Bain - Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes

His parents were Jean Agnes Young and Stafford Harrison Bain, a wholesaler. Bain attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and then served in the Canadian Army during World War II.

Bain has three sons and a daughter with Monica Sloan, to whom he was married until her death in 2009. His identical twin brother is Bonar Bain who once played the brother of his Maude character, Dr. Arthur Harmon.

Conrad Bain died on January 16, 2013 in California.

Is Lena Dunham Jewish?

Yes, Lena Dunham is a Jew. Dunham is known for her hit HBO series, Girls, which she created and stars in.

Lena Dunham Jewish



Dunham was born in New York City. Her father is Carroll Dunham, a painter of "overtly sexualized pop art", and her mother is Laurie Simmons, a photographer and designer. Dunham's father is Protestant, and according to Dunham, a Mayflower descendant. Dunham's mother is Jewish. She has a younger sister, Grace, who is a model and student at Brown University and who starred in Dunham's first film Tiny Furniture.

Dunham graduated from Oberlin College in 2008, where she studied creative writing.

In 2013 Dunham won the Golden Globe award for Best Series, Musical or Comedy, for Girls as well as Best Actress, Comedy or Musical.

Is James Franco Jewish?

James Franco is a Jew. Franco is known for his roles in the Spider-Man trilogy, Pineapple Express, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

James Franco is a Jew. Franco was born in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Betsy Lou (née Verne) is Jewish. She is a writer and actress. Franco's father, Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco (d. 2011), ran a Silicon Valley business. James Franco's Jewish family on his mother's side were Russian Jewish immigrants.


The Jewish actor who had a lead part on the short-lived cult hit television program Freaks and Geeks later played James Dean (2001), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe Award. He also played Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.

James Franco's notable films include Pineapple Express, Milk, 127 Hours, Tristan & Isolde, Annapolis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and 2013 releases Oz the Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers, This Is the End, and Lovelace. He also had a recurring role in the ABC soap opera General Hospital. For his role in 127 Hours, Franco received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Franco was born in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Betsy Lou, is a poet, author, and editor, and his father, Douglas (1948–2011), ran a non-profit agency and a shipping container security company. Franco's father was of Portuguese and Swedish descent. Franco's mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia. Despite his Jewish heritage, Franco's upbringing was largely secular.

Franco has a big interest in education. He has attended UCLA, and he moved to New York to simultaneously attend graduate school at Columbia University's MFA writing program, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, and Brooklyn College for fiction writing, while occasionally commuting to North Carolina's Warren Wilson College for poetry. He received his MFA from Columbia in 2010. Franco is a PhD student in English at Yale University and will also attend the Rhode Island School of Design.

Is Jake Gyllenhaal Jewish?

Yes, Jake Gyllenhall is a Jew. Gyllenhaal is known for his roles in October Sky, Donnie Darko, The Good Girl, Brokeback Mountain and Love and Other Drugs.

Jake Gyllenhaal Jewish


Gyllenhaal was born in Los Angeles. His parents are film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and film producer and screenwriter Naomi Foner. Maggie Gyllenhaal is his older sister and is also an actress. Gyllenhaal's father is of Swedish and English descent. His mother is from a Jewish family from New York City, and Gyllenhaal has said that he considers himself "more Jewish than anything else."

Gyllenhaal is politically active. He shot a commercial for Rock the Vote during the 2004 presidential election and he also campaigned for Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry. He has also spoken out against climate change and participated in a campaign for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Is Olivia Wilde Jewish?

Olivia Wilde is not a Jew, although she does have distant Sephardi Jewish ancestry. Wilde is known for her roles in The Girl Next Door, Tron: Legacy, and Cowboys & Aliens.

Olivia Wilde Jewish

Wilde was born in New York City. Her mother, Leslie Cockburn, is an American-born 60 Minutes producer and journalist. Her father, Andrew Myles Cockburn, a journalist, was born in London and raised in Ireland. Wilde's ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, Manx, and German and she is also of more distant Sephardi Jewish descent from a paternal ancestor, Ralph Bernal, a British Whig politician and actor.

Wilde has dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland. She derived her stage name "Wilde" from Irish author Oscar Wilde, which she changed in high school, to honor the writers in her family, many of whom used pen names.

Is Alyson Hannigan Jewish?

Alyson Hannigan is a Jew. Hannigan is known for her roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, How I Met Your Mother and the American Pie films.

Alyson Hannigan Jewish


Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C. and is the only child of Emilie Haas and Al Hannigan. Her father is of Irish descent and her mother is Jewish. Her parents divorced when she was two and she was raised mostly by her mother in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hannigan began acting at the age of four in commercials. She later moved to Hollywood and began auditioning for agents. She landed her role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997 and her career took off from there.

Is Ryan Gosling Jewish?

Ryan Gosling is not a Jew. Gosling is known for his roles in The Notebook, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Ides of March and Blue Valentine.

Ryan Gosling Jewish



Gosling was born in London, Ontario. He is the son of Thomas Ray Gosling, a traveling salesman for a paper mill, and Donna, a secretary. Gosling's parents were Mormons and Gosling has said that the religion influenced every aspect of their lives. His parents divorced when he was a child and he and his older sister Mandi lived with their mother, an experience Gosling has credited with programming him "to think like a girl".

Gosling began performing at a young age and dropped out of high school at 17 to focus on acting. He has been nominated for and won many awards for his performances.

Is Emma Stone Jewish?

Emma Stone is not a Jew. Stone is famous for her acting, in films such as The Help, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Easy A and The Amazing Spider-Man.

Emma Stone Jewish



Stone was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. Stone's parents are Krista (née Yeager), a homemaker, and Jeff Stone, a contractor. Stone's paternal grandfather was of Swedish descent, and his family's surname was anglicized to "Stone" when immigrating to the U.S. through Ellis Island; some of her ancestors also lived in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Stone attended Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girl Catholic high school, as a freshman for one semester. She convinced her parents to let her move to California for an acting career and in January 2004, moved with her mother to a Los Angeles apartment, at the age of 15. She was then home schooled, so that she could audition during the day.

Is Joseph Gordon-Levitt Jewish?

Yes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a Jew. Gordon-Levitt is an American actor, known for his roles in 500 Days of Summer, Inception, 50/50 and The Dark Knight Rises.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Jewish


Gordon-Levitt was born in Los Angeles, California. His family is Jewish and his parents were among the founders of the Progressive Jewish Alliance. His father, Dennis Levitt, was once the news director for the Pacifica Radio station, KPFK-FM and his mother, Jane Gordon, ran for the United States Congress in California during the 1970s for the Peace and Freedom Party; she met Dennis Levitt while she was working as the program guide editor for KPFK-FM.

Gordon-Levitt began acting at age 4 and has appeared on TV, in numerous films and on stage. Recently, he has begun directing and producing.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is married to Tasha McCauley. He married his long-time girlfriend on December 20, 2014 at their Los Angeles home. McCauley is co-founder and CEO of the Silicon Valley-based robotics company Fellow Robots.


Is Bette Midler Jewish?

Bette Midler is a Jew. Midler is best known for her roles Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation on Broadway, as well as for her widely popular music and films.

Bette Midler Jewish

Midler was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, where her family was one of the few Jewish families in a mostly Asian neighborhood. Her mother, Ruth (née Schindel), was a seamstress and housewife, and her father, Fred Midler, worked at a Navy base in Hawaii as a painter, and was also a housepainter.

Midler is also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. Her career has spanned almost half a century and Midler has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and won three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a special Tony Award. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Throughout her career, many of her songs became hits on the record charts, including "The Rose" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" as well as her renditions of "Do You Wanna Dance?", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "From a Distance". In film, she is known for her roles in  The Rose, Beaches, The First Wives Club, The Stepford Wives, For the Boys and Gypsy.


Is Barbra Streisand Jewish?

Barbra Streisand is a Jew. Streisand is an American singer, actress, writer, film producer and director. She is one of the most well-known and successful entertainers in modern entertainment history.

Barbra Streisand Jewish

Streisand was born as Barbara (later changing the spelling of her first name to be unique) Streisand in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Diana (née Ida Rosen) and Emanuel Streisand. Her mother was at one time a singer and her father was a high school teacher. Her family was Jewish; her paternal grandparents immigrated from Galicia and her maternal grandparents from Russia. Streisand attended the Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva of Brooklyn, where she gave a solo performance at the age of seven. She later attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, where she joined the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club.

Streisand has recorded 50 studio albums and began recording in the 1960s. She has also appeared in such films as Funny Girl, Yentl, Meet the Fockers and The Guilt Trip. Throughout her career she has won many awards, including Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards and Tony Awards.

Is Paul Rudd Jewish?

Paul Rudd is a Jew. Paul Rudd is best known for his roles in The 40-Year Old Virgin, Anchorman and I Love You, Man. He also played Mike Hannigan on Friends and starred on Broadway in Grace.

Paul Rudd Jewish


Rudd's parents, Michael and Gloria, were both Jewish. Their last name was originally Rudnitzky but was changed by his grandfather to Rudd. Rudd had a bar mitzvah.

Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey and was raised in Overland Park, Kansas. He attended the University of Kansas and spent time at the British American Drama Academy based in Oxford, U.K. While attending acting school, Rudd worked as a DJ.

Is Hugh Jackman Jewish?

Hugh Jackman is not Jewish. The actor best known for his roles as Wolverine in X-Men and Jean Valjean in a scene from "Les Misérables" (2012).

Hugh Jackman Jewish

Jackman was born in Sydney, New South Wales. His parents were devout Christians, having been converted by Evangelist Billy Graham after their marriage. His parents are Grace McNeil (née Greenwood) and Christopher John Jackman. His parents were English-born and immigrated to Australia. One of Jackman's paternal great-grandfathers was Greek.

Is Jack Klugman Jewish?

Jack Klugman was Jewish. The actor, famous for his role in The Odd Couple, died on December 24, 2012 at his home in Northridge, California.

Jack Klugman, Jewish

Klugman was born in Philadelphia, the son of Rose, a hat maker, and Max Klugman, a house painter. Klugman's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University, where he graduated in 1948.

Klugman, who also starred in the original film version of "12 Angry Men," won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of sloppy and careless New York sportswriter Oscar Madison. He went on to star in the television series "Quincy, M.E.," in which he played a medical examiner. The other half of the "Odd Couple," Tony Randall, who portrayed the finicky photographer Felix Unger, died in 2004. Klugman also performed in the original Broadway production of "The Odd Couple" as a replacement for Walter Matthau.