Is Simon Cowell Jewish?

Is Simon Cowell a Jew? According to the website PopJewish.com, Simon Cowell has a Jewish father and is planning to marry his Jewish girlfriend in a Jewish ceremony:

The British musical reality shows judge is said to be taking Israeli folk dance classes in preparation for his wedding to his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, who is Jewish. According to reports, the couple's wedding will be officiated by a rabbi. The Daily Mall reports that Simon Cowell, 54, the English eternal judge of musical reality shows, plans to get married in a Jewish wedding, his good friends say. Cowell, who was born to a Jewish father, is set to marry his pregnant Jewish girlfriend Lauren Silverman in the coming year, and the two will be blessed by a rabbi.

Wikipedia reports that "Cowell was born in Lambeth, London, England, and brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire.His mother, Julie Brett (née Josie Dalglish), is a former ballet dancer and socialite, and his father, Eric Selig Phillip Cowell (1918–1999),was an estate agent developer and music industry executive.Cowell's father was from a mostly Jewish family, though he did not discuss his background with his children (Cowell's paternal grandmother had immigrated from Poland). Cowell's mother was from a Christian background, and is of part Scottish descent. He has a younger brother, Nicholas Cowell, three half-brothers, John, Tony, and Michael Cowell, and a half-sister, June Cowell."

According to an article in Haaretz, titled "Is Simon Cowell planning on converting to Judaism?":

A report in The Daily Mirror suggests so. According to the British tabloid, the "X Factor" boss, 54, is planning to embrace the Jewish faith of his girlfriend and soon-to-be mother of his first child Lauren Silverman, 36. Silverman isn't Cowell's first connection with Judaism; according to "Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell," the celebrity's father was Jewish, but didn't share the religion with his children. The TV mogul was raised Roman Catholic, but has previously expressed little interest in religion, the Mirror said.
The Mirror report also states that after he converts, Cowell will embark on a secret trip to Israel. “Simon is getting increasingly excited about becoming a daddy," a source told the Mirror. “He really is embracing fatherhood and wants to be the first person to cradle his new-born son. He is open to reason on the subject of religion and the faith in which his son is brought up. But he is naturally inquisitive and really wants to visit Israel so that he can make a more informed decision.” Cowell’s son is due on February 28, the source added. "Contrary to reports, Cowell intends to be at the birth and has booked out a top £12,000-a-night private hospital in the US ahead of Lauren’s elective C-section," the Mirror report states, "And while he is keeping quiet about the baby’s first name, he has told pals the middle one will be Eric – after his late father." The Mirror reported that following the baby's birth, the couple will settle down in Cowell's west London mansion. Cowell recently made headlines in Israel when he donated some $150,000 to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. At a fundraising gala event in Los Angeles, the organization raised $20 million.
It was also reported that Cowell was considering taking traditional Israeli dancing lessons in preparation for his upcoming wedding to Silverman.

Is Joan Rivers Jewish?

Joan Rivers was Jewish. The comedian and celebrity fashion critic (mostly seen on the red carpet before and after award ceremonies), Joan Rivers was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants Beatrice (née Grushman; January 6, 1906 – October 1975) and Meyer C. Molinsky (December 7, 1900 – January 1985). Joan Rivers died on September 4, 2014 after entering the hospital with heart failure and going into a coma.

Rivers was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Connecticut College between 1950 and 1952 and graduated from Barnard College in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and anthropology. Her agent Tony Rivers advised her to change her name, so she chose Joan Rivers as her stage name.

Rivers' first marriage was in 1955 to James Sanger, the son of a Bond Clothing Stores merchandise manager. The marriage lasted only six weeks and was annulled on the basis that Sanger did not want children and had not informed Rivers before the wedding.

Rivers then married Edgar Rosenberg in 1965. Rosenberg committed suicide in 1987. Their only child, Melissa Warburg Rosenberg (now known as Melissa Rivers), was born on January 20, 1968. She has one grandson, Melissa's son Cooper (born Edgar Cooper Endicott on December 1, 2000).

Is Demi Lovato Jewish?

Demi Lovato is not Jewish. The famous teen actress and singer announced in a tweet on Twitter that she is part Jewish. The teenage celeb using her Twitter handle @ddlovato tweeted to @jCarolinaa_ that she found out that she's Jewish in addition to several other nationalities and races. (see the tweet below)

demetria lovato ‏@ddlovato

@jCarolinaa_ actually - I found out that I am Irish, Hispanic, Native American, Portuguese and Jewish!!!

According to her Wikipedia entry, Lovato's ancestry includes Mexican, Irish, Italian, and English roots. She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 20, 1992, and raised in Dallas, Texas. She is the daughter of Dianna Hart de la Garza (born Dianna Lee Smith) and Patrick Martin Lovato. She has an older sister, Dallas Lovato, and a younger half-sister, Madison de la Garza, from her mother's re-marriage. Her mother was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and country music recording artist.

Is Danica Patrick Jewish?

Danica Patrick is not Jewish. She converted to Roman Catholicism upon marrying Paul Edward Hospenthal in 2005. Her parents, T.J. and Bev Patrick, are not Jewish.

Danica Patrick is now known to be the top female auto racer finishing in NASCAR and INDY. She also has a very strong career as an advertising spokeswoman.

Is Dr. Jack Kevorkian Jewish?

Dr. Jack Kevorkian was not Jewish. Jack Kevorkian was born as Murad Kevorkian in 1928 in Pontiac Michigan to Armenian parents, Levon and Satenig Kevorkian. Jack Kevorkian was a Medical Doctor who believed in and actually performed assisted suicides.

Starting in 1991 Jack Kevorkian was embroiled in legal battles where he was charged with murder. He was defended by attorney Geoffrey Fieger and finally lost in 1999.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian served approximately eight years in prison and was paroled in 2007. He died in 2011.

Is Geoffrey Fieger Jewish?

Geoffrey Fieger is considered to be half Jewish.  Geoffrey Fieger's father, the late Bernard Fieger, was a New York civil rights activist and was Jewish by birth.  Fieger's mother, the late June Oberer Fieger, was a Norwegian-American and was not Jewish.  Geoffrey Fieger's younger brother Douglas Fieger was the lead singer of the rock group The Knack.

Geoffrey Fieger was the attorney who defended Dr. Jack Kevorkian in 1994 in the high profile assisted suicide case.

Is Jay-Z Jewish?

Jay-Z is not Jewish.  Jay-Z was born on December 4, 1969 as Shawn Corey Carter.  His early life was marked by a very tough existence in the projects of New York.  In 1994, Jay-Z became interested in music and now is known the world over as a music and entertainment mogul.

Jay-Z is married to the beautiful R&B genius, Beyonce, and enjoys the beautiful daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, they had together on February 10, 2012.

Is Clive Davis Jewish?

Clive Davis is a Jew. The record producer and music industry executive was born to Herman and Florence Davis. Both of his parents were Jewish. Clive Davis, who was born in 1932, is most famous for his discovery of Whitney Houston.

Both of his parents died when Clive Davis was only a teenager. At Whitney Houston's funeral on February 18, 2012, Clive Davis explained that he was an orphan with no money during his teenage years. Davis received a full scholarship to New York University and then received a full scholarship to Harvard Law School. Each year at the Grammy, Clive Davis hosts a star-studded party.

Clive Davis is the founder of Arista Records and Chairman and CEO of BMG Label Group. He has been responsible for launching the musical careers of Barry Manilow, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Santana and others. He is known as a Jewish philanthropist. He recently had his famous Hanukkah potato latke recipe published by the 92nd St. Y in New York City.

Is Bobbi Brown Jewish?

Bobbi Brown is a Jew. Not to be confused with the singer Bobby Brown who is not Jewish, the founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is Jewish. Bobbi Brown was born to Joe Brown and Sandra Cain. Her parents divorced around the time of her bat mitzvah. Bobbi Brown is married to Steven Plofker. The couple has three sons, Duke, Dylan, and Dakota.

An article on the Jewish Women International blog explains that, "In the late 1960s, petite, dark-eyed Bobbi Brown was struggling to reconcile her Semitic beauty with that of the leggy blonde-and-blue cover girls of her youth."

Is Scott Disick Jewish?

Yes, Scott Disick is a Jew. Disick is Kourtney Kardashian's boyfriend and he has appeared in episodes of the reality TV series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" as well as "Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami" and "Kourtney and Kim Take New York."

In the Kardashians story line, Disick and Kourtney Kardashian have had a rocky romance, but reconciled when she learned she was pregnant. Their son, Mason Dash Disick, was born in December 2009. In an episode that aired in December 2011, Scott Disick goes on a quest to get back in touch with his Jewish faith, which mostly involved him talking to a Rabbi.

Is Sandra Bullock Jewish?

Sandra Bullock is not Jewish. She was born in Arlington, Virginia but her mother was from Nuernberg, German. While many have surmised that she might be half-Jewish based on her mother's name (Helga Meyer), the actress is not a Jew.

Some of the speculation surrounding Sandra Bullock's heritage comes from the bris (ritual circumcision) she arranged for her adopted baby boy, Louis Bardo Bullock, to have.

Is Tom Cruise Jewish?

Tom Cruise is not Jewish.

The actor is of German, Irish, and English ancestry. Tom Cruise grew up in a Catholic family. He briefly attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati on a church scholarship and aspired to become a Catholic priest. Today, he is famously known as a follower of the Church of Scientology.

Is Sarah Silverman Jewish?

Yes, Sarah Silverman is Jewish. Sarah Silverman, the youngest of four daughters, was born in Bedford, New Hampshire. Both of her parents are Jewish. Sarah Silverman has an older sister who is a Reform rabbi and lives with her husband and their children in Israel. While she wasn't raised in a traditional Jewish household, she has spoken about being a proud member of the Jewish people and has embraced her Jewishness (or in her words: "Jewy-ness").


Sarah Silverman spoke to Piers Morgan about her Jewish identity and later restated it in an interview for Boston University's Elie Weisel Center for Judaic Studies alongside her sister Rabbi Susan Silverman. She said, "I don't have religion personally. But I'm Jewish in that it's in my bones."

In February 2014, US Weekly reported that Sarah Silverman is dating actor Michael Sheen. Michael Sheen is the star of “Masters of Sex.” Sheen is not Jewish. Silverman’s on-again-off-again five-year relationship with Jimmy Kimmel ended in 2009. In the past, Michael Sheen has been linked to VH1 “Morning Buzz” host Carrie Keagan and “Midnight in Paris” co-star Rachel McAdams since his split with Kate Beckinsale.

Is Benjamin Millepied Jewish?

Is Benjamin Millepied Jewish? That seems to be the question everyone wants to know. Natalie Portman, the Jewish actress with Israeli roots who started dating the French Millepied during filming of the film "Black Swan," plans to marry Benjamin Millepied in the near future. The two became parents of a baby son named Aleph in 2011.

Millepied was born in Bordeaux, France and raised in Dakar, Senegal. He is the youngest of three sons.[3] His ballet training started at the age of eight with his mother, Catherine Flori, a former ballet dancer. His father is Denys Millepied. Between the ages of 13 and 16 he studied with Michel Rahn at the Conservatoire National in Lyon, France.

Benjamin Millepied was not born Jewish according to reports, however it is rumored that he converted to Judaism before the couple's August 2012 wedding (see update below regarding Benjamin Millepied's conversion to Judaism). The wedding was reported to be a Jewish ceremony and took place in a private residence in Sag Harbor, NY.

UPDATE: On January 29, 2014 JTA.org posted the following news about Benjamin Millepied:

French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, the husband of Jewish actress Natalie Portman, told an Israeli newspaper that he is converting to Judaism.

Millepied told the Hebrew-language Yediot Acharonot in an article published Wednesday that he is “in the middle of the conversion process.” He added that he hopes the process will “come to an end soon and I will become a Jew.”

Becoming Jewish is “very important for me,” Millepied told the newspaper.

The couple is in Israel through March as Portman casts the movie that she is directing based on “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” a book by Israeli author Amos Oz.

The couple will relocate to Paris, where Millepied will work as director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet
Portman said in September in an interview with the French magazine Madame Figaro that she is interested in becoming a French citizen.

“I don’t have the French nationality, but I would be love to get it. But I don’t know if it’s possible because I already have an American and an Israeli passport,” she said.

Portman and Millepied, who have a son named Aleph, were married in a Jewish wedding ceremony last year.