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.
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.
