Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts

Date of Birth: September 25, 1929

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Barbara Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. Her father was born in Whitechapel, London, of Polish Jewish descent. Her mother was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Russian Jewish father and a Lithuanian Jewish mother.

Barbara’s paternal grandparents were Abraham Itzak/Isaac Waremwasser/Warmwasser/Abrahams/Walters (the son of Tzvi Getzel “Harry” Waremwasser/Warmwasser and Bina Bilma Simkowitz) and Lilly Swartz. Abraham was born in Lodz, Poland.

Barbara’s maternal grandparents were Selig Jacob Seletsky (the son of Daniel Seletsky and Bessie Seskind) and Celia Sacovich/Sakowitz (the daughter of Daniel Sakowitz and Jenny). Selig was born in Benyakoni, Russia. Celia was born in Vilna, Lithuania.

Source: Genealogy of Barbara Walters – http://www.geni.com

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Birth Name: Yaniv Schulman

Place of Birth: New York City, New York

Date of Birth: September 26, 1984

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Nev Schulman is an Israeli-American producer, actor, photographer, and television personality.

Nev’s maternal grandparents are Marvin Barasch (the son of Abraham Barasch and Betty/Bessie) and Phyllis Putter (the daughter of Sidney Putter and Ruth). Abraham was a Romanian Jewish immigrant. Betty was born in Pennsylvania, to German Jewish parents.

Sources: Nev’s maternal grandfather, Marvin Barasch, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Nev’s maternal grandfather, Marvin Barasch – http://www.legacy.com

Obituary of Nev’s maternal great-grandmother, Ruth Putter – http://www.nytimes.com

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Birth Name: Lola Clementine C. Kirke

Place of Birth: London, England, UK

Date of Birth: September 27, 1990

Ethnicity:
*English, Scottish (father)
*Iraqi Jewish (maternal grandfather)
*Ashkenazi Jewish (maternal grandmother)

Lola Kirke is a British-born actress. She is the daughter of Lorraine (Dellal) and musician Simon Kirke. Her sister is actress Jemima Kirke.

Her father has English and Scottish ancestry. Her mother is of half Iraqi Jewish and half Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

On her father’s side, Lola is the granddaughter of Vivian Percy Kirke (the son of Percy St George Kirke and Alice Gertrude Gibson-Craig) and Olive May Pollard.

On her mother’s side, Lola is the granddaughter of Jack Dellal (the son of Salomon Dellal and Charlotte Salha Shashoua) and Zehava Helmer. Jack was born in London, England, to Iraqi Jewish parents, who were born in Baghdad. Zehava was an Israeli of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

Source: Genealogy of Lola’s maternal grandfather, Jack Dellal – http://www.farhi.org

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Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York

Date of Birth: September 15, 1981

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Ben Schwartz is an American actor, comedian, and writer.

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Birth Name: Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn

Date of Birth: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

Place of Birth: 25 April, 1949

Ethnicity:
*Ashkenazi Jewish, French (father)
*Sephardi Jewish (mother)

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party (PS). Strauss-Kahn served as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2007 to 2011, when he resigned following allegations that he had sexually assaulted a hotel employee.

Dominique’s paternal grandfather was from an Alsatian Jewish family. Dominique’s paternal grandmother was a French Catholic. Dominique’s mother is from a Tunisian Jewish family.

Dominique’s paternal grandparents were Gaston Reinhardt Strauss (the son of Gilbert Strauss and Gertrude Bloch) and Yvonne Stengel (the daughter of Victor Stengel and Elisabeth Bricot).

Dominique’s maternal grandparents were Shemaoun André Fellus (the son of Haim Hagège and Taina) and Blanche Breitman (the daughter of Grégor Berkoff and Tatiana).

Source: Genealogy of Dominique Strauss-Kahn – http://www.geni.com

Place of Birth: (likely) New Jersey

Date of Birth: November 22, 1989

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Jon Rudnitsky is an American comedian and actor. He will be a cast member on the 41st season of the series Saturday Night Live.

Jon’s parents are both Jewish. Jon’s uncle (Jon’s mother’s brother) is Michael Oren, an Israeli politician who was the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013.

Jon’s maternal grandparents are Lester Milton Bornstein (the son of Harry Bornstein and Celia) and Marilyn Goldstein.

Birth Name: Eliot Laurence Spitzer

Place of Birth: Riverdale, New York City, New York

Date of Birth: June 10, 1959

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Eliot Spitzer is an American politician and television show host. A Democrat, he served as the Governor of New York from 2007 until 2008. He resigned because of his involvement in a prostitution scandal.

Eliot is the son of Anne (Goldhaber), a professor of English, and Bernard Spitzer, a real estate developer and philanthropist. His paternal grandparents were Polish Jewish immigrants. His maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from what is now Israel (then part of the Ottoman Empire).

The 1930 U.S. Census lists all of Eliot’s maternal great-grandparents as having been born in “Palestine” (Ottoman-controlled Israel), and the family lived in the city of Safed. Given the Ashkenazi Jewish surnames “Goldhaber” and “Heller”, it is likely that Eliot’s mother’s family was Ashkenazi, and had perhaps come to the area as part of the First Aliyah (from 1882 to 1903).

Eliot’s paternal grandparents were Morris Spitzer (the son of Ephraim Yosef ben Avraham Tzvi HaLevi Spitzer and Eva) and Amalia Sarah “Molly” Katz (the daughter of David Katz and Esther). Morris was born in Tluste.

Eliot’s maternal grandparents were Joseph Goldhaber and Zirel “Shirley” Heller.

Source: Genealogy of Eliot Spitzer – http://www.wargs.com

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Date of Birth: 6 February 1932

Place of Birth: Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Place of Birth: Paris, France

Date of Death: 21 October 1984

Ethnicity:
*Jewish (biological father)
*French (mother)

François Truffaut was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He was one of the founders of the Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave).

François’s mother, Janine de Monferrand, married Roland Truffaut after François’s birth. Roland accepted him as an adopted son and gave him his surname. The identity of François’s biological father was unknown to François for much of his life. In 1968, a private detective agency looked into the matter and determined that François’s biological father was a man named Roland Levy, a Jewish dentist from Bayonne, France.

François was married to Madeleine Morgenstern, with whom he had two children. He also had a child with his partner, actress Fanny Ardant.

François’s maternal grandparents were Jean Marie Albert de Monferrand (the son of Louis Jean Albert de Monferrand and Jeanne Marie Escallier) and Geneviève Denise Marguerite Anne Jeanne Saint Martin.

Source: Genealogy of François Truffaut (focusing on his mother’s side) – http://gw.geneanet.org

Birth Name: Judith Susan Blum

Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Date of Birth: October 21, 1942

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Judith Sheindlin, also known as Judge Judy, is an American lawyer, judge, television personality, and author. She is married to author and television personality Jerry Sheindlin.

Judith’s paternal grandparents were Jacob Israelit Blum (the son of Shaul Israelit and Rivka) and Lena Mininberg (the daughter of Hersh Ber Mininberg and Aydel Duckmann). Jacob was born in Odessa, in the Russian Empire. Lena was born in Russia.

Source: Genealogy of Judith Sheindlin (focusing on her father’s side) – http://www.geni.com

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Birth Name: Nancy Jane Meyers

Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date of Birth: December 8, 1949

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Nancy Meyers is an American director, screenwriter, and producer.

Nancy was previously married to filmmaker Charles Shyer. Charles is also of Jewish heritage.

Nancy’s maternal grandparents were Matthew August Lemisch (the son of Harry Millo Lemisch) and Anne Fuhrman.

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Place of Birth: Paris, France

Date of Birth: 13 April 1968

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish (paternal grandfather), French

Jeanne Balibar is a French actress and singer.

She is the daughter of Étienne Balibar, a French Marxist philosopher, and physicist Françoise Balibar. Her father was born in Avallon, Yonne, Burgundy.

Jeanne’s paternal grandfather was from a Ukrainian Jewish family that moved to France at the beginning of the 20th century.

Source: http://www.lemonde.fr

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Birth Name: Eugene Kal Siskel

Date of Birth: January 26, 1946

Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois

Date of Death: February 20, 1999

Place of Death: Evanston, Illinois

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Gene Siskel was an American film critic and journalist. He wrote for the Chicago Tribune and co-hosted a film review television series with Roger Ebert.

Gene’s parents, Ida (Kalis) and Nathan William Siskel, were Russian Jews.

Gene’s paternal grandparents were William Siskel (the son of Jawb Siskel) and Mary.

Gene’s maternal grandparents were Abraham Kalnitzky Kalis (the son of Harry Kalis Kalnitzky) and Eva Mazelas (the daughter of Mandel Mazelas and Fredda Issaks).

Birth Name: Alexander Jerome Gould

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California

Date of Birth: May 4, 1994

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Alexander Gould is an American actor. He is a practicing Conservative Jew.

Alexander’s paternal grandparents are Harold I. Gould (born Harold I. Evans, the son of Gene D. Evans and Beatrice Cecile Altman) and Elizabeth Goldberg (the daughter of Louis Goldberg and Helen Schorr). Alexander’s grandfather Harold’s surname was changed from “Evans” to “Gould”, the surname of his own stepfather, Erwin Gould. Alexander’s great-grandfather Gene Evans was either born in New York, to parents from Russia, or was born in Russia himself, as well. Beatrice was born in New York, to parents from Poland. Louis was born in London, England, and Helen was born in New York, both to families from Eastern Europe.

Alexander’s maternal grandparents are Stanford Ivan Zisser (the son of Lesser Jerome Zisser and Dorothy Bloom) and Miriam Berna Ginsburg (the daughter of Alexander Kipsan Ginsburg and Bertha Blackman). Lesser was born in Pennsylvania, to a father who was born in Russia, and to a mother who was born in New York, to parents from Russia. Dorothy was born in Poland. Alexander’s great-grandfather Alexander Ginsburg was born in Oregon, to parents from Romania. Alexander’s matrilineal great-grandmother Bertha Blackman was born in Oregon, to parents from Russia, Abe Blackman and Rebecca Broffman.

Sources: Genealogy of Alexander Gould (focusing on his mother’s side) – http://www.geni.com

Alexander’s paternal grandfather, Harold I. Evans (later Harold I. Gould), on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Harold I. Evans (Harold I. Gould) on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Alexander’s paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Goldberg, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Alexander’s maternal great-grandfather, Lesser Jerome Zisser, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Alexander’s maternal great-grandfather, Alexander Kipsan Ginsburg, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Alexander’s maternal great-grandmother, Bertha Blackman, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

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Birth Name: Michael Coletti

Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio

Date of Birth: January 22, 1965

Ethnicity: Italian (father), Jewish (mother)

Steven Adler is an American musician. He is mostly known as a former drummer for rock band Guns N’ Roses.

He is the son of an Italian-American (Catholic) father, Michael “Mike” Coletti, and a Jewish mother, Deanna. “Adler” is his stepfather’s surname.

Steven’s paternal grandfather was Tony Coletti.

Steven’s maternal grandmother (“Big Lilly”) was a Polish Jewish immigrant from Warsaw, who moved to U.S. in 1939. She lost all her relatives in Holocaust.

Steven attended Bancroft Junior High School in California, where he met future Guns N’ Roses member Slash.

Source: Steven Adler, Lawrence J. Spagnola – My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N’ Roses.

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Birth Name: Eliza Sophie Caird

Place of Birth: Westminster, London, England

Date of Birth: 15 April 1988

Ethnicity:
*56.25% English
*25% Ashkenazi Jewish (Russian Jewish)
*18.75% Scottish

Eliza Doolittle is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. She is the daughter of John Caird, a stage director and writer, and Frances Ruffelle, an actress and recording artist.

Eliza’s paternal grandfather was G. B. Caird (the son of George Caird and Esther Love Bradford). G.B. was a churchman and theologian. Eliza’s great-grandfather George was born in Dundee, Scotland, to George Caird and Margaret Wood Butchart. Esther was also born in Dundee, Scotland, to John Samuel Bradford, who was English, and Mary Cumming, who was Scottish.

Eliza’s paternal grandmother was Viola Mary Newport (the daughter of Ezra Benjamin Newport and Emily Lilian Overington). Ezra was the son of Samuel Newport and Frances Brown. Emily was the daughter of Ernest Overington and Clara Duffield.

Eliza’s maternal grandparents are Norman Albert Ruffell (the son ? Ruffell and ? Ellis) and Sylvia Young (the daughter of Abraham Bakal and Sophie Wexler). Sylvia founded the theatre school Sylvia Young Theatre School. Sylvia is of Ashkenazi Jewish (Russian Jewish) descent. One of Sylvia’s grandmothers was born in Belgium, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Through that line, Eliza is related to revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

Sources: Eliza’s birth record – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Eliza’s parents – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Eliza’s paternal grandparents, G. B. Caird and Viola Mary Newport – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s paternal grandfather, G. B. Caird – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s paternal grandmother, Viola Mary Newport – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Eliza’s paternal great-grandparents, Ezra Benjamin Newport and Emily Lilian Overington – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s paternal great-grandfather, Ezra Benjamin Newport – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Eliza’s paternal great-great-grandparents, Samuel Newport and Frances Brown – https://familysearch.org

Baptismal record of Eliza’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Frances Brown – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s paternal great-grandmother, Emily Lilian Overington – https://familysearch.org

Baptismal record of Eliza’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Ernest Overington – https://familysearch.org

Baptismal record of Eliza’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Clara Duffield – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s mother – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Eliza’s maternal grandparents, Norman Albert Ruffell and Sylvia Young – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s maternal grandfather, Norman Albert Ruffell – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Eliza’s maternal grandmother, Sylvia Young – https://familysearch.org

News article about Eliza’s maternal grandmother, Sylvia Young’s, ancestry – http://www.standard.co.uk

Marriage record of Eliza’s maternal great-grandparents, Abraham Bakal and Sophie Wexler – https://familysearch.org

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Birth Name: Frances Jane Ruffell

Place of Birth: Redbridge, Essex, England

Date of Birth: 29 August 1965

Ethnicity:
*English (father)
*Ashkenazi Jewish (mother)

Frances Ruffelle is an English musical theatre actress and recording artist. She is the daughter of Sylvia Young, founder of the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and Norman Albert Ruffell. Frances is the mother of musician Eliza Doolittle. She was married to stage director and writer John Caird.

Frances’ paternal grandparents were ? Ruffell and ? Ellis.

Frances’ maternal grandparents were Abraham Bakal and Sophie Wexler.

Sources: Frances’ birth record – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Frances’ parents – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Frances’ father – https://familysearch.org

Birth record of Frances’ mother – https://familysearch.org

News article about Frances’ mother’s ancestry – http://www.standard.co.uk

Marriage record of Frances’ maternal grandparents, Abraham Bakal and Sophie Wexler – https://familysearch.org

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Birth Name: Sylvia Bakal

Place of Birth: Whitechapel, London, England

Date of Birth: 18 September 1939

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish (Russian Jewish)

Sylvia Young is the founder and principal of Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, England. She is the daughter of Sophie (Wexler) and Abraham Bakal. Sylvia is the mother of actress and musician Frances Ruffelle, and the maternal grandmother of musician Eliza Doolittle. She is of Ashkenazi Jewish (Russian Jewish) descent. Sylvia is married to Norman Albert Ruffell.

One of her grandmothers was born in Belgium, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Through that line, she is related to revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

Sources: Sylvia’s birth record – https://familysearch.org

News article about Sylvia’s ancestry – http://www.standard.co.uk

Marriage record of Sylvia’s parents – https://familysearch.org

Birth Name: Kseniya Aleksandrovna Rappoport

Place of Birth: Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR

Date of Birth: March 25, 1974

Ethnicity: Jewish, possibly other

Ksenia Rappoport is a Russian actress. It is not clear if one or both of her parents are Jewish.

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Birth Name: Frank Theodore Levine

Place of Birth: Bellaire, Ohio

Date of Birth: May 29, 1957

Ethnicity:
*Ashkenazi Jewish (father)
*English (mother)

Ted Levine is an American actor.

His father was from a Russian Jewish family. His mother had English ancestry.

Ted’s mother has also been said to have Welsh and Native American ancestry. It is not clear if this Welsh and Native American ancestry has been documented/verified.

Ted’s paternal grandparents were Morris Levine (the son of Abraham I. Levine and Yetta Podnos/Padnos) and Frances Slonim (the daughter of Chaim Eliezer Daniel Slonim and Esther M. Stupack). Morris was a Russian Jewish immigrant. Frances was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents.

Ted’s maternal grandparents were Willis John Clark and Eliza J. Chatterton (the daughter of Anna V.).

Sources: Ted’s father on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Ted’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Ted’s maternal grandmother, Eliza J. Chatterton, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

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Place of Birth: Guilford, Connecticut

Date of Birth: February 2, 1970

Ethnicity:
*English, with some Swedish, Irish, French, and Scottish (father)
*Ashkenazi Jewish (mother)

Jennifer Westfeldt is an American actress and screenwriter.

She is the daughter of Constance “Connie” (Meyers) and Patrick McLoskey Westfeldt, Jr. Her father has English, as well as some Swedish, Irish, French, and Scottish, ancestry. Her mother is Jewish (of German Jewish and Russian Jewish descent).

Jennifer’s patrilineal line goes back to her great-great-great-grandfather, Gustavus Adolphus George Westfeldt, a Swedish immigrant, and to his wife, Jennifer’s great-great-great-grandmother Jane McCloskey, who was born in Cavan, Ireland.

Jennifer’s paternal grandfather was Patrick McLoskey Westfeldt, Sr. (the son of Wallace Ogden Westfeldt and Alice B. Vairin). Wallace was the son of Patrick McLoskey Westfeldt and Louise Bell Ogden. Alice was the daughter of Nugent Beverly Vairin and Alice Baldwin.

Jennifer’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Virginia Weems (the daughter of Wharton Ewell Weems and Mathilde Booth). Wharton was the son of Benjamin Francis Weems and Maria Nash Carrington. Mathilde was the daughter of Horace Drake Booth and Mathilde J. Boon. Jennifer’s grandmother Elizabeth later re-married to orchestra conductor Izler Solomon, who was Jewish.

Jennifer’s maternal grandparents were Karl Meyers and Shirlee Miriam Meyer (the daughter of Isaac Meyer and Anita Silberstein). Karl was a Jewish immigrant from Koenigsburg, Prussia. Isaac and Anita were born in New York, and all of their own parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. Anita’s mother was named Sophie/Sophia.

Sources: Obituary of Jennifer’s paternal grandfather, Patrick McLoskey Westfeldt, Sr. – http://obits.dignitymemorial.com

Jennifer’s paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Virginia Weems, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Jennifer’s maternal grandmother, Shirlee Miriam Meyer, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

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