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30 Celebrities Who Celebrate Hanukkah

With the holidays right around the corner, sometimes we can forget about the other traditions happening all around us. We never know who could be celebrating Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Boxing Day, or nothing at all. And you might actually be surprised by how many people we know who celebrate the Jewish tradition of Hannukah.

Hannukah—also spelled as Chanukah, which is the more traditional spelling—is the Jewish holiday that typically happens at the end of November or early December. It is an eight-day celebration that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem circa 166 B.C. However, when their leader ordered the ceremonial menorah lit, which was supposed to be kept burning each night, there was only enough oil to light it for one night. But, miracle of miracles, the flames stayed lit for eight nights, allowing the Jews to find another source. From there, the sages proclaimed that an eight-day festival should be held each year—giving us the tradition that is Hannukah.

Just in case there isn’t anyone you know personally who happens to celebrate this tradition, we wondered who we might know who does. From Natalie Portman to Scarlett Johansson to James Franco, check out these 30 celebrities who celebrate Chanukah instead of Christmas.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman was actually born Neeta Lee Hershlag in Jerusalem, Isreal. She still has dual citizenship in both the United States and Jerusalem and speaks fluent Hebrew.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum

Shameless star Emmy Rossum’s mother was of Jewish-Russian descent and the actress has said herself that she’s “Jewish and Proud.” She came out publicly in support of other Jews in Hollywood in 2016 when she came to Winona Ryder’s defense on Twitter in response to an anti-Semitic remark made by Mel Gibson.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Drake

Drake

In 2014, Rolling Stone called Drake “the biggest Jewish rapper since the Beastie Boys.” Drake has said that he’s proud to be Jewish and frequently posts photos on his social media of his family gathered for Jewish holidays.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Seth Rogan

Seth Rogan

Seth Rogen came out as Jewish from the very beginning of his career, often including funny one-liners in his films about his religion. As a matter of fact, Rogan just released his “most Jewish film” to date on HBO Max in August of 2020, titled An American Pickle in which he plays not one, but two Jewish roles.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield

Although he was raised in a secular household, the Hacksaw Ridge actor told Jimmy Kimmel in an interview that he’s proud of his Jewish heritage back in 2016. His paternal grandparents were from Jewish immigrant families, from Russia and Romania, who escaped to London to avoid religious persecution.

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Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman

In 2016, Hoffman appeared on a PBS genealogy show and learned that both his paternal grandfather and great-grandfather were killed by secret Soviet police and his grandmother had survived a Jewish concentration camp. Ask the actor what he is now, and he’ll tell you he’s Jewish although he had never identified as such until he learned of his ancestry.

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Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal

Although he was raised with only a little formal exposure to Judaism, the actor identifies as Jewish due to his mother’s influence. He didn’t even have a formal Bar Mitzvah! Instead, he said a few prayers with his mother and went and volunteered at a homeless shelter.

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Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill

Born Jonah Hill Feldstein, his L.A. friends growing up used to call him Jonah the Jew. Hill has referred to himself in the past as a “nice Jewish boy” and most of his earlier characters were notoriously of Jewish heritage. 

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Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman

Although Sarah Silverman wasn’t raised with a religious upbringing, she says that being Jewish just seemed to “ooze” out of their pores. She frequently makes disparaging jokes about her religion in her stand up, but she has been seen to celebrate Hanukkah with her sisters at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in the past.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik

Although the subject of her religion usually doesn’t come up much, Mayim has always been proud of her heritage. As a matter of fact, she earned her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with a minor in Jewish and Hebrew studies in 2000.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Gordon-Levitt was raised in L.A. by parents who were prominent members and founders of a well-known progressive Jewish alliance. He’s never denied his heritage in the past, but it was never more evident than in 2018 when he and Seth Rogan went on Drop the Mic to rap battle and Rogan tore Gordon-Levitt up with jokes about his Jewishness.

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Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg’s family were Jewish immigrants from Poland, Russia and Ukraine and he’s been known to play quite a few Jewish roles in his career. Although he was raised in a secular household, many of his latest projects center around the Jewish culture, including his upcoming film about famous mime Marcel Marceau.

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Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler has always been open—and often hilarious—when it comes to being Jewish. He’s even had his famous “Chanukah Song” adapted into an animated film about Hanukkah called Eight Crazy Nights.

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Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in New York City, Woody Allen grew up attending Hebrew school for the first eight years. He incorporates his culture into his work, as many of the characters he has written for his films—including his own—are Jewish as well.

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Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand

Babs has been openly Jewish since her breakout role in Funny Girl, the story about a Jewish girl from the Bronx who found fame in the famous Ziegfeld Follies back in the 1920’s and '30s. As a matter of fact, she happens to be the first successful, openly Jewish woman in show business.

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Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen

Yes, the lovable and annoying and downright hilarious character Borat is actually Jewish! Baron-Cohen actually speaks fluent Hebrew and often incorporates it into his films and comedy sketches.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks was actually raised in a Catholic household. However, when she married Jewish husband Max Handelman, she began the process to convert to Judaism. In 2013, she admitted she hadn’t had a Mikveh, so she’s technically not converted although she’s been a practicing Jew for more than 15 years.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal has always used his Jewish heritage for laughs, both in standup comedy and his films. However, instead of using generalizations and stereotypes, he pokes fun at those he knows and grew up with.

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Bette Midler

Bette Midler

Bette Midler was born to Jewish parents in Hawaii and admits that as a child she didn’t know what being Jewish even meant. However, as an adult, she credits her Jewish roots for her “witty understanding of a confusing world,” according to jwa.org.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Eli Roth

Eli Roth

Producer, actor and writer Eli Roth’s family were Jews from Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland who immigrated to the United States. As a result of his upbringing, in addition to English, Roth speaks French, Italian and Russian.

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Liev Schreiber

Liev Schreiber

This one may seem like a no-brainer, considering Liev Schreiber appeared in a Holocaust movie, Defiance in 2009. In an interview with The Times of Isreal, Schreiber said that he credits his grandfather, who really raised him like a father, for his connection to his roots.

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Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones

Actress, Harvard graduate and daughter of the great Quincy Jones—Rashida Jones was raised in Reform Judaism by her Ashkenazi Jewish mother. Her maternal grandmother was born in Dublin, Ireland, of Eastern European Jewish origin.

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Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum

Jurassic Park and The Fly actor Jeff Goldblum was born and raised by Jewish parents in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania and attended an Orthodox synagogue. At the age of 13, Goldblum decided he wanted to become a performer while learning the Torah for his bar Mitzvah.

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Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld

Born Jerome Allen Seinfeld in Brooklyn, New York, Jerry’s parents were Hungarian-Jewish and Syrian-Jewish. His barrier-breaking hit show Seinfeld helped to change how people viewed Jews and brought Jewish culture to the forefront.

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Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller was born to Jewish actors and comedians, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, in New York City. Although she was raised Catholic, Anne Meara converted to Judaism and so the family actually celebrates both Christian and Jewish holidays.

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Noah Schnapp

Noah Schnapp

Strangely enough, Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp was born to Jewish parents from Montreal, Canada. When he turned 13 in 2018, the young actor got to have his bar mitzvah in Isreal.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Lauren Cohan

Lauren Cohan

Lauren Cohan, mostly known for her role as Maggie Green from The Walking Dead, was born Christian, but when her mother remarried her mother decided to convert to Judaism for her new husband. Lauren has been raised in the faith since she was five years old, and even had a bat mitzvah.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Zac Efron

Zac Efron

Efron is actually a Jewish last name derived from the Biblical place Ephron and was originally of the same spelling. Zac identifies as Jewish but has always said that he was raised agnostically, so he doesn’t practice any religion at all.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett was born in New York City to a Danish-born architect father and an Ashkenazi Jewish producer mother. In a 2017 episode of the PBS television show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Johansson learned that she had ancestors who lived in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.

(Image via Wikipedia)

James Franco

James Franco

Franco, like the rest of his Knocked-Up buddies who were mentioned earlier in this list, has described himself as Jewish and said that his mother was Jewish, although he had a secular upbringing. He did have a bar mitzvah performed by a Rabbi in 2015, so it may be safe to say that he lights the menorah each year as well.

(Image via Wikipedia)