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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
