When thinking of Jewish actresses, often those that come to mind are the women that take on Jewish roles like Barbra Streisand and Fran Drescher, while it’s easy to pass over a lot of other actresses with Jewish heritage. So in honor of Passover, here’s a look at the actresses whose Jewish roots are rather surprising:
Mila Kunis
Fellow Jewish actress Natalie Portman may have gotten more critical acclaim for her role in “Black Swan,” but it seems that this Ukraine-born beauty is well on her way to becoming just as big of a name. Kunis’ family faced plenty of anti-Semitism in communist Russia, but now she describes herself as a “super-Jew.” Up next Mila will be starring in the July movie “Friends with Benefits” alongside Justin Timberlake. It’s a comedy about a girl and guy deciding to have sex with no strings attached (a lot like Portman’s movie “No Strings Attached”). Kunis may be newly single after her split from actor Macaulay Culkin, but Charlie Sheen’s recent announcement that he is Jewish isn’t enough to win the actress over — Mila is pretty grossed out by the idea of his offer to make her one of his “goddesses.”
Scarlett Johansson
This blonde bombshell is another beautiful actress that might be celebrating Passover, and is another of Natalie’s costars. The two starred as sisters in “The Other Boleyn Girl,” with Portman dubbing their Jewish pairing “the Hot Knishes” (in response to Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek being called “the Hot Tamales”). Johansson’s mother is of Jewish descent, so she was raised observing Jewish holidays (but doesn’t speak Hebrew like Portman). Like Natalie, whose movie “Thor” hits theaters May 6, Scarlett has been working on a superhero movie — she’s reportedly been training hard for the highly-anticipated silver screen version of “The Avengers.” But of course it’s her rumored relationship with much older actor Sean Penn that has been making headlines. The two have reportedly moved in together, and the actress has even had to deny pregnancy rumors. She and Penn do have their heritage in common — like Scarlett, he has one Jewish parent, his late TV director dad Leo Penn.
Nikki Reed
Nikki is another Jewish gal making headlines for who she is dating. She and “American Idol” reject Paul McDonald might be an item, but that doesn’t mean he’s a fan of her movies — he recently said he’d never watch any of the “Twilight” saga (now there will be a lot of girls out there glad he got the boot in the singing competition!). The cute crooner also says he’s never seen any of her other movies, so that means he missed out on her starring in “Thirteen,” which she co-wrote. That movie about wild, troubled teens also starred the next Jewish actress on this list.
Evan Rachel Wood
Like Nikki, Evan has also starred as a bloodsucker, playing the vampire Queen of Louisiana in the TV series “True Blood.” The actress says she was raised by a Jewish mother that made every boyfriend in her life miserable (wonder if that includes Marilyn Manson?). Currently the versatile young actress is starring in the movie “The Conspirator,” which focuses on Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Wood has also starred alongside the next Jewish actress on this list.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Paltrow and Wood played sisters in the movie “Running with Scissors,” but despite Gwyneth’s kooky Christian role in the movie, she has deep Jewish roots. In fact, on the TV series “Who Do You Think You Are?” the Kabbalah-practicing actress found out that that her great-great-great grandfather was a well-respected rabbi that was a master of Kabbalah, and evidently a miracle-worker — a book Paltrow read from recounted how he once extinguished a house fire by simply waiving a handkerchief toward it. Paltrow might not possess this kind of power, but she certainly has been enchanting audiences by re-teaming up with “Running with Scissors” director Ryan Murphy to play teacher Holly Holiday in the hit series “Glee.”
Dianna Agron
Speaking of “Glee,” despite playing a devout Catholic/teen mom on the show, Agron is actually Jewish, while her costar Lea Michele has an Italian-Catholic mother and plays a “Jewish American Princess” on the show (her father in real life is Jewish). The girls’ characters might not get along on the show, but in real life they are so close that Dianna has had to deny that she and Lea are a couple (although she is flattered that people think she could land a beauty like Lea).
Kate Hudson
Kate revealed that she enjoyed playing a goofy German character in the movie “Alex & Emma” because of her Jewish background, but she also takes it seriously — the actress lent her voice to the documentary film “I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust,” which featured readings from diaries of young men and women who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust. Up next she’ll be starring in a genre she knows well, playing a bride-to-be whose fiance sleeps with her best friend right before her wedding in the June 10 romantic comedy “Something Borrowed.” But don’t feel too bad for Kate’s character Darcy — she stole the guy from her best friend (who is played by the next actress on this list) first.
Ginnifer Goodwin
She may have played one of the multiple wives of a Mormon man on “Big Love,” but in real life Ginnifer is Jewish like her “He’s Just Not That Into You” costar Scarlett. And like her “Something Borrowed” costar Kate (who is pregnant with Matt Bellamy’s baby), she recently had a bit of good relationship news — she got engaged to boyfriend Joey Kern last year (hopefully in real life she won’t have to worry about Hudson stealing him away!).
Of course there are plenty of other actresses that could be celebrating Passover that were passed over here, and hopefully they all do a good job laying off the chametz this time of year.
More From This Contributor:
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10 Best Summer Romantic Comedies of 2011
Natalie Portman’s “Black Swan” Stunt Ballerina and Other Double Trouble
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