Jewish actors in hollywood

Hollywood has boasted a strong Jewish presence since its earliest days, due to the mass migration of European Jewry to America during the early twentieth century.

By the 1930s, six out of eight major Hollywood studios were owned and managed by Jews, and although many were secular and had distanced themselves from religious lifestyles, they still were often unashamedly Jewish.

Jewish Hollywood in the twentieth century has been described as being very socially Jewish, if not culturally. Jewish people in Hollywood often formed their own social circles, separate from the wider groups of colleagues and associates.

Some of the most notable Hollywood Jews from the last century include Marilyn Monroe, Lenny Bruce, and Groucho Marx.

Today, Hollywood has as strong a Jewish presence as ever, with many Jews who even speak openly about their Jewish identities, such as Beanie Feldstein, Ben Platt, and Mayim Bialik.

The loud, the quiet, and the hateful: Inside Hollywood's war over Israel

As Hollywood turns on Israel, some stars speak up, while claims of a pro-Israel blacklist collide with reality

SEPTEMBER 28, 2026|ByHANNAH BROWN

Lawrence Bender, pictured here with Israeli actress Rotem Sela, producer of ‘Red Alert,’ is among other Hollywood figures involved with The Brigade, a group formed by Jewish entertainment figures and allies, who have challenged antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the industry.

Actor Lizzy Caplan appears on an episode of PBS' "Finding Your Roots."

Jewish actor Lizzy Caplan discovers her family's unknown Holocaust story in 'Finding Your Roots'

In Tuesday’s episode of the PBS celebrity genealogy series “Finding Your Roots,” Caplan learns that one of her ancestors survived four camps - and that his wife and baby were murdered.

JANUARY 27, 2026|ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA

Hollywood star chosen as an ambassador for the Kérastase hair brand

American actress Sidney Sweeney, known for her roles in "The White Lotus" and "Euphoria", chosen as global ambassador for luxury hair brand Kérastase.

FEBRUARY 20, 2024|ByLEE SIVILIA

Alex Borstein, left, and Rachel Brosnahan in a scene from Season 3 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

‘Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Fleishman,’ Natasha Lyonne among Jewish nominees at strike-delayed Emmys

The awards come in a new context for show business and the Jewish world: one in which parts of Hollywood are wearing pins in support of Israeli hostages while the other criticizes Israel.

JANUARY 12, 2024|ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA

'State of the Nation' may switch to Channel 10

Popular satirical news show many be switching channels.

JANUARY 8, 2015ByGREER FAY CASHMAN

Channel 10

Into the fray: Israel’s only option

The Jewish state must respond to Palestinian unilateralism with unilateralism of its own.

DECEMBER 25, 2014ByMARTIN SHERMAN

An Israeli soldier aims his weapon during clashes with activists and Palestinian protesters following a demonstration near Ramallah

Global agenda: Consequences

The central feature of any assessment of '15 is the need to trace the consequences of the oil-price crash, whether at level of the individual firm, sector, national economy or at the global level.

DECEMBER 25, 2014ByPINCHAS LANDAU

Money [illustrative]

At courts forum, Rivlin speaks out on public corruption

Rivlin's comments came hours after the disclosure of the country’s latest political corruption scandal.

DECEMBER 25, 2014ByGREER FAY CASHMAN

PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN speaks in the capital, December 2014.

People with special needs are a natural resource

Firstly, we must learn to listen to them – to their insights, life lessons and the ways they’ve learned to survive in this hard world.

DECEMBER 20, 2014ByRAFI FEUERSTEIN

A DOCTOR and a professor of rehabilitation help a man at a school of medicine

Sony chairman hits back at Obama, stands by company’s decision to pull film

A bewildered Hollywood decries studio move.

DECEMBER 20, 2014ByNOA AMOUYAL

North Korea supreme leader Kim Jong-un

Clinic cited for multiple failings in treatment of late comedian Joan Rivers

US government agency reports that New York outpatient clinic did not follow all the standard protocols during the throat procedures it conducted on star.

NOVEMBER 11, 2014ByREUTERS

Comedian Joan Rivers

It's 'Jewish Independence Day' in the United States

This year, October 24/25 is the new July 4, as Jews across America get ready to relinquish their dependence on screens and mass media.

OCTOBER 11, 2014BySIMON APFEL

Mayim Bialik of the hit sitcom 'Big Bang Theory'

Jon Stewart: I am not anti-Israel

Daily Show host sat down with 'Hollywood Reporter' ahead of premier of his directorial debut, "Rosewater."

AUGUST 31, 2014ByJTA

Jon Stewart

Jewish Moviemaker Paul Mazursky dies at 84

The innovative director had a long career making movies that both defined their times and were a little bit ahead of them.

JULY 2, 2014ByHANNAH BROWN

Five-time Oscar nominee Paul Mazursky wrote and directed some of the most culturally significant and quirky comedies of the late ’60s and ’70s.