It’s True-ish, They’re Jewish! A True/False Quiz

1. Jason Biggs: False. He looks Jewish and plays Jewish, but is actually Italian-American.

2. Lauren Bacall: True. Not only is Betty Joan Perske Jewish, her parents were from Poland and Romania, and her first cousin is Shimon Peres, the ninth and current prez of the State of Israel! Hatikvah, baby!

3. Ben Affleck: False. Though there were Internet rumors that Affleck was Jewish, he’s a goy through and through.

4. Lisa Bonet: True. Her mother is Jewish. Curveball!

5. Julio Iglesias: True-ish. Though his mother is Jewish, he proclaims he is, “Jewish from the waist up.” Thus we can infer that his Sephardic schmeckle is still wearing the schmatta it rode in on!

6. Roseanne Barr: True. This presidential nominee and “domestic goddess” is a Jewess through and through.

7. Orlando Bloom: False. When he was a child he was under the impression that his aba was Jewish novelist Harry Saul Bloom, but then, oopsy, his mom let the goy out of the bag when she revealed that Orlando’s real dad was some sheygitz named Colin Stone.

8. David Arquette: Truish. Courtney Cox’s famous ex was born on a Buddhist commune in Virgina to a Jewish mother and a gentile father who converted to Islam. In fact, the Arquette family celebrated both Passover and Ramadan. Additionally, Arquette's maternal grandfather was a Holocaust refugee from Nazi-occupied Poland.

9. Alicia Silverstone: True. Her mother converted to marry none other than Cher Horowitz’s daddy Monty Silverstone.

10. Ally Sheedy: True. Her mother is Jewish.

11. Sandra Bullock: False-ish. Though there was some speculation that her mother, German opera singer Helga Meyer, was Jewish, not to mention the fact that Bullock herself hired a mohel to circumcise her adopted son—wha?—Sandy B. is not Jewish.

12. Elizabeth Berkley: True. Not only is Hollywood’s fave show-goil Jewish on both sides, she is also a practicing Yid!

13. Amanda Peet: True. This hot mama’s mama is Jewish

14. Ben Kingsley: False. Kingsley’s father was Muslim and his mother was a Brit whose father was possibly a Jew.

15. Courtney Love: True. Forget her anti-Semitic ravings about “Jew loan officers” and “Jew private banks,” Love’s mom is sadly of the Tribe.

16. Daniel Day Lewis: True. This triple-threat Oscar winner’s mom’s a Jew.

17. Sharon Stone: False. Though she married two Jews, Michael Greenburg and Phil Bronstein, she never converted. Get with the program, Ginger!

18. Lea Michelle: False. Though her dad is a Sephardic Jew, her mom is Italian Catholic.

19. Natalie Portman: True. This Jewish-identified Oscar winner is also openly pro-Israel.

20. Jake Gyllenhaal: True. Not only does Jacob Benjamin identify himself as, “more Jewish than anything else,” he also had his bar mitzvah party at a homeless shelter; his parents wanted to remind him how lucky he was to have a privileged upbringing. Meantime, sis Maggie got to have her bat at the Four Seasons.

21. Helen Hunt: False. Her paternal grandmother hails from a German Jewish family, but Ms. Hunt is not Mad about Jew.

22. Jennifer Connelly: True. This cerebral and generous uber-talent’s mother is Jewish. She also went to high school with the author.

23. Harrison Ford: True. His maternal grandmother is Jewish! Best news ever! Han Solo is Jewish!

 

24. Mimi Rogers: False. This looker was born Miriam Spickler, the daughter of a gentile mother and a Jewish father who became a Scientologist. Mimi followed in his footsteps and infamously introduced her then-husband Tom Cruise to the Church of Scientology.

25. Selma Blair: True. This Legally Blonde star had a Jewish upbringing, and a Hebrew name to boot: Batsheva.

26. Seth Rogen: True. This schlepper’s parents met on a kibbutz!

27. Goldie Hawn: True. Hawn’s a practicing Bu-Jew and an avid supporter of Israel.

28. Andrew Dice Clay: True. Andy Clay’s parents are Doris and Fred Silverstein.

29. Whoopi Goldberg: False. Even though Whoopi’s bubbe is named Rachel Freedman, she wasn’t Jewish. Neither is Whoopi’s mom.

30. Lena Dunham: True. Don’t be fooled by the WASPy name. The writer, director and star of HBO’s girls is a shayna maidel.

31. Henry Winkler: True. Arthur Fonzarelli is clearly Jewish. He’s also a statue in Milwaukee.

32. Judd Apatow: True. Apatow’s a triple threat, writer, director and JEW!

33. Tori Spelling: True. All the nose jobs in the world can’t hide the fact that Donna Martin’s a Jew! Plus her dad is the undisputed king of schlock TV and what’s more Jewish than that?

34. Madeline Kahn: True. Mel Brooks’ muse was nominated for a Academy Award for her portrayal of Lili Von Shtupp the “Teutonic Titwillow” in Blazing Saddles.

35. Steve Carell:False. This big nosed funny man’s not remotely Jewish.

36. Paul Rudd: True. This cute, snuggly funny man’s a Jew.

37. Jon Hamm: False. Hamm ain’t kosher.

38. Mark Wahlberg: False. Somehow this Irish boy’s name ends in berg, but Marky-Mark and his funky bunch—thank you, Calvin Klein—are not Jewish.

https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/conversation/its-trueish-theyre-jewish-a-true-fale-quiz-answers