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Hispanic and Jewish? Hispanic Celebrities Who are Proud of Their Jewish Faith
As Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated today September 15th, it’s time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the future. It is also a moment to celebrate the diversity of Jewish history, traditions, and heritage. While Hispanic and Jewish cultures may seem like two separate worlds, many celebrities have embraced both their Hispanic and Jewish roots.
In honor of both Rosh Hashanah and National Hispanic Heritage Month, which spans from September 15th to October 15th, we’ve rounded up some of the most famous Hispanic celebrities who celebrate their Jewish heritage.
Joaquin Phoenix
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Born in Puerto Rico to Ashkenazi parents from Hungary and Russia, Joaquin Phoenix is a secular Jew. His family belonged to the religious cult “The Children of God” during his childhood, which traveled throughout South America, but they eventually left this religion and returned to the US with a new last name, Phoenix, because they “rose from the ashes.”
Then, the family turned to Judaism and Joaquin has stated in recent years that he is, indeed, Jewish. According to a 2011 article from The Guardian, Joaquin’s maternal grandparents, who were Jewish, emigrated from Russia to the Bronx where his mother, Arlyn, was born.
He told Buzz in 2018, “My parents believed in God. I’m Jewish, my mom’s Jewish, but she believes in Jesus, she felt a connection to that. But they were never religious. I don’t remember going to church, maybe a couple of times.”
Bruno Mars
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Bruno Mars was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to an Ashkenazi Puerto Rican father, Peter Hernandez, and a Filipino mother, Bernadette San Pedro Bayot, who has Spanish and Chinese ancestry.
From his dad’s side of the family, he’s one-quarter Jewish, with his ancestry hailing from Hungary and Ukraine. Bruno’s Ukrainian immigrant ancestor, a one-time Hebrew teacher, entered America not through Ellis Island, but through the port of Galveston, Texas as part of the Galveston Movement.
Also Read: Bruno Mars’ complex heritage: Debating the Afro-Latino label
Gina Rodríguez
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In a 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gina, who is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents, discussed wanting to be the Latino Meryl Streep and how she craves more Latino representation in the media.
“Television and film are supposed to be a reflection of reality, right? We just want to see a slice of life. We want to be able to connect. We want to cry. We want to look at our lives on screen. It’s clear to me that execs need to step outside of their office and really look at life. We are in interracial relationships. We speak multiple languages. We’re multiple religions inside of that. I have Jewish ancestors. My sister converted to Judaism. I have Christians and Catholics and Buddhists in my family. I have multiracial, multiethnic relationships. We need to start casting color-blind because there is no specific anymore.”
Rodriguez’s maternal grandfather was a French-Italian Jew. In April 2016, she tweeted, “I have Jewish family, yes.” In a 2016 Latina profile, Gina is identified as an “Afro-Latina, part-Jewish NYU graduate.”
David Blaine:
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David Blaine has performed many death-defying stunts, such as being buried alive and encased in a block of ice. Blaine has also worked on various television shows and has been featured in many documentaries
Blaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of a single mother, Patrice White, a teacher who was of Russian Jewish ancestry, and a father who is a Vietnam War veteran of Puerto Rican and Italian descent.
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