The following is an alphabetical list of Famous Jews. The people on the list are notable followers of Judaism (either from birth or following conversion) or people who professed a Jewish cultural identity. The list includes people who distinguished themselves in the fields of religious scholarship, science, politics, literature, business, art, entertainment and sport amongst others.
Most of the names link to Wikipedia articles with more information. For people whose fame has to do with their Judaism, there may be an article on this Judaism Wikia as well, in which case, the link will go to the local article.
A[]
- Paula Abdul (born 1962) American singer.
- Harold Abrahams (1899-1978) British athlete, Olympic gold medal winner whose story is featured in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.
- Roman Abramovich (born 1966) Russian-Israeli billionaire, businessman, investor and politician, owner of the British Premier League soccer team Chelsea Football Club.
- Gracie Abrams (born 1999) American singer-songwriter and daughter J.J. Abrams.
- J.J. Abrams (born 1966) American director.
- Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) Russian Yiddish-language novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works formed the basis of the musical Fiddler on the Roof.
- Jason Alexander (born 1959) American actor, comedian and singer.
- Robert Allen (1927-2000) American song composer.
- Woody Allen (born 1935) American actor, comedian and movie director.
- Herb Alpert (born 1935) American trumpetist, vocalist and recording industry executive.
- Simon Amstell (born 1979) British comedian, TV presenter, actor and screenwriter.
- Eric Andre (born 1983) American comedian, actor, writer and producer.
- Judd Apatow (born 1967) American screenwriter, producer, director, actor and comedian.
- Adam Arkin (born 1956) American TV, film and stage actor and director, son of Alan Arkin.
- Alan Arkin (1934-2023) American actor.
- Tom Arnold (born 1959) American actor and comedian, converted to Judaism in 1990.
- Beatrice Arthur (1922-2009) American actress, comedian and singer.
- Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) American professor of biochemistry, author of science-fiction, fantasy, mysteries and non-fiction books on science, history, Shakespeare and the Bible. Born in Petrovichi, Russia.
- Paul Auster (born 1947) multiple award-winning American author.
- Hank Azaria (born 1964) American actor, voice of many characters on The Simpsons.
B[]
- Lauren Bacall (1924-2014) American actress and singer.
- Burt Bacharach (1928-2023) American pianist, songwriter, composer and record producer.
- David Baddiel (born 1964) British comedian, novelist and television presenter.
- Sacha Baron-Cohen (born 1971) British actor and comedian whose characters include Ali G, Bruno and Borat.
- Max Baer (1909-1959) American heavyweight boxing champion who wore a Star of David on his boxing shorts when in the ring.
- Ralph Bakshi (born 1938) American animator and film director. Born in Haifa, Israel.
- John Banner (1910-1973) Austrian-born American actor best known for playing Sergeant Schultz in Hogan's Heroes.
- Barbara (1930-1997) French singer-songwriter whose birth name was Monique Serf.
- Emma Barnett (born 1985) British journalist, radio and TV presenter.
- Netta Barzilai (born 1993) Israeli singer, winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
- Roseanne Barr (born 1952) American actress, comedienne, writer, TV producer and director.
- Lionel Bart (1930-1999) British composer of pop music and musicals, wrote the musical Oliver!
- Alfie Bass (1916-1987) British stage, film and television actor.
- Jon Bauman (born 1947) American musician who's famous for portraying "Bowzer" as a former member of the cover band Sha Na Na.
- Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) Polish sociologist, essayist and philosopher.
- Madison Beer (born 1999) American singer and songwriter
- Saul Bellow (1915-2005) Canadian-born author.
- John Bercow (born 1963) British politician, Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019.
- Luciana Berger (born 1981) British politician.
- Henri Bergson (1859-1941) Famous French philosopher.
- Milton Berle (1908-2002) American comedian and actor.
- Irving Berlin (1888-1989) American composer and lyricist, one of the most famous and prodigious songwriters in history. Ironically, his compositions included "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade".
- Felix Bernard (1897-1944) American, pianist, conductor and popular music writer.
- Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) World-famous French stage actress.
- Sandra Bernhard (born 1955) American comedienne, actress, singer, and author.
- Joe Besser (1907-1988) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.
- Mayim Bialik (born 1975) American actress, author and neuroscientist.
- Theodore Bikel (1924-2015) Austrian-born American actor, folk singer and musician.
- Laszlo Bíro (1899-1985) Hungarian-born Argentinean inventor and journalist, inventor of the modern ballpoint pen.
- Joey Bishop (1918-2007) American entertainer, member of the "Rat Pack".
- Jack Black (born 1969) American actor, comedian and musician.
- Lewis Black (born 1948) American stand-up comedian and actor.
- Nissim Black (born 1986) American rapper, songwriter and record producer. Converted to Judaism in 2011.
- David Blaine (born 1973) American magician.
- Mel Blanc (1908-1989) American comedian and voice actor, voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and many more cartoon characters.
- Rachel Bloom (born 1987) American actress, comedian, writer, singer, songwriter and producer.
- Lionel Blue (1930-2016) British Reform rabbi, writer, journalist and broadcaster. The first openly gay rabbi in the United Kingdom.
- Steve Blum (born 1960) American voice actor, voice of TOM and Wolverine.
- Judy Blume (born 1936) American author of children's and young adult fiction.
- Steven Bochco (1943-2018) American TV producer and writer who developed Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Doogie Howser, M.D. and NYPD Blue.
- Jerry Bock (1928-2010) American musical theater composer, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner, composed music for Fiddler on the Roof.
- David Bohm (1917-1992) American-born British scientist who contributed unorthodox ideas to the fields of quantum physics, neuropsychology and philosophy of the mind.
- Niels Bohr (1885-1962) Nobel Prize-winning Danish physicist and philosopher.
- Marc Bolan (1947-1977) British musician from the band T-Rex.
- Helena Bonham Carter (born 1966) British actress.
- Issy Bonn (1893-1977) British actor, singer and comedian. Popularized the song My Yiddishe Momme in Britain.
- Victor Borge (1909-2000) Danish-born comedian, pianist and conductor.
- Alex Borstein (born 1971) American actress, writer, producer and comedian, voices Lois in Family Guy and is a cast member of MADtv.
- Bernard Bresslaw (1934-1993) British comedy actor
- Fanny Brice (1891-1951) American comedienne, singer, radio, film and theater actress.
- Sergey Brin (born 1973) Russian-American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Google Inc.
- Matthew Broderick (born 1962) American stage and film actor.
- Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) Nobel Prize-winning Russian-American poet and essayist.
- Adrien Brody (born 1973) American actor.
- Elkie Brooks (born 1945) British singer.
- Mel Brooks (born 1926) American comedy actor, director and film producer.
- Dr. Joyce Brothers (1927-2013) American psychologist, television personality and columnist whose career spanned almost six decades. "The Mother of Media Psychology"
- Lenny Bruce (1925-1966) American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist and screenwriter.
- Jerome Bruner (1915-2016) American psychologist who made significant contributions in the field of educational psychology.
- Brooke Burke (born 1971) American model and actress.
- George Burns (1896-1996) American comedian, actor and writer whose career spanned seven decades
- Red Buttons (1919-2006) American comedian and actor.
C[]
- James Caan (1940-2022) American actor.
- Sammy Cahn (1913-1993) Academy Award winning American songwriter and musician.
- Sid Caesar (1922-2014) American comic actor and writer.
- Eddie Cantor (1892-1964) American comedian, actor, singer and songwriter.
- Al Capp (1909-1979) American cartoonist, creator of the Li'l Abner comic strip.
- Kate Capshaw (born 1953) American actress, best known for playing Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, converted to Judaism in 1991.
- Nell Carter (1948-2003) American actress and singer, converted to Judaism in 1982.
- Michael Chabon (born 1963) American novelist and screenwriter, (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2001).
- Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Russian-French artist.
- Sir Ernst Chain (1906-1979) British scientist, Nobel Prize winner in 1945, co-developer of penicillin. Born in Berlin, Germany.
- Timothee Chalamet (born 1995) French-American actor.
- Noam Chomsky (born 1928) American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist and political activist.
- Robert Clary (born 1926) French-American actor, singer, writer and artist, best known for playing Corporal Louis LeBeau in Hogan's Heroes.
- Lee J. Cobb (1911-1976) American actor.
- Alma Cogan (1932-1966) British pop singer.
- Barbara Cohen (1932-1992) American writer, author of more than thirty children's books, including Molly's Pilgrim.
- Ben Cohen (born 1951) American businessman, activist and philanthropist, co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's.
- Sir Jack Cohen (1898-1979) British businessman, founder of the Tesco supermarket chain.
- Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist.
- Two-Gun Cohen (1887-1970) Polish-born British-Canadian adventurer who became a major-general in the Chinese National Revolutionary Army.
- Jackie Collins (1937-2015) British-American novelist.
- Dame Joan Collins (born 1933) British actress.
- Jennifer Connelly (born 1970) Academy Award-winning American actress.
- Hans Conried (1917-1982) American actor, comedian, singer and voice actor, best known for voicing Captain Hook in the 1953 Disney film Peter Pan.
- David Copperfield (born 1956) American illusionist/magician.
- Billy Crystal (born 1948) American comedian, actor, writer, producer and director.
- Edwina Currie (born 1946) British novelist and broadcaster, former Member of Parliament and Junior Health Minister.
- Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958) Golden Globe-winning American film actress, successful writer of books for children.
- Tony Curtis (1925-2010) American actor.
D[]
- Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) American comedian and actor.
- Jean Daniel (1920-2020) Algerian-born French novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist, founder of the news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur.
- Craig David (born 1981) British R&B singer-songwriter.
- Larry David (born 1947) American actor, writer, comedian and producer.
- Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990) American entertainer, converted to Judaism in 1954.
- Alan Dershowitz (born 1938) American lawyer, legal scholar and civil liberties advocate.
- Neil Diamond (born 1941) American singer-songwriter.
- Daveed Diggs (born 1982) American actor, rapper and singer-songwriter.
- Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) First Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- E.L. Doctorow (1931-2015) American author, best known for his works of historical fiction.
- Kirk Douglas (1916-2020) American actor, director, film producer and writer.
- Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981) American actor.
- Drake (born 1986) Canadian rapper singer songwriter, record producer and actor.
- Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935) French army officer who was falsely convicted of treason.
- Rene Dreyfus (1905 -1993) French racing driver.
- Richard Dreyfuss (born 1947) American film actor
- Bob Dylan (born 1941) American singer-songwriter, artist and writer. Winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.
E[]
- Fred Ebb (1928=2004) American musical theater lyricist.
- Albert Einstein (1879 -1955) American physicist, Nobel Prize winner, Zionist. Born in Ulm, Germany.
- Will Eisner (1917-2005) American cartoonist, writer and entrepreneur who created the series The Spirit and popularized the term "graphic novel".
- Ray Ellington (1916-1985) British jazz musician.
- Harlan Ellison (1934-2018) American writer, chiefly of science fiction.
- Ben Elton (born 1959) British comedian, author, playwright and television director.
- Rahm Emanuel (born 1959) US House Representative, White House Chief of Staff, incumbent Mayor of Chicago.
F[]
- Peter Falk (1927-2011) American actor, best known for playing Lieutenant Columbo on television.
- Moris Farhi (born 1935) Turkish writer and human rights campaigner.
- Nicole Farhi (born 1945) French fashion designer and sculptor.
- Oded Fehr (born 1970): Israeli/American actor, best known for his movie work in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and the popular TV show Covert Affairs.
- Marty Feldman (1934-1982) British comedian, comedy writer and actor.
- Beanie Feldstein (born 1993) American actress.
- Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist and text book writer.
- Fenella Fielding (1927-2018) British stage, film and television actress.
- Larry Fine (1902-1975) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.
- Fyvush Finkel (1922-2016) American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Picket Fences and Boston Public.
- Carrie Fisher (1956-2016) American actress, writer, producer and humorist. Best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series.
- Eddie Fisher (1928-2010) American entertainer.
- Isla Fisher (born 1976) British-Australian actress and author. Converted to Judaism in 2007.
- Bud Flanagan (1896-1968) British comedian and singer, at the height of his popularity during World War II.
- Dave Fleischer (1894-1979) American film director and producer, younger brother of Max Fleischer and co-owner of Fleischer Studios.
- Max Fleischer (1883-1972) American animator, creator of Koko the Klown and Betty Boop, maker of the first animated Popeye cartoons. Born in Krakow, Poland.
- Leon Fleisher (1928-2020) American conductor and renowned classical pianist. The loss of the use of his right hand in 1964 forced him to focus on compositions that could be played with the left hand only.
- Harrison Ford (born 1942) American actor.
- Alessandro Fortis (1842-1909) Prime Minister of Italy from 1905 to 1906.
- Anne Frank (1929-1945) Dutch teenage Holocaust victim and diarist.
- Lucian Freud (1922-2011) British artist.
- Sigmund Freud (1885-1939) Austrian physician, the father of psychoanalysis.
- Debbie Friedman (1951-2011) American musician.
- Stephen Fry (born 1957) British comedian, TV presenter, actor, author and film director.
- Soleil Moon Frye (born 1976) American actress, director and screenwriter. Played the title role in the TV series Punky Brewster as a child.
G[]
- Josh Gad (born 1981) American actor and singer, best known for voicing Olaf the snowman in the 2013 Disney movie Frozen.
- Gal Gadot (born 1985) Israeli model and actress, star of the 2017 movie Wonder Woman.
- Neil Gaiman (born 1960) British novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, comic book and graphic novel writer.
- Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) French singer-songwriter, actor and director.
- Art Garfunkel (born 1941) American musician.
- Mordechai Gebirtig (1877-1942) Polish songwriter and Holocaust victim.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar (born 1977) American actress and producer, best known for playing the title role in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.
- Uri Geller (born 1946) Israeli who claims to have supernatural psychic abilities.
- George Gershwin (1898-1937) American composer and pianist.
- Melissa Gilbert (born 1964) American actress, writer and producer. Starred in Little House on the Prairie as a child actress.
- Hermione Gingold (1897-1987) British actress.
- Bill Goldberg (born 1965) American actor, professional football player and professional wrestler.
- Louise Gluck (1943-2023) American poet and essayist (Nobel Prize in Literature, 2020).
- Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.
- Jeff Goldblum (born 1952) American actor.
- William Goldman (1931-2018) American novelist, playwright and screenwriter.
- Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974) American film producer and movie industry executive. Born in Warsaw, Poland.
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (born 1981) American actor and filmmaker.
- René Goscinny (1926-1977) French comics editor and writer, co-creator of Asterix, also known for his work on the Lucky Luke and Iznogoud comics series.
- Gilbert Gottfried (1955-2022) American stand-up comedian and actor.
- Elliott Gould (born 1938) American actor.
- Lew Grade, Baron Grade (1906-1998) British media proprietor and impresario, founder of ITC Entertainment, commissioned The Muppet Show in 1976. Born in Tokmak, Ukraine.
- Michael Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 1943) British TV executive and businessman, Controller of BBC1 from 1984 to 1986 (during which time he cancelled Doctor Who), Chairman of the BBC from 2004 to 2006.
- Seth Green (born 1974) American actor, comedian, producer, writer and director.
- Norman Greenbaum (born 1942) American singer-songwriter, best known for his song "Spirit in the Sky".
- Hank Greenberg (1911-1986) American professional baseball player.
- Shecky Greene (1926-2023) American comedian known for his nightclub performances in Las Vegas.
- Jerry Greenfield (born 1951) American businessman and philanthropist, co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's.
- Joel Grey (born 1932) American actor, singer, dancer, theater director and photographer. Best known for his Academy Award-winning performance as the Master of Ceremonies in the 1972 film Cabaret.
- Milt Gross (1895-1953) American cartoonist, animator and writer whose best known work is the 1927 book De Night in de Front from Chreesmas.
- Ruth Gruber (1911-2016) American journalist, photographer, writer, humanitarian and government official.
- Béla Guttmann (1899-1981) Hungarian-born soccer player, coach and manager. As a manager, he led the Portuguese team Benfica to two successive European Cup victories in 1961 and 1962.
- Sir Ludwig Guttmaan (1899-1980) German-born British neurologist who established the Paralympic Games.
- Jake Gyllenhaal (born 1980) American actor.
H[]
- Tiffany Haddish (born 1979) American stand-up comedian and actress.
- Albert Hague (1920-2001) German-American songwriter, composer and actor.
- Eric Hall (born 1947) British show business and soccer agent.
- Chelsea Handler (born 1975) American comedian, actress, writer, television host and producer.
- Ruth Handler (1916-2002) American businesswoman, inventor of the Barbie doll, first president of Mattel.
- Mary Hart (born 1950) American TV personality. Converted to Judaism in 1983.
- Laurence Harvey (1928-1973) Lithuanian-born British actor.
- Goldie Hawn (born 1945) American actress, film director and producer.
- Henry Heimlich (1920-2016) American surgeon and medical researcher, widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver.
- Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) German poet, playwright and essayist.
- Joseph Heller (1923-1999) American novelist, author of Catch 22.
- Jerry Herman (1931-2019) American composer and lyricist who wrote the scores for the Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles.
- Steven Hill (1922-2016) American actor, best known for his appearances in the TV series Mission Impossible (1966-1967) and Law & Order (1990-2000).
- Dustin Hoffman (born 1937) American actor, two time Academy Award winner.
- Judy Holliday (1921-1965) American actress, comedian and singer.
- Anthony Horowitz (born 1956) British novelist and screenwriter, creator of Alex Rider.
- Harry Houdini (1874-1926) American magician, escapologist and debunker of the supposedly supernatural. Born in Budapest, Hungary.
- Curly Howard (1903-1952) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.
- Leslie Howard (1893-1943) British actor, played Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind. Died a heroic death in a plane crash as an agent of the British government.
- Moe Howard (1897-1975) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.
- Shemp Howard (1895-1955) American comedian, one of seven performers who at various times formed part of The Three Stooges.
- Sarah Hughes (born 1985) American figure-skater, Olympic gold-medalist.
- Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) German philosopher.
I[]
- Jason Isaacs (born 1963) British actor, best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies.
J[]
- Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916) Australian born folklorist and writer whose 1890 book English Fairy Tales helped to popularize stories including "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Tom Thumb".
- Howard Jacobson (born 1942) British novelist and journalist.
- Flory Jagoda (1923-2021) American musician, composer of "Ocho kandelikas". Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Sid James (1913-1976) British comedy actor. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- Leon Jessel (1871-1942) German composer of light classical music.
- Billy Joel (born 1949) American pianist, singer-songwriter and classical composer.
- Scarlett Johansson (born 1984) American actress and singer.
- Al Jolson (1886-1950) American singer, comedian and actor, star of the 1927 film, The Jazz Singer. Born in Seredzius, Lithuania.
- Rashida Jones (born 1976) American actress, writer, producer and director.
- Alberto Jori (born 1965) Italian philosopher.
- Lesley Joseph (born 1945) British actress, best known in Britain for playing the Jewish character Dorien Green in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather.
K[]
- Franz Kafka (1883 -1924) Czech author who wrote in German.
- Roger Kahn (1927-2020) American sports writer best known for the 1972 non-fiction baseball book The Boys of Summer.
- John Kander (born 1927) American composer who wrote the scores for fifteen musicals, including Cabaret and Chicago.
- Bob Kane (1915-1998) American comic book artist and writer, creator of Batman.
- Miriam Karlin (1925-2011) British actress, starred as the Jewish ghost Mrs. Yetta Feldman in the BBC sitcom So Haunt Me.
- Sir Gerald Kaufman (1930-2017) British politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until his death.
- Danny Kaye (1911-1987) American comedian, actor and singer.
- Harvey Keitel (born 1939) American actor.
- Felicity Kendal (born 1946) British stage and television actress. Began procession of conversion to Judaism in 1983.
- Walter Kent (1911-1994) American conductor and composer whose works include the song "(There'll Be Blue Birds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover".
- William Kentridge (born 1955) South African artist.
- Judith Kerr (1923-2019) British children's author, best known for the 1968 picture book The Tiger who Came to Tea and seventeen books about the cat Mog. Born in Berlin, Germany.
- Imre Kertesz (1929-2016) Hungarian author and Holocaust survivor, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002.
- Larry King (1933-2021) American TV and radio host.
- Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) German-born American diplomat, political scientist, geopolitical consultant, and politician, US secretary of state and national security advisor between 1969 and 1977.
- Calvin Klein (born 1942) American fashion designer.
- Werner Klemperer (1920-2000) German-American actor, singer and stage entertainer who is best known for playing Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes.
- Aaron Klug (born 1926) British scientist, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Born in Zelva, Lithuania.
- Alfred A. Knopf (1892-1984) American publisher, co-founder of the publishing house that bears his name.
- Ezra Koenig (born 1984) American musician, singer, and songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Vampire Weekend .
- Walter Koenig (born 1936) American actor, director and teacher, best known for playing Ensign Chekov in Star Trek.
- Arthur Koestler (1905-1983) Hungarian-born novelist and essayist who wrote in Hungarian, German and English.
- Sandy Koufax (born 1935) American former professional baseball player, the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.
- Robert Kraft (born 1941) American businessman, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team and the New England Revolution MLS team.
- Frans Krajcberg (1921-2017) Polish-born Brazilian artist and environmental activist.
- Larry Kramer (1935-2020) American playwright, novelist and LGBT rights activist.
- Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) American film director, producer and screenwriter.
- Lisa Kudrow (born 1963) American actress, best known for playing Phoebe in the sitcom Friends.
- Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993) American cartoonist, founding editor of Mad magazine.
- Harold Kushner (1935-2023) American rabbi, lecturer and author, best known for his 1981 book When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
- Jared Kushner (born 1981) American businessman, investor and political operative.
L[]
- Shia LaBeouf (born 1986) American movie actor.
- Car Laemmle (1867-1939) German-born American filmmaker, one of the founders of Universal Studios.
- Lucette Lagnado (1956-2019) Egyptian-born American journalist and memoirist.
- Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) Austrian-born American movie actress and inventor.
- Verity Lambert (1935-2007) British TV and film producer, founding director of the science fiction series Doctor Who.
- Michael Landon (1936-1991) American actor, writer, director and producer.
- Ralph Lauren (born 1939) American fashion designer and business executive.
- Daliah Lavi (1942-2017) Israeli actress, singer and model.
- Nigel Lawson (1932-2023) British politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989.
- Nigella Lawson (born 1960) British food writer and TV chef.
- Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) American writer and activist, author of the poem "The New Colossus" inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the statue of Liberty.
- Norman Lear (1922-2023) American screenwriter and producer who wrote, created or developed more than 100 TV series, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and Good Times.
- Geddy Lee (born 1953) Canadian musician, lead vocalist, bassist and keyboardist of the rock group Rush.
- Stan Lee (1922-2018) American comic book writer, editor and publisher, co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men among other characters.
- Tom Lehrer (born 1928) American singer-songwriter, pianist, satirist and mathematician.
- Mike Leigh (born 1943) British writer, film and theater director.
- Clara Lemlich (1886-1982) Russian-born American union organizer, leader of the New York shirtwaist strike of 1909 or Uprising of the 20,000, and women's suffrage activist.
- Logan Lerman (born 1992) American actor.
- Primo Levi (1919-1987) Italian author and Holocaust survivor.
- Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) French anthropologist and ethnologist.
- Uriah P. Levy (1792-1862) (War of 1812) First Jewish U.S. Admiral, ended the practice of flogging, bought, restored and gave Monticello (Jefferson's home) as a gift to the American people. The first Jewish Chapel at the United States Naval Academy was named for him.
- Al Lewis (1929-2006) American actor. Best known for playing Grandpa in the TV series The Munsters.
- Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) American comedian, actor, singer, film producer and director.
- Martin Lewis (born 1972) British journalist and financial expert.
- Shari Lewis (1935-1998) American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, TV presenter, singer, actress and writer.
- Dame Maureen Lipman (born 1946) British actress, best known in Britain for playing "Jewish Mother" Beatie in a series of commercials for British Telecom.
- James Lipton (1926-2020) American writer, lyricist, actor and producer, host of the TV show Inside the Actors Studio from 1994 to 2018.
- Roger Lloyd-Pack (1944-2014) British actor, best known for his roles in the sitcoms Only Fools and Horses and The Vicar of Dibley and the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
- Frank Loesser (1910-1969) American songwriter whose works include the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
- Marceline Loridan-Ivens (1928-2018) French writer and film director.
- Peter Lorre (1904-1964) Austrian-American actor. Born in what is now Slovakia.
- Jon Lovitz (born 1957) American actor, comedian and singer. The first person to play Hanukkah Harry.
- Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947) German-born American film director, producer, writer and actor.
- Matt Lucas (born 1974) British actor, comedian and screenwriter.
M[]
- Enrico Macias (born 1938) French musician, born in Constantine, Algeria.
- Maimonides (1135-1204) Sephardi rabbi, philosopher and physician.
- Howie Mandel (born 1955) Canadian-born TV presenter.
- Barry Manilow (born 1943) American singer-songwriter and entertainer.
- Bernard Manning (1930-2007) Controversial British stand-up comedian.
- Marcel Marceau (1923-2007) French actor and mime.
- Cindy Margolis (born 1965) American actress and model.
- Miriam Margolyes (born 1941) British actress.
- The Marx Brothers American stage and film comedians,
- Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx (1887 - 1961)
- Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (1890-1977)
- Milton "Gummo" Marx (1893-1977) (did not appear in films)
- Adolph (later Arthur) "Harpo" Marx (1888 -1954)
- Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx (1901-1979) (appeared in the first five films only)
- Karl Marx (1818-1883) German philosopher.
- Jackie Mason (1928-2021) American stand-up comedian and actor who used to be a rabbi.
- Robert Maxwell (1923-1991) British media tycoon and Member of Parliament. Born in what is now Solotvino, Ukraine.
- Robert L. May (1905-1976) American children's book author, creator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
- Linda McCartney (1941-1998) American photographer, musician, businesswoman and activist for vegetarianism and animal rights.
- Charles McDew (1938-2018) African-American civil rights activist and lifelong campaigner for racial equality. Converted to Judaism as a teenager.
- Golda Meir (1898-1978) One of the founders and a prime minister of Israel.
- Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) American-born violinist and conductor.
- Idina Menzel (born 1971) American actress singer and songwriter, the voice of Queen Elsa in Disney's Frozen.
- Don Messick (1926-1997) American voice actor, the voice of Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf and many other cartoon characters.
- Debra Messing (born 1968) American actress, best known for playing Grace Adler in Will and Grace.
- Lorne Michaels (born 1944) Canadian-American television producer, writer, actor and comedian.
- Bette Midler (born 1945) American singer, actress and comedienne.
- George Mikes (1912 -1987) Hungarian-born British author, famous for his humorous commentaries on various countries.
- Ed Miliband (born 1969) British politician, former leader of the Labour Party.
- Arthur Miller (1915-2003) Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright and essayist.
- Jonathan Miller (1934-2019) British humorist, theater and opera director, famous intellectual.
- Ephraim Mirvis (born 1956) South African-born rabbi and Talmudic scholar, Chief Rabbi of Ireland from 1985 to 1992. Chief Rabbi of the Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 2013.
- Warren Mitchell (1926-2015) British actor, played the lead role in the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part, which was adapted in the U.S. as All in the Family.
- Isaac Mizrahi (born 1961) American fashion designer.
- Patrick Modiano (born 1945) French novelist, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature.
- Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) Italian painter and sculptor.
- General Sir John Monash (1865-1931) Australian military commander of the First World War. Depicted on the Australian $100 bill in circulation since 2020.
- Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) American actress, model and singer. Converted to Judaism in 1956.
- Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) British financier, diplomat, philanthropist, abolitionist and Sheriff of London.
- Ron Moody (1924-2015) British actor, best known for playing Fagin in the 1968 musical film Oliver!
- Dorrit Moussaieff (born 1950) Israeli-born former First Lady of Iceland.
- Shelley Morrison (1936-2019) American theater and television actress.
- Zero Mostel (1915-1977) American actor, originated the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.
- Paul Muni (1895-1967) Austrian-born American actor. Started in Yiddish theater and became famous as a movie actor.
- Rose Musleah (1911-1985) Indian theater and film actress.
- Bess Myerson (1924-2014) American model, television personality and political activist whose career became overshadowed by scandal in the 1980s. She became the first Jewish Miss America in 1945.
N[]
- Julia Neuberger (born 1950) British rabbi and social reformer.
- Anthony Newley (1931-1999) British singer, songwriter and actor.
- Paul Newman (1925-2008) American actor, director, racing driver and co-founder of Newman's Own foods. His father and family on his father's side were Jewish (from Poland and Hungary)
- Sydney Newman (1917-1997) Canadian film and TV producer, played a pioneering role in British TV of the 1950s and 1960s, responsible for initiating The Avengers and Doctor Who.
- Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015) American actor, best known for playing Mr. Spock in in the Star Trek franchise.
- Denis Norden (1922-2018) British comedy writer and TV presenter.
- Joshua Norton (1819-1880) The self-proclaimed, "His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico".
O[]
- Tracy Ann Oberman (born 1966) British actress and writer, best known for her role as Christine Watts in the soap opera EastEnders.
- Esther & Abi Ofarim, Israeli pop duo made up of husband Abi Ofarim (1937-2018) and wife Esther Ofarim (born 1941) who had an international hit in 1968 with the song "Cinderella Rockefella".
- J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) American theoretical physicist, often credited as the "father of the atomic bomb" due to his role in developing the first nuclear weapons during World War II,
- Amos Oz (1939-2018) Multiple award-winning Israeli novelist, journalist and short story writer.
P[]
- Larry Page (born 1973) American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Google Inc.
- Sarah Jessica Parker (born 1965) American actress and producer.
- Mitchell Parish (1900-1993) Lithuanian-born American lyricist who wrote the lyrics to "Stardust", "Sweet Lorraine" "Sleigh Ride" and the English version of "volare".
- Sandy Pearlman (1943-2016) American music producer, record company executive, songwriter and poet.
- Grigori Perelman (born 1966) Russian mathematician.
- Max Perutz (1914-2002) British molecular biologist, winner of 1962 Nobel Prize. Born in Vienna, Austria.
- Milton Petrie (1902-1994) American billionaire businessman and philanthropist, famed for his generosity.
- Pink (born 1979) American singer-songwriter.
- Drew Pinsky (born 1958) American addiction medicine specialist and media personality, better known as Dr. Drew.
- Harold Pinter (1930-2008) Nobel Prize-winning British playwright.
- Ingrid Pitt (1937-2010) Polish-born British writer and actress, best known for her appearances in the Hammer horror films of the 1970s.
- Edward Pola (1907-1995) American actor, radio and television producer and songwriter, notably the co-composer of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year".
- Natalie Portman (born 1981) Israeli-born actress.
- Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988) Hungarian-born, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, film director and producer.
- André Previn (1929-2019) German-born American pianist, conductor and composer.
- Princess Superstar (born 1971) American rapper and DJ.
R[]
- Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989) British actor who shot to fame at the age of 12 when he began playing Harry Potter.
- Buck Ram (1907-1991) American popular music producer and songwriter whose works include "Only You" and "The Great Pretender".
- Joey Ramone (1951-2001) American punk rock vocalist.
- Tony Randall (1920-2004) American actor, producer and director, best known for playing Felix Ungar in the TV series The Odd Couple.
- Dame Esther Rantzen (born 1940) British TV presenter, founder of the charities ChildLine and The Silver Line.
- David Rappaport (1951-1990) British actor, one of the best known dwarf actors in film and television.
- Lou Reed (1942-2013) American rock musician, songwriter and photographer.
- Rob Reiner (born 1947) American actor, writer, director, producer and writer.
- Ivan Reitman (1946-2022) Czechoslovak-born Canadian film and television writer, producer and director.
- Judith Resnik (1949-1986) Second American woman astronaut, second Jewish astronaut, first American Jew and first Jewish woman astronaut, killed in the Challenger disaster.
- Adam Richman (born 1974) American actor, author and TV personality.
- Joan Rivers (1933-2014) American actress, comedienne, writer, producer and TV host.
- Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973) American actor. Born in Bucharest, Romania.
- Seth Rogen (born 1982) Canadian actor, filmmaker and comedian.
- Mark Ronson (born 1975) British musician and music producer.
- Michael Rosen (born 1946) British children's novelist and poet, Britain's Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009.
- Isaac Rosenberg (1898-1918) British artist and poet.
- Max Rosenberg (1914-2004) American film producer who found success in England, co-founder of the British company Amicus Productions known for its portmanteau horror movies.
- Amy Krouse Rosenthal (1965-2017) American author, short film maker and radio show host.
- Leo Rosten (1908-1997) American writer, author of The Joys of Yiddish. Born in Lodz, Poland.
- David Lee Roth (born 1954) American rock singer and radio personality.
- Philip Roth (1933-2018) Multiple award-winning American novelist, short story writer and essayist.
- Murray Rothbard (1926-1995) American economist, economic historian, political theorist and activist.
- Helena Rubinstein (1872-1965) Polish-American businesswoman, art collector and philanthropist. Founder of the cosmetics company that bore her name.
- Scott Rudin (born 1958) American film and theater producer.
- Winona Ryder (born 1971) American actress.
S[]
- Andrew Sachs (1930-2016) German-born British actor, best known for playing the Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers.
- Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020) Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013.
- Oliver Sacks (1933-2015) British-born neurologist, psychologist and best-selling author who lived for many years in the United States.
- Carl Sagan (1934-1996) American astronomer, astrophysicist and author.
- Bob Saget (1956-2022) American stand-up comedian, actor and television host.
- Jonas Salk (1941-1995) American medical researcher and virologist, discovered and developed the first successful polio vaccine.
- Felix Salten (1869-1945) Austro-Hungarian author whose most famous work is the 1923 novel, Bambi, a Life in the Woods, adapted as the 1942 Disney animated film Bambi.
- Bernie Sanders (born 1941) American politician.
- Adam Sandler (born 1966) American actor, comedian, musician, writer and film producer.
- Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) British poet.
- Vidal Sassoon (1928-2012) British-American hairstylist, businessman and philanthropist.
- Eduardo Saverin (born 1982) Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook.
- Alexei Sayle (born 1952) British actor and comedian.
- Rob Schneider (born 1963) American actor, comedian, writer and director.
- David Schwimmer (born 1966) American actor, film and TV director, best known for playing Ross in the sitcom Friends.
- Steven Seagal (born 1952) American actor, producer, writer and martial arts expert, father was Jewish
- Neil Sedaka (born 1939) American pop singer, pianist and songwriter.
- Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954) American comedian, actor and writer.
- Peter Sellers (1925-1980) British actor and comedian, best known for playing Inspector Clouseau in the original Pink Panther films.
- Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) American children's book writer and illustrator whose best known book is Where the Wild Things Are.
- Rod Serling (1924-1975) American playwright, screenwriter, TV producer and presenter, creator of The Twilight Zone.
- Anthony Shaffer (1926-2001) British playwright, novelist and screenwriter whose works include the screenplay for the 1973 movie The Wicker Man.
- Sir Peter Shaffer (1926-2016) British playwright and screenwriter, author of Amadeus and Equus.
- Garry Shandling (1949-2016) American comedian, writer, director, producer and voice artist.
- William Shatner (born 1931) Canadian actor, best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek.
- Burt Shavitz (1935-2015) American beekeeper and businessman, co-founder of the personal care products company Burt's Bees.
- Al Shean (1868-1949) German-born American comedian and vaudeville performer, immortalized in the song "Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean".
- Claudia Sheinbaum (born 1962) President of Mexico.
- Sir Antony Sher (born 1949) British actor, writer and theater director. Born in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Allan Sherman (1924-1973) American TV producer and comedy writer, best known for his parody songs.
- Iliza Shlesinger (born 1983) American comedienne.
- Dinah Shore (1915-1994) American singer, actress and television personality.
- Joe Shuster (1914-1992) Canadian-born comic book artist, co-creator of Superman.
- Shyne (born 1978) Belizean rapper and politician. Converted to Judaism in 2010.
- Jerry Siegel (1914-1996) American comic book writer, co-creator of Superman.
- Carl Sigman (1909-2000) American songwriter whose compositions include "Arrivedercci Roma", "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", "{Where Do I Begin?) Love Story", "A Marshmallow World" and "Pennsylvania 6-5000".
- Phil Silvers (1911-1985) American comedy actor, best known for playing Sergeant Bilko.
- Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) American poet, children's author, songwriter, musician and cartoonist.
- Gene Simmons (born 1949) Israeli-born musician, bassist and vocalist of the rock band Kiss.
- Neil Simon (1927-2018) American playwright and screenwriter.
- Paul Simon (born 1941) American singer-songwriter.
- Sam Simon (1955-2015) American writer, producer, director and philanthropist, co-creator of The Simpsons.
- Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902-1991) American writer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978.
- Hillel Slovak (1962-1988) Israeli-born musician, guitarist and founding member of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- Abraham Sofaer (1895-1988) British-American actor. Born in what is now Yangon, Myanmar.
- George Soros (born 1930) Hungarian-born American financier, businessman and philanthropist.
- Art Spiegelman (born 1948) American comics writer, illustrator and editor. Author of Maus.
- Steven Spielberg (born 1946) American film director and producer.
- Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) Dutch philosopher.
- Mark Spitz (born 1950) American athlete, winner of nine Olympic gold medals for swimming.
- Jerry Springer (1944-2023) British-born American TV presenter, actor, producer, journalist, lawyer and politician.
- Paul Stanley (born 1952) American musician, rhythm guitarist and frontman of the rock band Kiss.
- William Steig (1907-2003) American cartoonist, sculptor and writer of children's books, creator of Shrek the ogre.
- Ben Stein (born 1944) American actor, writer, lawyer and political and economic commentator.
- Gertrude Stein (1874-1976) American writer who spent most of her life in France.
- Judith Steinberg Dean (born 1953) American physician, wife of Howard Dean, First Lady of Vermont (1991-2003).
- Jon Stewart (born 1962) American comedian, writer, satirist and actor, host of The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015.
- Ben Stiller (born 1955) American comedian, actor, writer, film producer and director.
- Jerry Stiller (1927-2020) American comedian, actor and author.
- Matt Stone (born 1971) American actor, writer, composer and animator, co-creator of South Park.
- Al Stillman (1901-1979) American lyricist whose works notably include "Home for the Holidays".
- Sir Tom Stoppard (born 1937) British playwright. Born in Zlin, Czechoslovakia.
- Leo Strauss (1899-1973) German-born political philosopher.
- Levi Strauss (1829-1902) German-born American businessman, founded Levi Strauss & Co,, the first company to manufacture blue jeans, in 1853.
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn (born 1949) French politician, lawyer and economist, former head of the International Monetary Fund.
- Barbra Streisand (born 1942) American singer, songwriter, actress and film maker.
- Tara Strong (born 1973) Canadian-American voice actress.
- Jule Styne (1905-1994) British-born American composer and songwriter, known for his work on the Broadway musicals Gypsy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Funny Girl.
- Milton Subotsky (1921-1991) American-British film and TV writer and producer, co-founder of the British company Amicus Productions, known for its portmanteau horror movies.
- Lord Alan Sugar (born 1947) British businessman, founder of Amstrad Computers, host the British version of the reality TV series The Apprentice.
T[]
- Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) British-American actress. Converted to Judaism in 1959.
- Ashley Tisdale (born 1985) American actress, best known for appearing in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
- Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) American writer and futurist.
- Chaim Topol (1935-2023) Israeli stage and film performer, best known for playing Tevye the Milkman, in the 1971 film version of Fiddler on the Roof.
- Mel Torme (1925-1999) American singer, composer, actor and writer.
- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary.
- Ivanka Trump (born 1981) American businesswoman and former fashion model. Converted to Judaism in 2009.
- Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989) American journalist, author and historian.
- Sophie Tucker (1884-1966) Russian-born American actress and singer, popularized the song My Yiddishe Momme.
- Tristan Tzara (1896-1963) Romanian-born French poet, essayist, playwright and performance artist. One of the founders of the Dada movement.
V[]
- Boris Volynov (born 1934) First Jewish astronaut, born in Irkutsk, Siberia.
W[]
- Taika Waititi (born 1975) New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian.
- Eli Wallach (1915-2014) American actor, appeared in several spaghetti-westerns, played Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
- Sam Wanamaker (1919-1993) American-born actor and film director, founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, to rebuild a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London.
- Jessie Ware (born 1984) British singer.
- Albert Warner (1884-1967) Polish-American film executive. One of the founders of Warner Bros.
- Harry Warner (1881-1951) Polish-American film executive. One of the founders of Warner Bros.
- Jack L. Warner 91892-1978) Canadian-American film executive. One of the founders of Warner Bros.
- Sam Warner (1887-1927) Polish-American film producer. One of the founders of Warner Bros.
- Steven Weinberg (born 1933) Nobel Prize winning American physicist.
- Ruth Westheimer (1928-2024) German-born American sex therapist, author and media personality, better known as "Dr. Ruth".
- Joseph Weizenbaum (1923- 2008) German-American artificial intelligence critic, ELIZA programmer.
- Robert Wells (1922-1998) American TV producer, script writer and songwriter, co-writer of "The Christmas Song".
- Sir Arnold Wesker (1932-2016) British playwright, poet, essayist, journalist, novelist, short story writer and children's book writer.
- Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-born Holocaust survivor, Boston University professor, writer, political activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
- Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005) Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous for his pursuit of Nazi war criminals.
- Billy Wilder (1906-2002) Austrian-American filmmaker.
- Gene Wilder (1933-2016) American film and theater actor, director and writer.
- Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) British singer-songwriter.
- Claudia Winkleman (born 1972) British TV and radio presenter, model, film critic and journalist.
- Henry Winkler (born 1945) American actor and producer, best known for playing The Fonz in Happy Days.
- Bernie Winters (1932-1991) British comedian.
- Shelley Winters (1920-2006) American actress.
- Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian-born British philosopher.
- Heinz Wolff (1928-2017) German-born British scientist, inventor and radio and TV presenter.
- George Wyle (1916-2003) American orchestra leader and composer, notably the co-writer of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year".
Y[]
- Y-Love (born 1978) American hip hop artist. Converted to Judaism at the start of the 21st century.
Z[]
- L.L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) Polish creator of the constructed language Esperanto.
- Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) British writer whose 1908 play The Melting Pot popularized the term.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy (born 1978) President of Ukraine.
- Sam Zemurray (1871-1961) American businessman who made a fortune from bananas and took over the United Fruit Company. Born in what is now Moldova.
- Mark Zuckerberg (born 1984) American technology entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook.