Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Jackson-Cohen in 2015, image via Prphotos

Birth Name: Oliver Mansour Jackson Cohen

Place of Birth: Westminster, London, England, U.K.

Date of Birth: 24 October, 1986

Ethnicity:
*father – Egyptian Jewish
*mother – English

Oliver Jackson-Cohen is a British actor and model. His roles include the films Going the Distance, Faster (2010), What’s Your Number?, The Raven (2012), Despite the Falling Snow, The Healer, The Invisible Man (2020), The Lost Daughter, Mr. Malcolm’s List, Emily (2022), and Jackdaw, and the series Lark Rise to Candleford, World Without End, Mr Selfridge, Dracula (2013), The Great Fire, The Secret River, Emerald City, Man in an Orange Shirt, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Surface, and Wilderness (2023). He also played Prince William on the web series Will & Kate: Before Happily Ever After.

He is the son of Betty Jackson, a fashion designer, and David Cohen, who is his mother’s business partner. Their company is called Betty Jackson Ltd.

Oliver’s father is Jewish, from an Egyptian Jewish family that left the country because of the Nasser regime, around the 1950s, and settled in France. The family was Orthodox Jewish. Oliver’s father likely also has Israeli citizenship, and Tunisian Jewish ancestry.

Oliver’s mother is English. She is from a Protestant background.

Oliver’s maternal grandfather was named Arthur Jackson (the son of Emma).

Oliver’s maternal grandmother was Phyllis Gertrude Rains (the daughter of Samuel Edward Rains and Phoebe Hornsby). Phyllis was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. Samuel was the son of John Samuel Rains and Annie Elizabeth/Ellis Booker. Phoebe was the daughter of Richard Hornsby and Sarah Ann Hill.

Sources: Oral history interview with Oliver’s mother – https://sounds.bl.uk

Marriage records of Oliver’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Richard Hornsby and Sarah Ann Hill – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org

4 Responses

  1. Preservationist says:

    He’s stunning. His mother’s family were Anglicans.

  2. mycarf123123 says:

    Jews whose ancestors hail from the Middle East and North Africa consider themselevs Sephardic Jews. Also, Mizrahi Jews.

    Add both these tags.
    Also, update the ‘Ethnicity:’ to ‘Sephardi Jewish’.

    Cheers

    • ruby87 says:

      That is actually not wholly accurate at all. North African Jews are a broad diaspora; some of them consider themselves Sephardic, others Mizrahi, others Hebraic, others just black or Arab.

      According to Oliver in a March 2020 interview with GQ his father identified as French-Egyptian-Tunisian. Oliver also has an Arabic middle name which is a paternal family name. https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/grooming/article/oliver-jackson-cohen-grooming-guide

      So due to the cultural diversity of both Jewish identity in the region and Oliver’s own father’s identity, we don’t know that he’s Sephardic and IMO it would be very premature guesswork to change that ethnicity label here.

  3. andrew says:

    his maternal grandparents were Arthur Jackson and Phyllis

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