Alanis Morissette
Morissette in 2011, Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Alanis Nadine Morissette
Place of Birth: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date of Birth: June 1, 1974
Ethnicity:
*father – French-Canadian, one quarter Irish/Scottish
*mother – three quarters Ashkenazi Jewish, one quarter Hungarian
Alanis Morissette is a Canadian alternative rock singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is also an American citizen.
Her father, Alan Richard Morissette, a teacher and high school principal, was born in Timmins, Ontario, of approximately three quarters French-Canadian and one quarter Irish/Scottish ancestry. Her mother, Georgia Mary Ann (Feuerstein), also a teacher, was born in Budapest, Hungary, of approximately three quarters Ashkenazi Jewish and one quarter Hungarian descent. Alanis’s mother’s parents had survived the Holocaust. Her family left Hungary following the Soviet invasion, settling in Ottawa. Alanis has said that she did not know about her Jewish background until she was in her late 20s.
Alanis’s brother is kirtan and indie pop-rock musician, yoga instructor, therapist, and author Wade Morissette. Alanis is married to American rapper Souleye (Mario Treadway), with whom she has three children.
Alanis’s parents are both Catholic by religion. She was also raised Catholic.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2024) stated that Alanis’s genetic ancestry consists of:
*36% French
*34% Ashkenazi Jewish
*13% Eastern European
*10% Scottish
*4% English & Northwestern European
*1% Swedish & Danish
*1% Baltic
*1% German
Genetically, she was found to have a common ancestor with actress Claire Danes, through Alanis’s father.
Alanis’s paternal grandfather was Alan Joseph Morissette (the son of Joseph Hillaire/Hilaire/Helaire Morissette and Noelah/Noella Gertrude McConnell). Alanis’s grandfather Alan was born in Timmins, Cochrane District, Ontario. Alanis’s great-grandfather Joseph was the son of Joseph Morissette and Marie Marguerite Mercier. Noella was the daughter of Eric McArthur McConnell and Isabella Elizabeth Armstrong. She had roots in Nova Scotia. Alanis’s four times great-grandfather, James McConnell, and three other men, were thrown overboard while crossing the Chaudiere Falls waterfalls near Hull in 1815, and was the only survivor; this inspired a folk song.
Alanis’s paternal grandmother was Marie Alexina Lucille Hunault/Huneau (the daughter of Alexandre Hunault/Huneau and Albina Paquet). Alexandre was the son of Gilbert Hunault and Marceline Poitevin. Albina was the daughter of Pierre Paquet and Alexina Tessier.
Alanis’s maternal grandfather was Imre Feuerstein (the son of Eisig/Esig Hersh/Hersch Izidor Feuerstein/Blumenkranz and Roza/Rozalia Sarah Spitzer). Imre was born in Budapest, Hungary, to a Jewish family. His brothers, Gyorgy and Sandor, were forced into slave labour by the Nazis and killed in the Holocaust. Alanis’s great-grandfather Izidor likely was in Drohobycz, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Ukraine, and was the son of Izrael Blumenkranz/Blumenkrantz and Frincze Feuerstein. Alanis’s great-grandmother Roza was born in Obuda, Hungary, the daughter of Salaman Samuel Spitzer and Katalin Mandelbaum. Roza was killed in the Holocaust, in 1945.
Alanis’s maternal grandmother was Nadinia Anna Lauscher/Gulyás (the daughter of Mihály Gulyás and Katalin Lauscher). Nadinia was born in Pilisvorosvar, Hungary. Mihály was born in Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar, Hungary, the son of György Gulyás and Liza Treba. Katalin was the daughter of Nándor Lauscher and Anna Nagy.
Sources: https://armchairexpertpod.com
Genealogy of Alanis Morissette – https://www.geni.com
Obituary of Alanis’s maternal grandmother, Nadinia (Gulyás) Feuerstein McCully – http://www.legacy.com
“His parents, Gyorgy and Sandor, were forced into slave labour by the Nazis and killed in the Holocaust.”
Gyorgy and Sandor were her maternal grandfather Imre’s brothers. The episode details Imre’s quest after the war to figure out what happened to one of them, Gyorgy, I think it was.
Wait, was Katalin Lauscher Jewish? I mean, I assume so, but it’s not specified in the profile.
-a typo, yes.
-I have to assume Morissette’s maternal grandmother had a Jewish parent and a non-Jewish parent, given the 34% Ashkenazi Jewish DNA test result (very similar to her 36% French result, from her father, who is of three quarters French-Canadian descent).
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. said that her mother’s parents “survived the Holocaust,” making it seem like Morissette’s maternal grandparents were both Jewish. But every single person who’s Ashkenazi Jewish on the show has tested precisely 100% Ashkenazi Jewish or precisely 50% Ashkenazi Jewish in recent years, so I also have to assume Morissette would have tested out 50% Ashkenazi Jewish if all four of her maternal great-grandparents were Jewish. I’m not sure which of her grandmother’s parents was Jewish and which wasn’t, though. The genealogy we have there is vague.
Nagy is a classic Magyar surname
Yes, that’s what’s confusing me.
Well, as suspected, she recently stated that 10 years ago, she found out that she was 1/4th Jewish in this podcast interview (at the 13:07 mark).
https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/alanis-morissette
Another interesting thing is that her maternal great-grandmother carried the surname Lauscher that is very Jewish and not Hungarian at all.
She recently stated in a podcast interview that she found out that she was “1/4th Jewish” about a decade ago. So that solves that.
Lauscher is a German surname, not a Jewish one. Please educate yourself.
Surnames weren’t that common for the vast majority of Jewish history. Many of their current surnames come from German origins.
@G177S
Lauscher is either Jewish or German
So her maternal grandmother was not fully Hungarian then.
I don’t think it matters what her maternal grandmother was. The point is that she is not half Jewish. It’s not uncommon at all for Non-Jewish Germans/French and Hungarian people to have her phenotype.
I dont exactly get what you meant tbh. I referred to her family genealogy, not the her phenotype. There are many Hungarian Jews who look like the Catholic ones anyway (George Soros, Arthur Koestler etc). Harvey Keitel can pass too.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Morissette-86
Alanis’ paternal 5th great-grandparents, Amable Sigouin and Marie-Élisabeth Paquet, were also Mark Wahlberg’s maternal 5th great-grandparents!