Alicia Silverstone
Silverstone in 2002, Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
Place of Birth: San Francisco, California, United States
Date of Birth: October 4, 1976
Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*mother – Scottish [converted to Judaism]
Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, model, producer, author, and activist. Her films include The Crush, Clueless, Batman & Robin, Excess Baggage, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.
Alicia is the daughter of Deirdre and Monty Silverstone (born Monty Silver). Her father is from England and her mother is from Scotland.
Alicia’s father was born to a Jewish family, while Alicia’s mother converted to Judaism, likely in the Conservative Jewish denomination. Alicia had a Jewish upbringing. She attended Hebrew School and was Bat Mitzvah.
Alicia has a son with her former husband, musician, radio host, and actor Christopher Jarecki.
Alicia’s paternal grandfather was named Sidney/Sydney Silver.
Alicia’s paternal grandmother’s surname is listed as Sylvertre, Zeit, or Silverstone.
Alicia’s maternal grandfather was surnamed Radford.
Sources: Alicia discusses her background – http://www.interfaithfamily.com
Marriage record of Alicia’s parents – https://familysearch.org
What does her mother converting to Judaism have to do with her ethnicity?
It makes the distinction that her mother is Jewish by religion not by heritage/ethnicity. People often conflate the two. Plus the Jewish identity is intrinsically linked through religion and since their legacy is passed matrilineally in most sects according to halachic law, Alicia may not be fully Jewish by blood, but is religiously. It’s so there’s no confusion.
tl;dr for thoroughness sake.
I can see the Scottish, but I can also see Slavic influences. Where is her Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry from? Would guess Lithuanian or Polish.
“Radford” is an English surname so her mother’s ancestry needs looking into