Elizabeth Berkley

Berkley in 2009, photo by Joe Seer/Bigstock.com

Place of Birth: Farmington Hills, Michigan, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 28, 1972

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Elizabeth Berkley is an American television, film, and theatre actress, dancer, and model. Her most notable roles were in the television series Saved by the Bell, and the Paul Verhoeven film Showgirls.

She is the daughter of Jere and Fred Berkley. Her parents are both Jewish, of Russian Jewish, Polish Jewish, and Austrian Jewish descent. Elizabeth was raised in the Conservative denomination of Judaism, and was Bat Mitzvah. Elizabeth is married to actor Greg Lauren, who is the nephew of designer Ralph Lauren. The couple has a son.

Elizabeth’s paternal grandfather was named Benjamin R. Berkley (born Benjamin Berkowitz, the son of Joseph Berkowitz and Rose). Benjamin was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents.

Elizabeth’s paternal grandmother was named Celia Forman. Celia was a Russian Jewish immigrant.

Elizabeth’s maternal grandfather was Adolph Gottfurcht (the son of Joseph Gottfurcht and Ella Biederman). Adolph was born in Vienna, Austria, to a Polish Jewish father and an Austrian Jewish mother.

Elizabeth’s maternal grandmother was Ruth Levitt (the daughter of Alexander Lavitt and Anna Nachamowitz). Ruth was born in Michigan, to Russian Jewish parents.

Sources: Obituary of Elizabeth’s paternal grandmother, Celia (Forman) Berkley – http://blitzkriegpublishing.freeyellow.com

Elizabeth’s maternal grandmother, Ruth Levitt, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org