Jon Stewart

Stewart in 2003, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 28, 1962

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Jon Stewart is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, satirist, political commentator, actor, and television personality. He has been the host of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 to 2015, and a host again, since 2024.

Jon is the son of Marian and Donald L. Leibowitz, a professor. His parents’ families were both Jewish (from Austria, Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus).

He is married to Tracey McShane, with whom he has two children.

Jon’s paternal grandfather was named Max Leibowitz. Max was an Austrian Jew.

Jon’s paternal grandmother was Rachel “Rae” Rosenfeld (the daughter of Sam Rosenfeld and Sarah Kleinberg). Rachel was born in New York or Austria, of Austrian Jewish background. Sarah was the daughter of Anna.

Jon’s maternal grandfather was named Naum/Nathan Emannilovich Laskin. Naum was born in Manzhouli, China, and later lived in Tientsin, China. He was of Eastern European Jewish descent.

Jon’s maternal grandmother was Fannie Pitkowsky (the daughter of Max Pitkowsky and Yetta Johanna Pitman). Fannie was born in New Jersey, to a Russian Jewish father and a Polish Jewish mother.

Sources: Article about Jon’s family history, by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, at The Huffington Post – http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Genealogy of Jon Stewart – http://www.geni.com

Jon’s father on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org