Julianna Margulies

63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Arrivals

Margulies in 2011, photo by Prphotos.com

Place of Birth: Spring Valley, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: June 8, 1966 (possibly 1967)

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Julianna Margulies is an American actress and producer. She has starred on television’s ER, The Mists of Avalon, The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Dietland, The Hot Zone, and The Morning Show, and in the films Dinosaur, What’s Cooking?, Ghost Ship, Evelyn, Snakes on a Plane, City Island, Stand Up Guys, and The Upside.

Julianna is the daughter of Francesca (Goldberg, later Gardner) and Paul Margulies (Paul Eli Margulies). Her father was a writer, philosopher, and creative director in the advertising industry; he wrote many jingles, including “Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh What a Relief it Is!” for Alka-Seltzer. Her mother was a ballet dancer and eurythmy teacher.

Julianna’s parents were born Jewish; their families were Jewish emigrants from Romania, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, and Russia. During her childhood, Julianna’s parents divorced, and her mother converted to Christianity. Julianna identifies herself as Jewish, though she is not religious. Julianna is married to lawyer Keith Lieberthal, with whom she has a son.

Julianna has stated:

[My parents were] both 100% Jewish, but my mother’s family tried to keep their Jewishness quiet. Because her grandmother, who had fled from Prussia, persecuted for being a Jew didn’t want to cause any reason for someone to harm her. So they didn’t celebrate Passover and Yom Kippur and Hanukkah… They spoke Yiddish and they had Jewish food but they didn’t advertise their Jewishness, because that caused tremendous pain in their family… I wasn’t Bat Mitzvahed. And I married a Jewish man who said, I want to raise our son Jewish, and I want a Jewish wedding… I’ve sort of grown into the role of my life, as not just the actress and the independent woman, but also as part of a unit, part of a family. We do Shabbat on Fridays, even if it’s just to light the candles, and to say goodbye to the workweek, and to say hello to our friends and family. Putting down phones. It’s the tradition of Judaism.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2016) stated that Julianna’s genetic ancestry is:

*96.3% Ashkenazi [Jewish]
*3.2% Broadly European
*0.2% Broadly Southern European
*0.1% Sardinian
*0.1% Eastern European
*0.1% Broadly Northern European

Julianna’s patrilineal ancestry most likely traces to Rabbi Jacob Margolith, who was born in the 15th century, in Worms, Bavaria.

Julianna’s paternal grandfather was Irving Margulies (the son of Pincus Margulles/Margulies and Matilda Lazarus). Irving was born in New York. Pincus and Matilda were born in Romania. Pincus was the son of Abraham Margulies and Beila Riker. Matilda was born in Galatz, the daughter of B. Lazarus/Lazar and Malka Herman.

Julianna’s paternal grandmother was Henrietta G. Greenspan (the daughter of Wolf William Grünspan and Molly/Mollie Tiger/Tieger). Henrietta was born in New York. Wolf and Molly were born in Austria, with Wolf being from Galicia. Molly was the daughter of Samuel A. Tieger and Edith Bodenstein.

Julianna’s maternal grandfather was named Mandel Max Goldberg (later Michael Gardner).

Julianna’s maternal grandmother was Isabel Berman (the daughter of Morris Berman and Ida Ginsberg). Isabel was born in New York. Morris and Ida were born in the Russian Empire, with Ida being from Glazmanka, now in Latvia. Morris was the son of Isack Berman and Annie/Anna Lanar. Ida was the daughter of Merkel/Max Ginsberg and Rebecca/Lena Cohen.

Sources: https://www.ajc.org

Genealogy of Julianna Margulies – https://www.geni.com

Julianna’s paternal grandfather, Irving Margulies, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Julianna’s paternal grandmother, Henrietta G. Greenspan, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Obituary of Julianna’s maternal grandfather, Michael Gardner – http://obits.abqjournal.com

Julianna’s maternal grandmother, Isabel Berman, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

34 Responses

  1. Obey says:

    If being exotic is synonymous with extreme beauty, then she would be exotic for sure. Lebanon and Turkey are crowded with pale women, some even blue-eyed blondes (in some parts of the continent), since they do not tan because they wear a cloth hiding their faces. It is not difficult to find red-haired Ashkenazi Jews as well, and they are extremely pale as they believe that sunbathing in the sun is a sin.

  2. Masterlord says:

    Looks like Sandra Bullock if you ask me!

  3. Ardor says:

    Another exotic Jew that looks very Levantine or Turkish.

    • andrew says:

      She is very pale skinned for Levantine and Turkish standards.

    • Hill says:

      hahahaha you’re on a roll Ardor.

    • RadDaddy says:

      Have you ever been to Turkey or the Levant?
      And if so were you sober for even a moment on your visit?

      Julianna Margulies skin tone and facial features are hardly “exotic” for Ashkenazi Jews or non Jewish Europeans for that matter.
      She would burn up with Melanoma skin-cancer without slathering tons of spf 100 sunscreen on herself in the Levant or Turkey.

      Julianna Margulies is also LIGHT EYED and you can’t see it in this typically poor site photo, but you can see it here….
      https://cache.desktopnexus.com/cropped-wallpapers/919/919054-1088×614-%5BDesktopNexus.com%5D.jpg?st=NFDZAzk1Hmyiem6kEhGdzQ&e=1554054785
      Pathetic…

      • andrew says:

        @RadDaddy

        Ardor/Devotion is a wannabe Levantine, Serbian (and a bit Ashkenazi) woman living in Australia with her Assyrian husband. That is what she stated here.

      • Yeravam says:

        Have you ever been to the Levant? There are plenty of women like this in Lebanon and Syria. Some even lighter than her. This is doubly true in Turkey.

        Why is it so difficult to accept that the reason many Ashkenazi Jews look Levantine is because they ARE? Denying it isn’t going to “free Palestine” or whatever. Grow up.

        • jackson9 says:

          You keep quoting free Palestine. who on this page has even mentioned Palestine or being part of the Palestinian movement besides you?

          • Yeravam says:

            It is the usual motive for denying our Middle Eastern roots, so it’s not an unreasonable supposition that the people on here twisting themselves into pretzels to deny our origins are motivated by some kind of anti-Israeli (or anti-Jewish more broadly) animus.

          • andrew says:

            @Jackson

            Nobody ever mentioned Free Palestina, Druzes or Samaritans, nobody cares. It’s the same wannabe Levantine woman from Australia under a different nickname and with a new agenda.

          • Yeravam says:

            “It’s the same wannabe Levantine woman from Australia under a different nickname and with a new agenda.”

            I’m a male. Sorry to disappoint.

            I don’t want to be Levantine. It’s just what I am. Why people are so hellbent on denying it, I will never know.

          • andrew says:

            If so another weirdo with bizarre theories.

          • Yeravam says:

            My “bizarre theories” are demonstrable and easily verifiable facts.

            See, this is why I accuse you of anti-Semitism, and why I get abrasive with you. You deny Jewish origins and insist that we are lying about who we say we are.

          • andrew says:

            Oh man…”anti-semitism”…what a big word for a lame person like you.

          • Yeravam says:

            “Oh man…”anti-semitism”…what a big word for a lame person like you.”

            Not nearly as lame as your rebuttal just now. If you don’t want to be accused of anti-Semitism, don’t post anti-Semitic things. Bye.

  4. allennox says:

    Her surname sounds French.

  5. Capricious says:

    Definitely looks it. Pretty woman btw. :)

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