Lea Michele
Michele in 2011, kathclick/bigstock.com
Birth Name: Lea Michele Sarfati
Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: August 29, 1986
Ethnicity:
*Sephardi Jewish (father)
*Italian (mother)
Lea Michele is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She is known for her roles in the films New Year’s Eve and Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, and on the shows Glee and Scream Queens, and for her Broadway performances.
Lea is the daughter of Edith Thomasina (Porcelli) and Mark David Sarfati. Her father is a Sephardi Jew, from a family that moved to the U.S. from Turkey and Greece, and had originally left Spain, likely in the 1400s. Lea’s mother is of Italian descent, and is Catholic. Lea stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2012, that she was raised in her mother’s Catholic faith.
Lea is married to clothing brand president Zandy Reich, with whom she has two children. Zandy is Jewish.
Lea’s paternal grandfather was named Albert Sarfati (the son of Yomtov Sarfati and Sol/Celia). Albert was born in New York, to Sephardi Jewish emigrants, from Turkey.
Lea’s paternal grandmother was Celia/Sylvia Veissy (the daughter of Moise Joseph “Morris” Veissy/Veissey/Veissi/Vaisha and Benuta/Benouta/Benoueta “Bessie” Kouenkas/Cohenka). Celia was born in New York, to Jewish parents, from Thessaloniki, Greece. Moise was the son of Joseph Veissy and Dona. Benuta was the daughter of Isaac/Issac Shemtov Couenca/Cohenka/Kouenkas and Meriam/Miryam/Miriam Arania. Meriam was killed in the Holocaust, in Auschwitz.
Lea’s maternal grandfather is surnamed Porcelli. His family was from Rome.
Lea’s maternal grandmother is surnamed Mariano. Her family was from Naples.
Sources: JVibe interview about Lea’s heritage – http://archive.is
Information about Lea’s appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, 2016 – http://ancestraldiscoveries.blogspot.ca
Genealogy of Lea Michele – https://www.geni.com
Lea’s paternal grandfather, Albert Sarfati, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
She omitted her last name to sound more “american” it seems like it. Albeit fully European American.
So her dad ks from Turkey but her ancestors are originally from Spain. Wouldn’t that make her Spanish and Italian?
No, because nowadays Turkish Jews are not 100% of Spanish Jewish background. Her dad’s family lived in Turkey for a long time..(i guess they came to Turkey from Spain in 1492 like most Spanish Jews).. Turkey already had a Jewish population (Turkish Jews).. Turkey also welcomed Jews from all around the world..
I guess they mixed with them…No way her dad is 100% Spanish Jew.
But you don’t really no…
No, because like Ashkenazim, Sephardi Jews have little to no blood from the local population of their host countries.
I was thinking maybe she got her nose from her Italian mother, because many Italians can also have such noses.
Her mom has a bit of a shorter nose but it looks like she got her nose from both parents.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/04/article-2518278-19D7FC9D00000578-549_634x397.jpg
Why does she describe her father as a “Spanish Jew” when he’s from Turkey?
because
Turkish is a nationality and I am pretty damn sure her father was not ethnically Turkish.. he was just living there.
Her dad’s family probably came to Turkey from Spain in 1492 like most Spanish Jews who are located in Turkey…Turkey already had Jews before the Spanish Inquisition, so maybe her dad’s family (Spanish Jews) mixed with Turkish Jews?
She doens’t refer to him as a Spanish Jew but as a Sephardi Jew
CORRECTION:
Lea’s paternal great grandfather’s name was Yomtov, not Yontov. Yontov is not a name. Yomtov is Hebrew for “Good Day”, it basically means holiday. Many people of Jewish origin have the name Yomtov. There’s proof here:
http://www.caronia2.info/plc500728.php
Her paternal great grandparents are listed as passengers of this ship. It says, Mr. Yomtov Sarfati, from the Bronx, NY. Her great grandmother, Mrs. Celia Sarfati, is listed underneath. The names on the census are written in a messy script. Yomtov was probably read as Yontov by several websites. The census is known for making little errors with people’s names.
Thank you. If you know anything else about Lea’s genealogy, please feel free to share.