Michelle Trachtenberg
Trachtenberg in 2011, photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Michelle Christine Trachtenberg
Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: October 11, 1985
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish, possibly other
Michelle Trachtenberg is an American actress and model. She has starred on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the films Harriet the Spy, Inspector Gadget, EuroTrip, Mysterious Skin, Ice Princess, Beautiful Ohio, Black Christmas (2006), 17 Again, and Take Me Home Tonight, among others.
She is the daughter of Ilana/Lana and Michael Trachtenberg.
Michelle’s mother is from Russia. Many sources state that Michelle’s father is from Germany.
Michelle is of Jewish heritage. It is not clear if both of her parents are Jewish. Her surname, Trachtenberg, is usually Jewish. Michelle has also referred to her “Jewish mother guilt.” She has stated that she celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, and that her grandparents live in Israel.
Michelle can speak Russian fluently. She stated in an interview that this was the only way she could communicate with her grandparents.
Michelle’s maternal grandfather’s surname is Kotlyar.
Half of Russians have dark hair. Hitler had dark hair. What in the world are you taking about with that ”they were more or less right”?
Does she speak Russian btw?
Yes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkiuHlEYLsU 1:33 and http://omg.yahoo.com/news/michelle-trachtenberg-talks-her-upcoming-role-lee-harvey-190000985-us-weekly.html “I am so excited for the challenge to portray Marina Oswald, and to do my first role speaking only in Russian”.
Some of her fan sites stated that her mother is Russian Orthodox Christian and not Jewish. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/Michelle-Trachtenberg/biography/
http://www.michelle-c-trachtenberg.com/Frame_Pages/Main_Page_Biography.html
I was always confused about whether both of her parents are Jewish, or whether her dad was, or her mother.
However, she once referred to her “Jewish mother guilt”, which makes it sound like her mother is Jewish.
http://www.blackbookmag.com/tv/the-black-list-michelle-trachtenberg-1.29265
That’s right, but it is possible that she converted to Judaism :\
I have no idea. Her background has always confused me. I have even thought it possible that it is her mother who is Jewish and her dad who is not. And was her dad really born in Germany?
The Monsters and Critics link, though, is just a copy of an old version of her Wikipedia biography (see the bottom of the page). I’ve seen that fansite before. I wonder what their source is?
I remember that in one old tv interview, she said that her father is from Germany, and that her mother from Russia, she stated in many interviews. But at the expense of the real origin of her I am also not sure. She can be a Jew from the father’s side, but maybe he just was not a Jew, the same and on her mother’s side.
Yes, but it’s possible that when it was on Wikipedia, these words don’t have a source. It remains to be wait when she will say something about it.
That’s crazy.
No, he’s not an idiot, he’s SHIZOFRENIC, like some
Kunis’ fans
She is sooo pretty… why must all Jews be this good looking.
I agree!
uhh… that’s rude and reeks of prejudice