Winona Ryder
Ryder in 2011, DFree / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Winona Horowitz
Place of Birth: Olmsted, Minnesota, United States
Date of Birth: October 29, 1971
Ethnicity:
*father – Ashkenazi Jewish
*mother – Norwegian (one quarter), Belgian Walloon, German, Irish/Northern Irish, English, Scottish
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She is known for starring in the films Lucas, Beetlejuice, and its sequel; Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Little Women (1994), How to Make an American Quilt, The Crucible (1996), Alien Resurrection, Autumn in New York, Lost Souls (2000), Mr. Deeds, A Scanner Darkly, Black Swan, and Destination Wedding (2018), and on the shows Stranger Things and The Plot Against America.
Winona was given her first name after a city near her hometown, in Minnesota. She is the daughter of Cynthia V. (née Istas), an author, video producer, and editor, and Michael D. Horowitz, an author and archivist. Her father is Jewish; his family emigrated from Romania, Russia, and Belarus. Many of her father’s relatives died in the Holocaust. Winona’s mother’s maiden name, Istas, is found in Belgium. Winona’s mother is of Norwegian (one quarter), Belgian Walloon, German, Irish/Northern Irish, English, and Scottish descent.
Winona’s father is an atheist and Winona’s mother is a Buddhist. Winona has identified herself as Jewish, at least in an ethnic sense.
Winona’s paternal grandfather was Sol Horowitz (the son of Louis Jorge Tomchin and Mary Yetta Friedland). Sol was born in Minsk, Belarus, to Jewish parents. His family’s surname was changed from Tomchin to Horowitz. Louis was the son of Leib Tomchin.
Winona’s paternal grandmother was Ethel Frankel (the daughter of Joseph Frankel and Bertha Yuffe). Ethel was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Romanian Jewish parents, from Botoșani. Joseph was the son of Aaron Frankel and Gitza Rivka Godel. Bertha was the daughter of Avram Yuffe and Perla Weidenfeld.
Winona’s maternal grandfather was Everett Frank Istas (the son of William Paul Istas and Edna Frances Bennett). Everett was born in Shawno, Wisconsin. William was born in Wisconsin, the son of a Belgian father, Frank Alphonsius Istas, who had at least partial Walloon ancestry, and of a mother, Ida Zachou/Zachow, who was born in Wisconsin, to German parents, from Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Winona’s great-grandmother Edna was born in Collingwood, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of English parents, Eli Brian Bennett, from Winchester, Hampshire, and Frances Maria/Myva Halfred/Halford, from Ross, Herefordshire.
Winona’s maternal grandmother was Margaret Ford Colter (the daughter of Roy Baron Colter and Lillian G. Lindem). Margaret was born in Illinois. Roy was born in Douglas, York, New Brunswick, the son of James Colter, whose parents were from County Leitrim, Ireland; and of Victoria Long. Lillian was born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Johan/John Anton Linden, who was Norwegian, and of Isabella/Isabelle/Belle Helen Thompson, whose parents were also Norwegian.
Sources: Interviews with Winona Ryder – https://jewishjournal.com
https://www.esquire.com
Genealogies of Winona Ryder – http://www.geni.com
https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Winona’s maternal grandfather, Everett Frank Istas – https://www.findagrave.com
Winona’s maternal grandfather, Everett Frank Istas, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Winona’s maternal grandfather, Everett Frank Istas – https://www.familysearch.org
Death record of Winona’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Ida (Zachou/Zachow) Istas – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Winona’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Johan/John Anton Linden and Isabella/Isabelle/Belle Helen Thompson – https://www.familysearch.org
Belgian could very well be – she looks like a sister of the stepdaughters of my brother who lives in Belgium with a (German-)Belgian woman. In fact exactly like the oldest. Somehow strange …
I’ve always thought she was gorgeous. Lisa Bonet reminds me of a mixed version of her.
Ok?
Interesting comment, but not quite accurate. First of all, the surnames “Streisand” and “Sandler”, while both are always or almost always Jewish, don’t sound particularly Jewish unless you have a really thorough knowledge of surnames.
Second, those two actors mostly play a lot of Jewish characters because they choose to do so. Since they both became major stars relatively quickly in their careers, they both have or had a lot of creative control over all their projects, and they can put whatever they want in their movies, or make their characters out to be of whatever background they choose.
nice pic
Winona looks like the typical Romanian. Dark hair, dark eyes, exotic features.
Naturally her hair is suppose to be blonde, she dyed it black for her role in ‘Lucas’ and was told to keep it that way. : )