11 Black Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Jewish

Drake Drizzy Drake was raised by his Jewish Canadian mother in Toronto. Sammy Davis Jr. Davis Jr. began studying Judaism in 1954 while in the hospital for a near death car accident. He formally converted to Judaism in 1961. Rashida Jones The daughter of Quincy Jones has a jewish mother, Peggy Lipton, and she attended a Hebrew School before heading to college at Harvard University. Amar'e Stoudemire The NBA star became interested in the religion when his mother informed him of their Jewish family history. He has famously traveled to Israel, and he has a tattoo of the star of David. Shyne The former Bad Boy rapper picked up Judaism while serving his infamous 10 year prison sentence for attempted murder. Shyne changed his name to Moses Michael Levi to reflect his Jewish heritage which stems from his grandmother. Lauren London The famous actress and model was born to a Black mother and Jewish father. Lenny Kravitz Lenny may be one of the most well known “Black jews”. His jewish heritage stems from his father’s side of the family. Tracee Ellis Ross The Girlfriends star has celebrity running through her veins as the daughter of legendary singer Diana Ross. Tracee’s father is a prominent Jewish music business manager Robert Ellis Silberstein Lisa Bonet The Cosby Show star was born in San Francisco, to an African American father, Allen Bonet, and a Jewish mother, Arlene Litman. Craig David The British pop music star’s maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and his maternal grandmother converted to Judaism. Maya Rudolph The Bridesmaids star’s father, a composer, songwriter and producer is an Ashkenazi Jew.

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