Lists of American Jews

At about 6 million, the Jewish population of the United States is currently the largest Jewish population in the world. Judaism is the second most populous religion in the US after Christianity, comprising about 1.3% of the population. Here is a list of some prominent Jewish Americans, arranged by field of activity.

Baseball

• Brad Ausmus, baseball player (Jewish mother)
• Bo Belinsky, baseball player (Jewish mother)
• Moe Berg, baseball player & spy
• Ron Blomberg, baseball player, MLB's first designated hitter
• Lou Boudreau, baseball player, MVP 1948, HoF (Jewish mother)
• Barney Dreyfuss, co-founder of the World Series
• Shawn Green, baseball player
• Hank Greenberg, baseball player, MVP 1935/1940, HoF
• Ken Holtzman, baseball player
• Gabe Kapler, baseball player
• Sandy Koufax, baseball player, MVP 1963, HoF
• Mike Lieberthal, baseball player (Jewish father)
• Levi Meyerle, credited with first double and triple (1876)
• Marvin Miller, first director of the MLBPA
• Buddy Myer, baseball player
• Lip Pike, 19th century player
• Al Rosen, baseball player, MVP 1953
• Bud Selig, baseball commissioner
• Steve Stone, baseball player
• Kevin Youkilis, baseball player

Basketball

• Red Auerbach, basketball coach, HoF
• Senda Berenson, educator & sportswoman, HoF
• Sue Bird, basketball player (Jewish father)
• Larry Brown, basketball coach
• Marty Friedman, basketball player, HoF
• Eddie Gottlieb, NBA co-founder, HoF
• Nat Holman, basketball player & coach, HoF
• Red Holzman, basketball coach, HoF
• Nancy Lieberman, basketball player, HoF
• Harry Litwack, basketball coach, HoF
• Maurice Podoloff, basketball commissioner, HoF
• Abe Saperstein, creator of the Harlem Globetrotters, HoF
• Dolph Schayes, basketball player, HoF
• Ossie Schectman, scored first basket of NBA (1946)
• Barney Sedran, basketball player, HoF
• David Stern, basketball commissioner

Boxing

• Ray Arcel, boxing trainer, HoF
• Bob Arum, boxing promoter, HoF
• Abe Attell, world featherweight champion, HoF
• Benny Bass, world featherweight champion, HoF
• Samuel Berger, first Olympic heavyweight champion
• Joe Choynski, heavyweight fighter, HoF
• Charley Goldman, boxing trainer, HoF
• Mike Jacobs, boxing promoter, HoF
• Jackie Kallen, boxing promoter
• Louis Kid Kaplan, world featherweight champion, HoF
• Benny Leonard, world lightweight champion, HoF
• Battling Levinsky, world light-heavyweight champion, HoF
• Jill Matthews, world junior-flyweight champion
• Dana Rosenblatt, world middleweight champion
• Maxie Rosenbloom, world light-heavyweight champion, HoF
• Barney Ross, world lightweight and welterweight champion, HoF
• Mike Rossman, world light-heavyweight champion (Jewish mother)
• Sammy Sieger, talented featherweight boxer
• Lew Tendler, the "greatest southpaw in ring history", HoF

Chess

• Lev Alburt, US Chess Champion, HoF
• Joel Benjamin, US Chess Champion
• Hans Berliner, World Postal Chess Champion, HoF
• Arthur Bisguier, US Chess Champion, HoF
• Arnold Denker, US Chess Champion, HoF
• Roman Dzindzichashvili, US Chess Champion
• Esther Epstein, US Women's Chess Champion
• Larry Evans, US Chess Champion, HoF
• Reuben Fine, chess grandmaster, HoF
• Bobby Fischer, US & World Chess Champion, HoF (Jewish mother & alleged Jewish father; does not identify, and is in fact an outspoken anti-Semite)
• Gisela Gresser, US Women's Chess Champion, HoF
• Boris Gulko, US Chess Champion
• Israel Horowitz, chess player, HoF
• Isaac Kashdan, chess grandmaster, HoF
• George Koltanowski, chess grandmaster, HoF
• Irina Levitina, US Women's Chess Champion & bridge champion
• Fred Reinfeld, chess writer, HoF
• Samuel Reshevsky, US Chess Champion, HoF
• Herman Steiner, US Chess Champion
• Wilhelm Steinitz, World Chess Champion, HoF
• Michael Wilder, US Chess Champion

Football

• Lyle Alzado, football player
• Harris Barton, football player
• Al Davis, football coach, PFHoF
• Jay Fiedler, football player
• Benny Friedman, football player, PFHoF, CFHoF
• Sid Gillman, football coach, PFHoF, CFHoF
• Marshall Goldberg, football player, CFHoF
• Marv Levy, footbal coach, PFHoF
• Benny Lom, football player
• Sid Luckman, football player, PFHoF, CFHoF
• Ron Mix, football player, PFHoF
• Igor Olshansky, football player

Golf

• Amy Alcott, golfer
• Bruce Fleisher, golfer
• Jonathan Kaye, golfer
• Cristie Kerr, golfer (Jewish father)
• Morgan Pressel, golfer

Hockey

• Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner
• Sara DeCosta, hockey player
• Jeff Halpern, hockey player
• Mathieu Schneider, hockey player

Mind sports

• Billy Eisenberg, bridge & backgammon champion
• Charles Goren, bridge player & writer
• Oswald Jacoby, bridge & backgammon champion
• Joel Sherman, scrabble champion

Miscellaneous

• Alan Gelfand, skateboarder, Ollie inventor
• Albert Axelrod, fencer
• Gary Auerbach, frisbee champion
• Sidney Franklin, bullfighter
• Vic Hershkowitz, handball champion
• Marshall Holman, bowling champion
• Jimmy Jacobs, handball champion, boxing coach
• Sada Jacobson, fencer
• Mark Roth, bowling champion
• Kerri Strug, gymnast

Motor sports

• Kenny Bernstein, drag racer
• Paul Newman, auto racer & team owner (Jewish father)
• Peter Revson, F1 racer
• Mauri Rose, Indy 500 racer

Poker

• Mickey Appleman, poker champion (4 WSOP bracelets)
• Lyle Berman, poker player & business executive (3 WSOP bracelets)
• Barry Greenstein, poker player & philanthropist (1 WSOP braclet)
• Perry Green, poker player (3 WSOP bracelets)
• Jay Heimowitz, poker player (6 WSOP bracelets)
• Howard Lederer & Annie Duke, poker players (2 & 1 WSOP bracelets) (unconfirmed)
• Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, poker player (2 WSOP bracelets)
• David Sklansky, poker player & author (3 WSOP bracelets) (unconfirmed)
• Jack Straus, poker player (2 WSOP bracelets, 1 championship)
• Stu Ungar, poker player (5 WSOP bracelets, 3 championships)

Power sports

• Isaac Berger, Olympic weightlifter (1g2s)
• Bill Goldberg, professional wrestler
• Scott Levy, professional wrestler (Raven)
• Dean Malenko, professional wrestler
• Amy Weisberger, powerlifter
• Henry Wittenberg, Olympic wrestler (1g1s)

Skating sports

• Sasha Cohen, figure skater
• Scott Cohen, free skating champion
• Aaron Feinberg, rollerblading champion
• Sarah Hughes, figure skating champion (Jewish mother)
• Irving Jaffee, speed skating champion

Soccer

• Yari Allnut, soccer player
• Jeff Agoos, soccer player
• Dan Calichman, soccer player
• Don Garber, soccer comissioner
• Shep Messing, soccer player
• Sara Whalen, soccer player
• Ethan Zohn, soccer player

Swimming

• Tiffany Cohen, Olympic swimmer (2g)
• Anthony Ervin, Olympic swimmer (1g1s) (Jewish mother)
• Lenny Krayzelburg, Olympic swimmer (3g)
• Jason Lezak, Olympic swimmer (2g1s1b)
• Keena Rothhammer, Olympic swimmer (1g1s)
• Mark Spitz, Olympic swimmer (9g1s1b)
• Dara Torres, Olympic swimmer (4g1s4b) (Jewish father)

Tennis and racquet sports

• Joey Cornblit, jai-alai player
• Brad Gilbert, tennis player & coach
• Brian Gottfried, tennis player
• Marty Hogan, racquetball player
• Aaron Krickstein, tennis player
• Victor Niederhoffer, squash player
• Dr. Renée Richards, tennis player
• Dick Savitt, tennis player
• Mike Yellen, racquetball player

Track and Field

• Lillian Copeland, Olympic field athlete (2g1s)
• Doug Heir, Paralympic athlete (6g2s2b)
• Deena Kastor, long-distance runner
• Abel Kiviat, middle-distance runner
• Lon Myers, 19th century running champion
• Myer Prinstein, Olympic jumper (4g1s)

Finance

• Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg, mayor of New York, philanthropist
• Eli & Edythe Broad, business leader & philanthropists
• Marcus Goldman & Samuel Sachs, founders of Goldman Sachs
• Guggenheim family, business leaders, philanthropists & art patrons
• Alexandre, Simon & Elie Lazard, founders of Lazard
• Henry, Emanuel & Henry Lehman, founders of Lehman Brothers
• Michael Milken, junk bond king, fraudster & philanthropist
• Roy Neuberger, financier & art dealer
• Jacob Schiff, financier & philanthropist
• Muriel Siebert, first woman to purchase a seat on NYSE
• George Soros, financier & philanthropist
• Sandy Weill, ex-CEO of Citigroup, philanthropist

Retail and rental

• Max Azria, founder of BCBG
• Arthur Blank & Bernie Marcus, founders of Home Depot, philanthropists
• Nehemiah Cohen & Samuel Lehrman, founders of Giant Food
• Isaac & Bernard Gimbel, founders of Gimbel's, Saks Fifth Avenue
• John Hertz, founder of Yellow Cab, owner of The Hertz Corporation (unconfirmed)
• Sidney Kimmel, retailer & philanthropist
• Ralph Lauren, founder of Polo Ralph Lauren, acquired Club Monaco
• Paul, Georges, Maurice & Armand Marciano, founders of Marciano and GUESS
• Morris Markin, founder of Checker Cabs
• David May, founder of May Department Stores
• Joe, Ralph & Avi Nakash, founders of Jordache
• Al Neiman, Carrie Neiman & Herbert Marcus, founders of Neiman-Marcus
• Julius Rosenwald, head of Sears & Roebuck, philanthropist
• Isador Straus, head of Macy's, Titanic victim
• Nathan Swartz, founder of Timberland
• Leslie Wexner, founder of Limited Brands, Victoria's Secret
• Mel Ziegler, Pat Ziegler & Bill Rosenzweig, founders of Banana Republic

Toys

• Beatrice Alexander, founder of the Alexander Doll Company
• Ralph Baer, inventor of the games console
• Joshua Lionel Cowen, toy train manufacturer, founder of Lionel Corporation
• Maurice Greenberg, founder of Coleco
• Nathan Greenman, toy manufacturer
• Ruth Handler, inventor of Barbie, founder of Mattel
• Henry & Helal Hassenfeld, founders of Hasbro
• Charles Lazarus, founder of Toys R Us
• Rose & Morris Michtom, inventors of the teddy bear
• David Rosen, founder of SEGA (unconfirmed)

Confectionery

• Louis Auster, inventor of egg cream
• Burton Baskin & Irving Robbins, founders of Baskin Robbins
• Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry's
• Joseph Friedman, inventor of the flexistraw
• Hyman Golden, Arnold Greenberg & Leonard Marsh, founders of Snapple
• Herb Hyman, founder of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
• Charles Lubin, founder of Sara Lee
• Reuben Mattus, founder of Häagen-Dazs
• Bill Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin' Donuts
• Howard Schultz, head of Starbucks

Electronics

• Beny Alagem, founder of Packard Bell
• Michael Dell, founder of Dell, philanthropist
• Donna Dubinsky, co-founder of Palm Computing
• Lee Felsenstein, moderator of the Homebrew Computer Club
• Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel
• Eugene Kleiner, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor, venture capitalist
• Jaron Lanier, virtual reality products
• Arthur Rock, hi-tech venture capitalist (Intel, Apple)
• Ben Rosen, hi-tech venture capitalist (Compaq, Lotus)
• Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International
• Andrew Viterbi & Irwin Jacobs, founders of Qualcomm

Software and Internet

• Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft (Jewish mother)
• Dan Bernstein, creator of qmail (unconfirmed)
• Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston, creators of Visicalc
• Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google
• Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent (unconfirmed)
• Mark Cuban, founder of Broadcast.com, owner of the Dallas Mavericks
• Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle
• Rob Glaser, founder of RealNetworks
• Andy Hertzfeld, programmer on Mac OS
• Larry Kaplan, co-founder of Activision
• Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Software, co-founder of EFF
• Raymond Kurzweil, artificial intelligence software
• Phil Katz, creator of PKZip
• Leslie Lamport, initial developer of LaTeX
• Max Levchin, founder of PayPal
• Elias Levy (aka Aleph One), long-time moderator of Bugtraq
• Jef Raskin, interface designer for Apple Macintosh
• Seymour I. Rubinstein, creator of WordStar (unconfirmed)
• Jonathan Sachs, chief programmer on Lotus
• Joshua Schachter, creator of del.icio.us
• Richard Stallman, programmer of Emacs, founder of GNU
• Larry Tesler, creator of Gypsy
• Dave Winer, content management, XML-RPC

Media

• Jack & Harry Cohn, co-founders of Columbia Pictures
• Michael Eisner, head of The Walt Disney Company
• William Fox, Joseph Schenk, co-founders of 20th Century Fox
• Leonard Goldenson, head of ABC
• Irving Kahn, co-founder of TelePrompTer
• Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Studios
• Marcus Loew, Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer, co-founders of MGM
• William S. Paley, head of CBS
• Sumner Redstone, head of Viacom
• Ralph Roberts, Daniel Aaron, Julian Brodsky, founders of Comcast
• David Sarnoff, head of RCA
• Robert Shaye, founder of New Line Cinema
• Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, founders of Dreamworks SKG
• Harry, Albert, Sam & Jack Warner, founders of Warner Brothers
• Bob & Harvey Weinstein, founders of Miramax
• Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures

Publishing

• Walter Annenberg, publisher & philanthropist
• Bennett Cerf, founder of Random House (unconfirmed)
• Hugo Gernsback, founder of Amazing Stories (unconfirmed)
• Katharine Graham, former head of the Washington Post (Jewish father)
• Alfred & Blanche Knopf, founders of Knopf Publishing
• Samuel Irving Newhouse, founder of Advance Publications
• Adolph Ochs, former head of the New York Times
• Joseph Pulitzer, publisher (Jewish father)
• Barney Rossett, founder of Grove Press (Jewish father)
• Richard L. Simon & Max Schuster, founders of Simon and Schuster
• Roger W. Straus, Jr., co-founder of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Advertising

• Edward Bernays, father of public relations
• Bill Bernbach, advertising pioneer
• Jay Chiat, advertiser
• Stan Freberg, advertiser & radio personality
• Oscar Goldstein, creator of Ronald McDonald
• Albert Lasker, advertising pioneer, founder of the Lasker Award
• Shirley Polykoff, advertiser
• Ron Popeil, inventor & father of infomercials
• Jay Schulberg, creator of Got Milk?

List of Jewish American artists.

Visual artists

• Leonard Baskin, sculptor & graphic artist
• Bernard Berenson, art critic
• Wallace Berman, assemblage artist
• Ross Bleckner, painter
• Victor David Brenner, designer of the US penny
• Judy Chicago, feminist painter
• Jo Davidson, sculptor
• Jim Dine, pop artist
• Henry Dreyfuss, industrial designer
• Jacob Epstein, UK-based sculptor
• Helen Frankenthaler, abstract expressionist
• Milton Glaser, graphic designer
• Jack Goldstein, multi media
• Leon Golub, political painter
• Adolph Gottlieb, abstract exppresionist
• Clement Greenberg, art critic
• Philip Guston, abstract expressionist
• Eva Hesse, minimalist sculptor
• R.B. Kitaj, UK-based painter
• Lee Krasner, abstract expressionist
• Tamara de Lempicka, art deco painter (half Jewish)
• Sol LeWitt, sculptor
• Roy Lichtenstein, pop artist
• Jacques Lipchitz, cubist sculptor
• Morris Louis, abstract expressionist
• Herb Lubalin, graphic designer
• Peter Max, pop artist
• Louise Nevelson, abstract expressionist sculptor
• Barnett Newman, abstract expressionist
• Paul Rand, graphic designer
• Larry Rivers, pop artist
• Susan Rothenberg, painter
• Mark Rothko, abstract expressionist
• Julian Schnabel, neo-expressionist
• George Segal, pop art sculptor
• Richard Serra, minimalist sculptor (half Jewish)
• Ben Shahn, social realist painter
• Nancy Spero, painter, collage artist
• Max Weber, cubist painter

Architects

• Dankmar Adler, architect
• Marcel Breuer, architect
• Arnold Brunner, architect
• Gordon Bunshaft, architect
• Peter Eisenman, deconstructionist architect
• Frank Gehry, architect, Pritzker Prize (1989)
• Victor Gruen, father of the shopping mall
• Frank Israel, architect
• Albert Kahn, industrial architect
• Louis I. Kahn, architect
• Morris Lapidus, architect
• Daniel Libeskind, architect
• Richard Meier, architect, Pritzker Prize (1984)
• Robert Moses, urban planner
• Richard Neutra, modernist architect
• Robert A. M. Stern, architect

Photographers

• Diane Arbus, photographer
• Eve Arnold, photojournalist
• Richard Avedon, photographer
• Margaret Bourke-White, photojournalist (half Jewish)
• Robert Capa, war photographer
• Alfred Eisenstaedt, photographer
• Elliott Erwitt, photographer (half Jewish)
• Robert Frank, photographer
• Lee Friedlander, photographer
• Nan Goldin, photographer
• Philippe Halsman, photographer
• André Kertész, photographer
• William Klein, photographer
• Annie Leibovitz, photographer
• Helen Levitt, photographer
• Linda McCartney, photographer
• Lisette Model, photographer (half Jewish)
• Arnold Newman, photographer
• Irving Penn, photographer
• Man Ray, dadaist photographer
• Herb Ritts, photographer
• Joe Rosenthal, war photographer
• Arthur Rothstein, photographer
• David Seymour, photojournalist
• Cindy Sherman, photographer
• Aaron Siskind, photographer
• Alfred Stieglitz, photographer
• Paul Strand, photographer
• Doris Ulmann, photographer
• Weegee, photojournalist
• Garry Winogrand, photographer

Fashion designers

• Gilbert Adrian, Hollywood fashion designer
• Hattie Carnegie, fashion designer
• Kenneth Cole, fashion designer
• Pamela Dennis, fashion designer
• Marc Ecko, fashion designer
• Rudi Gernreich, fashion designer
• Marc Jacobs, fashion designer
• Alexander Julian, fashion designer (half Jewish)
• Donna Karan, fashion designer
• Calvin Klein, fashion designer
• Michael Kors, fashion designer (half Jewish)
• Estée Lauder, cosmeticist
• Ralph Lauren, fashion designer, founder of Polo Ralph Lauren
• Hinda Miller, inventor of the sports bra
• Isaac Mizrahi, fashion designer
• Robert Lee Morris, jewelry designer (half Jewish)
• Norman Norell, fashion designer
• Zac Posen, fashion designer
• Charles Revson, cosmeticist
• Ida Rosenthal, founder of Maidenform Brassieres
• Helena Rubinstein, cosmeticist
• Levi Strauss, clothing manufacturer
• Pauline Trigère, fashion designer
• Diane Von Furstenberg, fashion designer

Cartoonists, animators, and comics writers

• Ralph Bakshi, animator (Fritz the Cat, Lord of the Rings)
• Brian Michael Bendis, comics book writer
• Dave Berg, cartoonist
• Al Capp, cartoonist (Li'l Abner)
• Roz Chast, cartoonist (New Yorker)
• Daniel Clowes, alternative comics writer (Ghost World)
• Peter David, comics writer & "writer of stuff"
• Will Eisner, comics artist (The Spirit)
• Jules Feiffer, cartoonist
• Bill Finger, comics artist (Batman)
• Max Fleischer, animator (Popeye, Betty Boop)
• Fritz Freleng, animator (Looney Tunes)
• William Gaines, comics artist and MAD founder
• Rube Goldberg, cartoonist
• Al Hirschfeld, caricaturist
• Nicole Hollander, cartoonist (Sylvia)
• Bob Kane, comics artist (Batman)
• Gil Kane, comics artist (Green Lantern)
• Ben Katchor, comics writer (Julius Knipl)
• Jack Kirby, comics artist (Captain America, Hulk)
• Joe Kubert, comics artist
• Harvey Kurtzman, comics artist and MAD editor
• Stan Lee, comics artist (Spiderman, X-Men)
• Martin Nodell, comics artist (Green Lantern)
• Harvey Pekar, comix writer (American Splendor)
• Trina Robbins, comix writer
• Julius Schwartz, comic book and magazine editor
• Joe Shuster, comics artist (Superman)
• Jerome Siegel, comics artist (Superman)
• Joe Simon, comics artist (Captain America)
• Art Spiegelman, comix writer (Maus)
• William Steig, cartoonist & children's writer
• Saul Steinberg, cartoonist & illustrator
• Mort Weisinger, comic book and magazine editor
• Marv Wolfman, comic book writer

Authors

• Jessica Abel, comic book writer & artist
• Kathy Acker, writer
• Forrest J. Ackerman, science fiction author & fan
• Nelson Algren, novelist
• Jonathan Ames, author
• Sholem Asch, Yiddish writer
• Isaac Asimov, science fiction author
• Paul Auster, author
• Peter S. Beagle, novelist
• Saul Bellow, writer, Nobel Prize (1976)
• Robert Bloch, science fiction author
• Harold Bloom, literary critic
• Judy Blume, children's author
• Jane Bowles, writer & playwright
• David Brin, science fiction author
• Michael Chabon, novelist
• Howard Chaykin, comic book writer
• Peter David, comic book writer
• E. L. Doctorow, writer
• Harlan Ellison, 'speculative fiction' writer
• Howard Fast, novelist (Jewish father)
• Raymond Federman, postmodernist writer
• Edna Ferber, author
• Jonathan Safran Foer, writer
• Betty Friedan, writer
• Kinky Friedman, crime writer & singer/songwriter
• Neil Gaiman, science-fiction author & comic book writer
• Natalie Goldberg, author & teacher
• William Goldman, novelist & screenwriter
• Joe Haldeman, science fiction author
• Daniel Handler, writer
• Joseph Heller, novelist
• Richard Herrnstein, author
• Mark Helprin, novelist
• Erica Jong, author
• Jonathan Kellerman, crime novelist
• Cyril M. Kornbluth, science fiction writer
• Jerzy Kosinski, writer
• Jonathan Kozol, writer & educator
• Edward E. Kramer, writer & editor
• Judith Krantz, romance writer
• James Howard Kunstler, novelist and New Urbanist author
• Fran Lebowitz, essayist & humorist
• Julius Lester, children's writer (convert)
• Ira Levin, author
• Norman Mailer, writer
• Bernard Malamud, writer
• James McBride, author (Jewish mother)
• Walter Mosley, murder-mystery novelist (Jewish mother)
• Cynthia Ozick, novelist
• Grace Paley, short story writer & poet
• Dorothy Parker, writer, poet & wit (Jewish father)
• S. J. Perelman, humorist
• Marge Piercy, novelist, poet
• Rachel Pollack, science-fiction author
• Chaim Potok, author & rabbi
• Ayn Rand, writer (atheist)
• H.A. & Margret Rey, children's writers
• Harold Robbins, author
• Philip Roth, novelist
• Louis Sachar, children's writer
• J. D. Salinger, author (Jewish father)
• Budd Schulberg, novelist & screenwriter
• Maurice Sendak, children's author
• Sidney Sheldon, novelist & screenwriter
• Robert Silverberg, science fiction author
• Shel Silverstein, children's writer, poet & musician
• Isaac Bashevis Singer, Yiddish writer, Nobel Prize (1978)
• Susan Sontag, essayist & novelist
• Danielle Steele, romance novelist (Jewish father)
• Gertrude Stein, writer, poet & playwright
• George Steiner, literary critic
• Jacqueline Susann, novelist
• Studs Terkel, author & oral historian
• David Tischman, comic book writer
• Alice B. Toklas, literary figure
• Lionel Trilling, literary critic
• Scott Turow, mystery writer
• Harry Turtledove, science fiction writer
• Leon Uris, novelist
• Chris Van Allsburg, children's writer (converted)
• Irving Wallace, novelist
• Nathanael West, writer
• Elie Wiesel, writer & Holocaust survivor, Nobel Peace Prize (1986)
• Herman Wouk, author
• Elizabeth Wurtzel, author

Poets

• Charles Bernstein, poet
• Joseph Brodsky, poet, Nobel Prize (1987)
• Allen Ginsberg, beat poet
• Louise Glück, poet
• Jorie Graham, poet
• Marilyn Hacker, poet
• Anthony Hecht, poet
• Richard Howard, poet, translator
• Chester Kallman, poet, librettist
• Bob Kaufman, beat poet (half Jewish)
• Kenneth Koch, poet
• Maxine Kumin, poet
• Stanley Kunitz, poet
• Emma Lazarus, poet
• Philip Levine, poet
• Howard Nemerov, poet
• George Oppen, Objectivist poet
• Alicia Ostriker, poet
• Carl Rakosi, Objectivist poet
• Charles Reznikoff, Objectivist poet
• Adrienne Rich, poet
• Jerome Rothenberg, poet
• Muriel Rukeyser, poet
• Delmore Schwartz, poet
• Karl Shapiro, poet
• Louis Simpson, poet
• Gerald Stern, poet
• Mark Strand, poet
• Louis Zukofsky, Objectivist poet

Playwrights

• Eve Ensler, playwright (half Jewish)
• Herb Gardner, playwright & cartoonist
• James Goldman, playwright & screenwriter
• Moss Hart, playwright & librettist
• Lillian Hellman, playwright
• George S. Kaufman, playwright
• Sidney Kingsley, playwright
• Arthur Kopit, playwright
• Tony Kushner, playwright
• Arthur Laurents, playwright & librettist
• Jerome Lawrence, playwright
• Craig Lucas, playwright
• David Mamet, playwright
• Donald Margulies, playwright
• Arthur Miller, playwright
• Clifford Odets, playwright
• Elmer Rice, playwright
• Martin Sherman, playwright
• Neil Simon, playwright
• Alfred Uhry, playwright
• Wendy Wasserstein, playwright

Journalists

• Carl Bernstein, Watergate reporter
• Dan Daniel, sports writer
• Barbara Ehrenreich, journalist
• Charles Flato, American writer and Soviet agent
• Pauline & Esther Friedman, advice columnists (Dear Abby and Ann Landers)
• Thomas Friedman, columnist
• Jonah Goldberg, commentator
• David Halberstam, Vietnam reporter
• Seymour Hersh, My Lai reporter
• Michael Kinsley, journalist & commentator
• Samuel Krafsur, TASS journalist and Soviet agent
• Paul Krassner, satirist
• Charles Krauthammer, columnist
• A. J. Liebling, journalist
• Walter Lippmann, journalist & writer
• Joshua Micah Marshall, political blogger
• Shirley Povich, sports columnist
• William Safire, columnist
• George Seldes, investigative journalist
• Gloria Steinem, journalist & feminist activist
• I. F. Stone, investigative journalist
• Walter Winchell, gossip columnist

Solo musicians

• Paula Abdul, pop singer, dancer
• Herb Alpert, leader of Tijuana Brass
• Beck, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother)
• Dan Bern, singer/songwriter
• Theodore Bikel, singer/songwriter
• Hal Blaine, session drummer
• Michael Bolton, singer/songwriter
• Shlomo Carlebach, singer
• Vanessa Carlton, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother)
• Eric Carmen, singer/songwriter
• Marc Cohn, singer/songwriter
• Joe Dassin, French-based singer
• Sammy Davis Jr, singer, entertainer (convert)
• Taylor Dayne, dance-pop singer
• Neil Diamond, singer/songwriter
• Ani DiFranco, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother) (unconfirmed)
• King Django, ska artist
• Alix Dobkin, folk singer
• Bob Dylan, singer/songwriter
• Kenny G, pop saxophonist
• Marvin Goldstein, pianist
• Nina Gordon, singer
• Lesley Gore, pop singer
• Eydie Gorme, pop singer
• Josh Groban, pop singer (Jewish father)
• Stefan Grossman, guitarist, educator
• Arlo Guthrie, folk singer (Jewish mother)
• Larry Harlow, salsa musician
• Janis Ian, singer/songwriter
• Billy Joel, singer/songwriter
• Lucy Kaplansky, folk singer
• Carol Kaye, bass player
• Carole King, singer/songwriter
• Lenny Kravitz, rock musician (Jewish father)
• Ben Kweller, singer/songwriter
• Tony Levin, bass player
• Lisa Loeb, singer/songwriter
• Barry Manilow, singer/songwriter
• Bette Midler, singer, actress
• Meredith Monk, vocalist, composer
• Laura Nyro, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother)
• Phil Ochs, protest singer
• Glen Phillips, singer/songwriter
• Phranc, folk singer
• Elvis Presley, rock&roll musician (Jewish great-great-grandmother)
• Lou Reed, singer/songwriter
• Jonathan Richman, proto-punk singer
• Rachael Sage, singer/songwriter
• Neil Sedaka, singer/songwriter
• Lhasa de Sela, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother)
• Dinah Shore, singer, actress
• Carly Simon, singer/songwriter (Jewish father)
• Paul Simon, singer/songwriter
• Jill Sobule, singer/songwriter
• Regina Spektor, singer/songwriter
• Brenda K. Starr, salsa singer (Jewish father)
• Barbra Streisand, singer, actress, director
• Princess Superstar, rapper
• Tiny Tim, singer (Jewish mother)
• Sophie Tucker, singer, entertainer
• Scott Walker, singer/songwriter (unconfirmed)
• Jackie Wilson, soul singer (convert)
• Steve Wynn, singer/songwriter
• Warren Zevon, singer/songwriter

Band musicians

Arranged by band name:

• 3rd Bass - MC Serch
• Aerosmith - Joey Kramer
• The Angry Samoans - Todd Homer, Gregg Turner, Bill Vockeroth
• Anthrax - Scott Ian, Dan Lilker
• Asleep at the Wheel - Ray Benson, Lucky Oceans
• Backstreet Boys - Nick Carter (unconfirmed Jewish father)
• Bad Religion - Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz, Greg Hetson
• The Bangles - Susanna Hoffs
• The Beach Boys - David Marks (half Jewish)
• Beastie Boys - Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz (Horovitz half Jewish)
• The Black Crowes - Chris & Rich Robinson (both half Jewish)
• Blondie - Chris Stein (half Jewish)
• Blood, Sweat & Tears - Al Kooper, Fred Lipsius, Randy Brecker, Jerry Weiss, Steve Katz, Bobby Colomby
• Blue Fringe - the whole band
• Blue Öyster Cult - Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser
• Bon Jovi - David Bryan
• The Calling - Alex Band, Aaron Kamin
• Cannibal Corpse - Paul Mazurkiewicz
• The Cars - Elliot Easton
• The Circle Jerks - Keith Clark, Greg Hetson, Lucky Lehrer, Keith Morris (half-Jewish), Zander Schloss
• Counting Crows - Adam Duritz
• Country Joe and the Fish - Joe McDonald, Barry Melton (both half Jewish)
• The Dictators - Andy Shernoff, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Ross Friedman, Scott Kempner
• Death - Chuck Schuldiner
• Disturbed - David Draiman
• Dixie Dregs - Rod Morgenstein
• The Doors - Robbie Krieger
• Dream Syndicate - Steve Wynn
• Dream Theater - Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess
• The E Street Band - Max Weinberg, Roy Bittan
• Elastica - Abby Travis
• Fates Warning - Mark Zonder
• Foo Fighters - Pat Smear (Jewish father)
• Fountains of Wayne - Adam Schlesinger
• The Fugs - Tuli Kupferberg
• Grateful Dead - Mickey Hart
• Guns N' Roses - Steven Adler, Slash (a.k.a. Saul Hudson) (half-Jewish)
• Guster - Ryan Miller, Adam Gardner, Brian Rosenworcel
• Heartbreakers - Richard Hell
• The Hooters - Rob Hyman, Eric Bazilian
• Incubus - Mike Einziger
• J. Geils Band - Peter Wolf, Stephen Bladd, Magic Dick, Seth Justman, Danny Klein
• Jane's Addiction - Eric Avery, Perry Farrell, Stephen Perkins
• Jefferson Airplane - Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen (both half Jewish) Paul Kantner
• KISS - Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick
• The Last - Dave Nazworthy
• Letters to Cleo - Michael Eisenstein
• Linkin Park - Brad Delson, Rob Bourdon
• Liquid Tension Experiment - Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess
• Los Lobos - Steve Berlin
• The Mamas & the Papas - Cass Elliot
• Maroon 5 - Adam Levine
• Matchbox Twenty - Brian Yale, Adam Gaynor
• Megadeth - Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Joe Gittleman
• The Modern Lovers - Jonathan Richman
• Moldy Peaches - Adam Green
• Morphine - Mark Sandman
• Mothers of Invention - Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman (Volman half Jewish)
• Mountain - Leslie West (also Canadian Corky Laing)
• New York Dolls - David Johansen (Jewish mother), Arthur Kane, Sylvain Sylvain
• NOFX - Fat Mike, Eric Melvin
• Patti Smith group - Lenny Kaye, Richard Sohl
• Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Mike Bloomfield
• Peter, Paul and Mary - Peter Yarrow
• Phish - Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon
• Porno for Pyros - Perry Farrell, Stephen Perkins
• Quicksilver Messenger Service - David Freiberg
• Rage Against the Machine - Brad Wilk
• The Ramones - Joey Ramone, Tommy Ramone
• The Raspberries - Eric Carmen
• Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Hillel Slovak
• Scissor Sisters - Babydaddy
• The Shangri-Las - Mary Weiss, Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss, Marguerite "Marge" Ganser, Mary Ann Ganser
• Simon and Garfunkel - Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel
• Sleater-Kinney - Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss
• Soul Coughing - Yuval Gabay
• Sparks - Ron Mael, Russell Mael
• Spin Doctors - Chris Barron, Eric Schenkman, Aaron Comess
• Steely Dan - Donald Fagen
• The Strokes - Nick Valensi
• Television - Richard Hell, Tom Verlaine (Verlaine half-Jewish)
• Tenacious D - Jack Black
• Toad the Wet Sprocket - Glen Phillips
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Howie Epstein, Sam Lynch
• The Turtles - Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman (Volman half Jewish)
• Twisted Sister - Dee Snider, Jay Jay French (Snider Jewish father)
• The United States of America - Dorothy Moskowitz
• Van Halen - David Lee Roth
• Velvet Underground - Lou Reed
• Veruca Salt - Nina Gordon, Jim Shapiro
• The Voidoids - Richard Hell
• The Wallflowers - Jakob Dylan, Rami Jaffe, Greg Richling
• Was (Not Was) - David Was, Don Was
• The Weavers - Ronnie Gilbert, Fred Hellerman
• Ween - Gene Ween
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Brian Chase
• Yo La Tengo - Ira Kaplan
• Youth Brigade - Adam Stern, Mark Stern, Shawn Stern

Jazz musicans

• Joey Baron, jazz drummer
• Jay Beckenstein, Dave Samuels, members of Spyro Gyra
• Bob Berg, jazz saxophonist
• Jane Ira Bloom, jazz saxophonist
• Michael Brecker, jazz saxophonist
• Randy Brecker, jazz trumpeter
• Bob Brozman, blues musician
• Uri Caine, jazz pianist
• Popa Chubby, blues singer
• Peter Cincotti, jazz pianist, singer (Jewish mother)
• Harry Connick, Jr., jazz pianist, singer (Jewish mother)
• Eddie Daniels, jazz clarinetist
• Bela Fleck, bluegrass musician
• Dave Frishberg, jazz pianist, singer/songwriter
• Stan Getz, jazz saxophonist
• Benny Goodman, jazz clarinetist
• David Grisman, bluegrass musician
• Fred Hersch, jazz pianist
• Lee Konitz, jazz saxophonist
• Steve Lacy, jazz saxophonist
• Mark Levine, jazz pianist, valve trombonist, teacher
• Mike Mainieri, jazz vibraphonist
• Herbie Mann, jazz flautist
• Shelly Manne, jazz drummer
• Mezz Mezzrow, jazz clarinetist
• Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, members of The Manhattan Transfer
• Joshua Redman, jazz saxophonist (Jewish mother)
• Buddy Rich, jazz drummer (Jewish father)
• Red Rodney, jazz trumpeter
• Raymond Scott, jazz musician & inventor
• Willie "The Lion" Smith, jazz pianist
• Artie Shaw, jazz clarinetist
• Ben Sidran, jazz pianist & producer
• Mel Torme, jazz singer
• John Zorn, jazz saxophonist

Classical

• Larry Adler, harmonica player
• Vladimir Ashkenazi, pianist (Jewish father)
• Joshua Bell, violinist (Jewish mother)
• Leon Botstein, conductor, academic
• Yefim Bronfman, pianist
• Sergiu Comissiona, conductor
• Antal Dorati, conductor
• Mischa Elman, violinist
• Arthur Fiedler, conductor
• Leon Fleisher, pianist
• Richard Goode, pianist
• Gary Graffman, pianist
• Jascha Heifetz, violinist
• Vladimir Horowitz, pianist
• Eugene Istomin, pianist (Jewish mother)
• Byron Janis, pianist
• Otto Klemperer, conductor
• Fritz Kreisler, violinist (Jewish father)
• Wanda Landowska, harpsichordist
• James Levine, conductor
• George London, baritone
• William Kapell, pianist
• Lorin Maazel, conductor
• Yehudi Menuhin, violinist
• Nathan Milstein, violinist
• Pierre Monteux, conductor
• Eugene Ormandy, conductor
• Jan Peerce, tenor
• Murray Perahia, pianist
• André Previn, conductor
• Fritz Reiner, conductor
• Leonard Rose, cellist
• Arthur Rubinstein, pianist
• Peter Serkin, pianist (Jewish father)
• Rudolf Serkin, pianist
• Beverly Sills, soprano
• Leonard Slatkin, conductor
• Georg Solti, conductor
• Janos Starker, cellist
• Isaac Stern, violinist
• George Szell, conductor
• Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
• Rosalyn Tureck, harpsichordist
• Bertram Turetzky, contrabassist
• Bruno Walter, conductor
• Paul Wittgenstein, pianist
• David Zinman, conductor

Producers etc.

• Herb Alpert, co-founder of A&M Records
• Ralph Bass, R&B producer
• Brian Brater & Jarret Meyer, founders of Rawkus Records
• Leonard & Phil Chess, founders of Chess Records
• Hilly Crystal, founder of CBGB's
• Clive Davis, founder of Arista Records
• Richard Foos, founder of Rhino Records
• Alan Freed, DJ & music promoter
• Milt Gabler, founder of Commodore Records
• David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records
• Danny Goldberg, founder of Artemis Records
• Bill Graham, concert promoter
• Norman Granz, founder of Verve Records
• Brett Gurewitz, founder of Epitaph Records
• Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records
• Alfred Lion & Frank Wolff, founders of Blue Note Records
• Richard Meltzer, rock critic
• Eddie, Leo & Ira Messner, founders of Aladdin Records
• Irving Mills, producer, manager & writer
• Syd Nathan, founder of King Records
• Mo Ostin, record executive
• Sandy Pearlman, producer, manager & writer
• Hilary Rosen, head of the RIAA
• Rick Rubin, founder of Def Jam
• Art Rupe, founder of Specialty Records
• Mickey Ruskin, founder of Max's Kansas City
• Phil Spector, producer, writer & murder suspect
• Scott Storch, hip hop producer
• Jerry Wexler, partner in Atlantic Records
• Max Yasgur, owner of the Woodstock farm

Songwriters

• Burt Bacharach & Hal David, songwriters
• Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, songwriters
• Alan & Marilyn Bergman, songwriters
• Bert Berns, songwriter
• Leonard Cohen, singer/songwriter
• Linda Creed, songwriter
• Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster, songwriters
• Norman Gimbel, songwriter
• Gerry Goffin & Carole King, songwriters
• Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha, songwriters
• Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, songwriters
• Jay Livingston & Ray Evans, songwriters
• Johnny Mandel, songwriter
• Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, songwriters
• Johnny Marks, songwriter
• Abel Meeropol, composer of Strange Fruit
• Randy Newman, songwriter, singer
• Mitchell Parish, lyricist
• Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, songwriters
• David Rose, pop composer
• Carole Bayer Sager, lyricist
• P.F. Sloan, songwriter, singer
• Billy Steinberg, songwriter
• Jim Steinman, songwriter
• Albert Von Tilzer, songwriter
• Diane Warren, songwriter
• George David Weiss, songwriter

Musicals writers

• Richard Adler & Jerry Ross, composer & lyricist
• Lynn Ahrens, lyricist
• Harold Arlen, composer
• Irving Berlin, composer & lyricist
• Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick, composer & lyricist
• Jason Robert Brown, composer & lyricist
• Sammy Cahn, lyricist
• Cy Coleman, composer
• Betty Comden & Adolph Green, lyricists
• Dorothy Fields, composer
• William Finn, composer & lyricist
• Gary William Friedman, composer
• Rudolf Friml, operetta composer
• George & Ira Gershwin, composer & lyricist
• Adam Guettel, composer & lyricist
• Marvin Hamlisch, composer
• Oscar Hammerstein, lyricist (Jewish father)
• Yip Harburg, lyricist
• Lorenz Hart, lyricist
• Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist
• Jerome Kern, composer
• John Kander & Fred Ebb, composer & lyricist
• Burton Lane, composer
• Jonathan Larson, composer & lyricist
• Carolyn Leigh, lyricist
• Mitch Leigh, composer
• Alan Jay Lerner, lyricist
• Frank Loesser, composer & lyricist
• Frederick Loewe, composer (half Jewish)
• Alan Menken & Howard Ashman, composer & lyricist
• Bob Merrill, composer & lyricist
• Sigmund Romberg, composer
• Mary Rodgers, composer
• Richard Rodgers, composer
• Stephen Schwartz, composer & lyricist
• Robert & Richard Sherman, composers &lyricists
• Stephen Sondheim, composer & lyricist
• Charles Strouse & Lee Adams, composer & lyricist
• Jule Styne, composer
• Kurt Weill, composer
• Maury Yeston, composer & lyricist

Classical composers

• David Amram, composer
• Milton Babbitt, composer
• Arthur Berger, composer
• Leonard Bernstein, composer
• Marc Blitzstein, composer
• Ernest Bloch, composer
• Henry Brant, composer
• Aaron Copland, composer
• Richard Danielpour, composer
• Mario Davidovsky, composer
• David Diamond, composer
• Jacob Druckman, composer
• Morton Feldman, composer
• Lukas Foss, composer
• George Gershwin, composer
• Philip Glass, composer
• Louis Moreau Gottschalk, composer (Jewish father)
• Morton Gould, composer
• Aaron Jay Kernis, composer
• Leon Kirchner, composer
• Leo Ornstein, composer
• George Perle, composer
• Shulamit Ran, composer
• Steve Reich, composer
• George Rochberg, composer
• Arnold Schoenberg, composer
• William Schuman, composer
• Ernst Toch, composer

Film composers

• Elmer Bernstein, film composer
• Danny Elfman, film composer
• Elliot Goldenthal, film composer
• Jerry Goldsmith, film composer
• Bernard Herrmann, film composer
• James Horner, film composer
• Michael Kamen, film composer
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold, film composer
• Alfred Newman, film composer
• Thomas Newman, film composer (Jewish father)
• Alex North, film composer
• David Raksin, film composer
• Leonard Rosenman, film composer
• Marc Shaiman, film composer
• Max Steiner, film composer
• Dimitri Tiomkin, film composer
• Franz Waxman, film composer
• Victor Young, film composer

Film directors

• Woody Allen, Oscar-winning director, actor
• Jack Arnold, director
• Darren Aronofsky, director (Jewish father)
• Peter Bogdanovich, director (Jewish mother)
• James L. Brooks, Oscar-winning director, producer
• Mel Brooks, director
• Richard Brooks, director
• William Castle, director
• Coen Brothers, directors
• Rob Cohen, director, producer
• George Cukor, Oscar-winning director
• Michael Curtiz, Oscar-winning director
• Jules Dassin, director
• Maya Deren, director
• Stanley Donen, director, choreographer
• Nora Ephron, director
• William Friedkin, Oscar-winning director
• Samuel Fuller, director
• Charles Guggenheim, Oscar-winning documentary director
• Todd Haynes, director (Jewish mother)
• Amy Heckerling, director
• Peter Hyams, director
• Philip Kaufman, director, screenwriter
• Irvin Kershner, director
• Harmony Korine, director, screenwriter
• Stanley Kubrick, director
• John Landis, director
• Fritz Lang, director (Jewish mother)
• Barry Levinson, Oscar-winning director
• Ernst Lubitsch, director
• Sidney Lumet, director
• Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Oscar-winning director
• Nancy Meyers, director, screenwriter
• Lewis Milestone, Oscar-winning director
• Mike Nichols, Oscar-winning director
• Roman Polanski, Oscar-winning director
• Sydney Pollack, Oscar-winning director, actor, producer
• Otto Preminger, director
• Harold Ramis, director
• Brett Ratner, director
• Rob Reiner, director
• Martin Ritt, director
• Jay Roach, director
• Jerome Robbins, Oscar-winning director, choreographer
• Herbert Ross, director
• Robert Rossen, director, screenwriter
• John Schlesinger, director
• Don Siegel, director
• Bryan Singer, director
• Robert Siodmak, director
• Todd Solondz, director
• Barry Sonnenfeld, director
• Steven Spielberg, Oscar-winning director, producer
• Josef von Sternberg, director
• Edgar G. Ulmer, director
• Paul & Chris Weitz, directors
• Billy Wilder, Oscar-winning director
• Frederick Wiseman, documentary director
• William Wyler, Oscar-winning director
• Boaz Yakin, director
• Fred Zinnemann, Oscar-winning director
• Zucker, Zucker & Abrahams, directors
• Edward Zwick, director
• Terry Zwigoff, director

Film actors

• Jack Albertson, Oscar-winning actor
• Mabel Albertson, actress (elder sister of Jack Albertson, qv)
• Woody Allen, actor, director
• Alan Arkin, actor
• Alexis, David, Patricia & Rosanna Arquette
• Ed Asner, actor and political activist
• Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor
• Lauren Bacall, actress
• Martin Balsam, Oscar-winning actor
• Theda Bara, actress, vamp
• Ellen Barkin, actress
• Barbara Barrie, actress
• Frances Bay, Canada-born actress
• Dani Behr, South African-born British actress
• Doris Belack, actress
• Jack Benny, comedian, comic actor
• Jeannie Berlin, actress (daughter of Elaine May, qv)
• Sarah Bernhardt, French thespian (daughter of a Jewish courtesan)
• Bibi Besch, actress
• Rachel Bilson, actress
• Joey Bishop, actor, member of the Rat Pack
• Jack Black, actor, rock musician
• Mel Blanc, cartoon voice actor
• Selma Blair, actress
• Sorrell Booke, actor
• Matthew Broderick actor (Jewish mother)
• Adam Brody, actor
• Georgia Brown, British actress, entertainer
• Carol Bruce, actress, entertainer
• George Burns, Oscar-winning actor, comedian
• Red Buttons, Oscar-winning actor
• Seymore Butts, erotic actor
• Amanda Bynes, actress (Jewish mother)
• James Caan, actor
• Dyan Cannon, actress (Jewish mother)
• Kate Capshaw, actress (converted)
• Phoebe Cates, actress
• Cyd Charisse, dancer, actress
• Jill Clayburgh, actress
• Jennifer Connelly, Oscar-winning actress (Jewish mother)
• Billy Crystal, actor
• Tony Curtis, actor
• Joan Darling, actress
• Sammy Davis Jr., all-around entertainer (converted)
• Don Diamant, actor
• Kirk Douglas, actor
• Melvyn Douglas, Oscar-winning actor
• Richard Dreyfuss, Oscar-winning actor
• Jon Favreau, actor, director (Jewish mother)
• Tovah Feldshuh, actress
• Fyvush Finkel, actor
• June Foray, cartoon voice actress
• James Franco, actor (Jewish mother)
• Bonnie Franklin, actress, singer
• Paul Frees, cartoon voice actor
• Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress
• Gina Gershon, actress
• Jack Gilford, actor
• Joanna Gleason, actress
• Jeff Goldblum, actor
• Annie Golden, comic actress
• Ian Gomez, actor (Jewish mother)
• Eydie Gorme, chanteuse, actress
• Elliott Gould, actor
• Christopher Guest, actor (Jewish mother)
• Lee Grant, Oscar-winning actress
• Seth Green, actor
• Jennifer Grey, actress
• Joel Grey, Oscar-winning actor
• Steve Guttenberg, actor
• Maggie & Jake Gyllenhaal, actors (Jewish mother)
• Monty Hall, host
• Alyson Hannigan, actress (Jewish mother)
• Estelle Harris, actress
• Nina Hartley, erotic actress
• Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-British Jewish actor
• Goldie Hawn, Oscar-winning actress (Jewish mother)
• Dustin Hoffman, Oscar-winning actor
• Judy Holliday, Oscar-winning actress
• John Houseman, Oscar-winning actor
• Ron Jeremy, erotic actor
• Scarlett Johansson, actress (Jewish mother)
• Al Jolson, singer, actor, early sound film star
• Madeline Kahn, actress
• Sean Kanan, actor
• Gabe Kaplan, comic actor, standup comedian
• Rita Karin, actress
• Andy Kaufman, comic
• Maurice Kaufman, British actor
• Julie Kavner, actress
• Danny Kaye, entertainer, actor
• Lainie Kazan, singer, actress
• Harvey Keitel, actor
• Mina Kolb, actress
• Harvey Korman, comic actor
• Lisa Kudrow, actress
• Martin Landau, Oscar-winning actor
• Steve Landesberg, actor
• Piper Laurie, actress
• Steve Lawrence, singer, actor
• Michele Lee, singer, actress
• Phil Leeds, comic actor
• Jennifer Jason Leigh, actress
• Gloria Leonard, erotic actress
• Al Lewis, comic actor
• Hal Linden, singer, actor
• Peggy Lipton, actress
• Peter Lorre, actor
• Paul Lukas, Oscar-winning actor
• Natasha Lyonne, actress
• Janet Margolin, actress
• Miriam Margolyes, British actress
• Marx Brothers, actors
• Samantha Mathis, actress (daughter of late Bibi Besch, qv)
• Marlee Matlin, Oscar-winning actress
• Walter Matthau, Oscar-winning actor
• Elaine May, comedienne, writer
• Anne Meara, actress, comedian
• Sylvia Miles, actress
• Marilyn Monroe, actress (converted)
• Paul Muni, Oscar-winning actor
• Carmel Myers, actress who was the daughter of a rabbi
• Laraine Newman, comic actress
• Nanette Newman, English actress
• Mike Nussbaum, actor
• Lillie Palmer, German-American Jewish actress
• Gwyneth Paltrow, Oscar-winning actress (Jewish father, raised Jewish)
• Amanda Peet, actress
• Clara Peller, "Where's the Beef?"
• Joaquin, River & Summer Phoenix, actors (Jewish mother)
• Jeremy Piven, actor
• Kevin Pollak, actor
• Natalie Portman, actress
• Rain Pryor, Jewish mother
• Mae Questel, mostly voice actress ("Betty Boop")
• Luise Rainer, Oscar-winning actress
• Edward G. Robinson, actor
• Emmy Rossum, actress
• Cecilia Roth, Argentine-born actress
• Adam Sandler, actor, comedian
• Joseph Schildkraut, Oscar-winning actor
• Liev Schreiber, actor
• Pablo Schreiber, actor
• Rebecca Schull, actress
• David Schwimmer, actor
• George Segal, actor
• Peter Sellers, actor (Jewish Mother)
• Paul Shaffer, sidekick on late night TV show
• Garry Shandling, comic actor
• Harry Shearer, comic, vocal actor ("The Simpsons")
• Norma Shearer, Oscar-winning actress (converted)
• Ally Sheedy, actress (Jewish mother)
• Sir Antony Sher, South African born Jewish actor (knighted in 2000)
• Sylvia Sidney, legendary screen star of the 1930s/40s
• Ron Silver, actor
• Alicia Silverstone, actress
• Randy Spelling, actress (Jewish father, raised Jewish)
• Tori Spelling, actress (Jewish father, raised Jewish)
• Annie Sprinkle, erotic actress
• Ben Stiller, actor
• Jerry Stiller, actor and father of Ben Stiller
• Jill St. John, actress
• Barbra Streisand, Oscar-winning actress, singer, director
• Janet Suzman, South Africa-born actress (UK resident)
• Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Oscar-winning actress (converted)
• Michael Vartan French-born US actor (Jewish mother)
• Nana Visitor, actress
• Mark Walberg, South Carolina-born TV host
• Eli Wallach, actor
• Jack Weston, actor
• Gene Wilder, actor
• Debra Winger, actress
• Shelley Winters, Oscar-winning actress
• Evan Rachel Wood, actress

Television actors

Arranged by television show:

• 24 - Jonathan Ahdout, Sara Gilbert, Mia Kirshner
• The Addams Family - Carolyn Jones (converted)
• Alice - Linda Lavin
• Arrested Development - Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, David Cross
• Babylon 5 - Mira Furlan, Stephen Furst
• Barney Miller - Hal Linden, Barbara Barrie, Steve Landesberg
• Battlestar Galactica - Lorne Greene
• Beverly Hills 90210 - Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering
• Bewitched - Mabel Albertson
• The Bob Newhart Show - Suzanne Pleshette
• Bonanza - Lorne Greene, Michael Landon (Landon Jewish father)
• Boston Public - Fyvush Finkel
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Alyson Hannigan (Jewish mother)
• Burke's Law - Gene Barry
• The Carol Burnett Show - Harvey Korman
• Charlie's Angels - Tanya Roberts
• Cheers - Rhea Perlman, Bebe Neuwirth
• Chicken Soup - Jackie Mason, Rita Karin
• Chico and the Man - Jack Albertson
• Columbo - Peter Falk
• The Cosby Show - Lisa Bonet (Jewish mother)
• The Critic - Jon Lovitz
• Curb Your Enthusiasm - Larry David
• Dukes of Hazzard - Sorrell Booke
• ER - Noah Wyle, Julianna Margulies (Margulies Jewish father)
• Even Stevens - Shia LaBeouf (Jewish mother)
• Everybody Loves Raymond - Doris Roberts, Brad Garrett
• The Facts of Life - Charlotte Rae, Mindy Cohn
• Family Guy - Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green
• Friends - Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer
• Full House - Bob Saget, Scott Weinger, Marla Sokoloff
• The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show - George Burns
• George and Leo - Judd Hirsch
• Get Smart - Don Adams, Bernie Kopell (Adams Jewish mother)
• Gilligan's Island - Tina Louise
• Gimme a Break! - Nell Carter (converted)
• The Golden Girls - Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty
• The Goon Show - Peter Sellers
• Happy Days - Henry Winkler, Tom Bosley
• Homicide: Life on the Street - Yaphet Kotto, Richard Belzer
• Hogan's Heroes - Leon Askin, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Robert Clary
• The Larry Sanders Show - Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor
• Law & Order - Steven Hill
• Little House on the Prairie - Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert (Landon Jewish father)
• Lost In Space - Jonathan Harris
• Lou Grant - Ed Asner
• Mad About You - Paul Reiser
• Maude - Bea Arthur, Bill Macy
• Mission Impossible - Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Steven Hill
• The Munsters - Al Lewis
• The Nanny - Fran Drescher, Renee Taylor
• Northern Exposure - Rob Morrow
• The O.C. - Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson
• One Day at a Time - Bonnie Franklin
• The Phil Silvers Show - Phil Silvers, Harvey Lembeck
• Roseanne - Roseanne Barr, Sandra Bernhard, Sara Gilbert, Tom Arnold (Arnold converted)
• Roswell - Shiri Appleby, Brendan Fehr
• Saved by the Bell - Dustin Diamond
• Scrubs - Zach Braff
• Seinfeld - Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander,Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Sex and the City - Sarah Jessica Parker (Jewish mother)
• The Simpsons - Hank Azaria, Julie Kavner, Harry Shearer
• South Park - Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Eliza Schneider (Stone Jewish mother)
• Space: 1999 - Martin Landau, Barbara Bain
• Starsky and Hutch - Paul Michael Glaser
• Star Trek: The Original Series - William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Walter Koenig
• Star Trek: The Next Generation - Brent Spiner
• Star Trek: Deep Space 9 - Armin Shimerman
• Taxi - Judd Hirsch, Carol Kane, Andy Kaufman
• That '70s Show - Mila Kunis, Tanya Roberts
• thirtysomething - Ken Olin, Melanie Mayron
• The West Wing - Richard Schiff, Joshua Malina
• Who's the Boss? - Judith Light
• Will & Grace - Debra Messing
• The Wonder Years - Fred Savage

TV and radio presenters

• Dan Abrams, MSNBC anchor
• Marv Albert, sportscaster
• Mel Allen, radio sportscaster
• Chuck Barris, presenter of Dating Game, Gong Show
• Wolf Blitzer, CNN reporter
• Kitty Carlisle, panelist on To Tell the Truth, arts advocate
• Connie Chung, news anchor (converted)
• Liz Claman, host of CNBC Morning Call
• Howard Cosell, sportscaster
• Katie Couric, presenter of The Today Show (Jewish mother)
• Don Francisco, presenter of Sabado Gigante
• Allen Funt, presenter of Candid Camera
• Ira Glass, presenter of This American Life
• Amy Goodman, presenter of Democracy Now
• Daryn Kagan, host of CNN Live Today
• Larry King, CNN reporter, host of Larry King Live
• Ted Koppel, presenter of Nightline
• Ricki Lake, presenter of Ricki
• Bill Maher, ex-presenter of Politically Incorrect (Jewish mother)
• Al Michaels, sportscaster
• Geraldo Rivera, news reporter (Jewish mother)
• Laura Schlessinger, radio talk-show host of Dr. Laura
• Daniel Schorr, tv reporter
• Dinah Shore, television host, singer
• Herb Stempel, quiz show contestant
• Bill Stern, radio sportscaster
• Howard Stern, radio shock jock
• Jon Stewart, comedian, presenter of The Daily Show
• Mike Wallace, correspondent for 60 Minutes
• Barbara Walters, presenter of Today Show, 20/20

Producers and creators

• Irwin Allen, producer & director
• George Axelrod, screenwriter
• Steven Bochco, creator of LA Law, Murder One
• Jerry Bruckheimer, producer
• Paddy Chayefsky, screenwriter
• Norman Corwin, radio writer, producer
• David Crane, screenwriter, producer, co-creator of Friends
• Robert Evans, producer, studio executive
• Akiva Goldsman, Oscar-winning screenwriter, producer
• Ben Hecht, screenwriter
• Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter
• Marta Kauffman, producer, screenwriter, co-creator of Friends
• Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter
• David Kohan, executive prodoucer of Will & Grace and Good Morning Miami, screenwriter of The Wonder Years
• Ernest Lehman, screenwriter
• Marc Platt, producer
• Carl Reiner, comedian, creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show
• Leon Schlesinger, producer
• Josh Schwartz, screenwriter, creator of The OC
• Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan's Island, Brady Bunch
• Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone
• Joel Silver, producer and co-inventor of Ultimate Frisbee
• Aaron Sorkin, creator of West Wing
• Aaron Spelling, producer
• Darren Star, creator of Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Sex and the City
• Matt Stone, creator of South Park (Jewish mother)

Comedians

• Bud Abbott, half of Abbott & Costello (Jewish mother)
• Woody Allen, comedian, director, actor
• Dave Attell, comedian
• Roseanne Barr, comedian
• Jack Benny, entertainer
• Milton Berle, entertainer, actor
• Shelley Berman, comedian
• Sandra Bernhard, comedian
• Lewis Black, comedian
• Victor Borge, comedian, pianist
• Fanny Brice, entertainer
• Albert Brooks, comedian, actor
• Mel Brooks, comedian
• Lenny Bruce, comedian
• George Burns, entertainer, actor
• Eddie Cantor, entertainer, actor
• Sid Caesar, actor, writer
• Andrew Dice Clay, comedian
• David Cross, comedian, actor
• Rodney Dangerfield, comedian
• Larry Fine, the Three Stooges
• Al Franken, comedian, activist
• Gilbert Gottfried, comedian, actor
• Charles Grodin, comedian, actor
• Buddy Hackett, comedian
• Moe, Shemp & Curly Howard, the Three Stooges
• Andy Kaufman, comedian, actor
• Danny Kaye, entertainer, actor
• Alan King, comedian
• Robert Klein, comedian
• Tom Lehrer, satirist, musician
• Jerry Lewis, comedian, actor
• Richard Lewis, comedian
• Jackie Mason, comedian
• Lorne Michaels, creator of Saturday Night Live
• Freddie Prinze, comedian, actor (Jewish father)
• Gilda Radner, comic actress
• Don Rickles, comedian, actor
• Joan Rivers, comedienne
• Rita Rudner, comedian
• Robert Schimmel, comedian
• Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, actor
• Allan Sherman, satirist, musician
• Pauly Shore, comedian
• Sarah Silverman, comic
• Jon Stewart, comic, TV host
• Rich Vos, Comic
• Henny Youngman, comedian

Theatre

• Stella Adler, acting teacher
• Julian Beck & Judith Malina, founders of Living Theatre
• Joseph Chaikin & Peter Feldman, founders of Open Theatre
• Anna Held, stage performer
• Judy Kaye, actress & singer
• Larry Kert, actor & singer
• Judy Kuhn, actress & singer
• James Lapine, director & librettist
• Sanford Meisner, founder of Neighbourhood Playhouse
• Idina Menzel, actress, singer and songwriter
• David Merrick, producer & director
• Zero Mostel, actor
• Alla Nazimova, actress
• Bebe Neuwirth, actress
• Mandy Patinkin, actor & singer
• Harold Prince, director
• Tony Randall, actor, founder of National Actors Theatre
• Max Reinhardt, director
• Frank Silvera, founder of Theatre of Being (Jewish father)
• Lee Strasberg & Harold Clurman, co-founders of Group Theatre
• Julie Taymor, director

Magicians

• David Blaine, stunt performer (Jewish single mother)
• David Copperfield, illusionist
• Horace Goldin, illusionist
• Harry Houdini, escape artist
• Max Maven, mentalist
• Ricky Jay, card tricks
• Shari Lewis, ventriloquist
• Raymond Teller, half of Penn and Teller (Jewish father)

Dance

• Michael Bennett, choreographer (Jewish mother)
• Eliot Feld, dancer & choreographer
• Ron Field, director & choreographer
• Anna Halprin, dancer, choreographer & teacher
• Michael Kidd, choreographer
• Lincoln Kirstein, dance impressario
• Liz Lerman, choreographer & activist
• Arthur Murray, dance instructor
• Jerome Robbins, director & choreographer
• Anna Sokolow, dancer & choreographer

Models

• Barbi Benton, model, actress
• Caprice Bourret, model
• Brooke Burke, model (Jewish mother, identifies)
• Cindy Margolis, model
• Bess Myerson, Miss America
• Simon Rex, model, actor, MTV VJ
• Lindsey Vuolo, model
• Nikki Schieler Ziering, model (converted)

Philosophers

• Mortimer Adler, philosopher
• Paul Benacerraf, philosopher
• Max Black, analytic philosopher
• Ned Block, philosopher of mind
• George Boolos, logician
• Stanley Cavell, philosopher
• Morris Raphael Cohen, philosopher
• Arthur Danto, philosophy of aesthetics
• Hubert Dreyfus, critic of cognitivism
• Ronald Dworkin, legal philosopher
• Herbert Feigl, philosopher of science
• Solomon Feferman, logician
• Stanley Fish, literary theorist
• Jerry Fodor, philosopher of mind
• Philipp Frank, logical positivist
• Nelson Goodman, new riddle of induction
• Sidney Hook, philosopher
• Hans Jonas, philosopher
• Walter Kaufmann, philosopher
• Saul Kripke, logician
• Thomas Kuhn, philosopher of science
• Ruth Barcan Marcus, logician
• Ernest Nagel, philosopher of science
• Thomas Nagel, philosophy of mind
• Robert Nozick, libertarianism
• Martha Nussbaum, ethics (converted)
• Hilary Putnam, functionalism
• Ayn Rand, objectivism
• Michael Sandel, communitarianism
• Leo Strauss, political philosopher
• Judith Jarvis Thomson, moral philosopher

Social and Political Scientists

• Theodor Adorno, sociologist & philosopher (Jewish father)
• Hannah Arendt, political theorist
• Daniel Bell, sociologist
• Reinhard Bendix, sociologist
• Sanford Berman, radical librarian
• Peter Blau, sociologist
• Franz Boas, cultural anthropologist
• Kate Bornstein, gender theorist
• Judith Butler, queer theorist
• Lewis A. Coser, sociologist
• Amitai Etzioni, sociologist
• Norman Finkelstein, political theorist
• Mark Granovetter, sociologist
• Marvin Harris, anthropologist
• Melville J. Herskovits, anthropologist
• Lenore Jacobson, experimental sociologist
• Evelyn Fox Keller, science & gender theorist
• Irving Kristol, neoconservative
• Paul Lazarsfeld, sociologist
• Seymour Martin Lipset, political sociologist
• Robert Lowie, anthropologist
• Herbert Marcuse, sociologist, New Left figurehead
• Robert King Merton, sociologist
• Ashley Montagu, anthropologist
• Paul Radin, anthropologist
• David Riesman, sociologist
• Robert Rosenthal, experimental sociologist
• Marshall Sahlins, anthropologist
• David Schneider, cultural anthropologist
• Alfred Schütz, sociologist & philosopher
• Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, queer theorist
• Louis Wirth, sociologist
• Eric Wolf, anthropologist
• Milford H. Wolpoff, physical anthropologist

Linguists

• Leonard Bloomfield, linguist
• Noam Chomsky, linguist & activist
• Joshua Fishman, sociolinguist
• Joseph Greenberg, language classification
• Morris Halle, linguist
• Zellig Harris, structural linguist
• Ray Jackendoff, linguist
• Roman Jakobson, Prague School of linguistics
• Jay Jasanoff, historical linguist
• William Labov, sociolinguist
• George Lakoff, sociolinguist
• Fred Lukoff, linguist
• Edward Sapir, anthropologist-linguist
• Morris Swadesh, linguist
• Deborah Tannen, sociolinguist
• Michael Thomas, language teacher
• Max & Uriel Weinreich, linguists

Psychologists

• Solomon Asch, Gestalt psychologist
• Aaron Beck, cognitive behavior theory
• Bruno Bettelheim, child psychologist
• Susan Block, sex therapist
• Jerome Bruner, cognitive learning theorist
• Paul Ekman, facial expressions
• Erik Erikson, developmental psychologist (Jewish mother)
• Leon Festinger, Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
• Erich Fromm, psychologist & humanistic philosopher
• Carol Gilligan, psychologist & ethicist
• Irving Janis, social psychologist
• Jerome Kagan, child psychologist
• Daniel Kahneman, prospect theory, Nobel Prize (2002)
• Lawrence Kohlberg, developmental psychologist
• Elizabeth Loftus, memory psychologist
• Abraham Maslow, humanistic psychologist
• Stanley Milgram, small world and Milgram experiments
• Walter Mischel, experimental psychologist
• Hugo Munsterberg, industrial psychologist
• Ulric Neisser, cognitive psychologist (Jewish father)
• Anatol Rapoport, mathematical psychologist
• Fritz Perls, Gestalt therapy
• Steven Pinker, psychologist & writer
• Theodor Reik, psychoanalyst
• David Rosenhan, Rosenhan experiment
• Julian Rotter, social psychologist
• Stanley Schachter, social psychologist
• Martin Seligman, Positive psychologist
• Herbert Simon, cognitive psychologist, Nobel Prize (1978)
• Robert Sternberg, intelligence & creativity
• David Wechsler, intelligence testing
• George Weinberg, coiner of the word "homophobia"
• Joseph Wolpe, psychiatrist

Economists

• George Akerlof, economist, Nobel Prize (2001)
• Kenneth Arrow, Arrow's impossibility theorem, Clark Medal (1957), Nobel Prize (1972)
• Gary Becker, economist, Clark Medal (1967), Nobel Prize (1992)
• Martin S. Feldstein, economist, Clark Medal (1977)
• Franklin M. Fisher, economist, Clark Medal (1973)
• Robert Fogel, new economic history, Nobel Prize (1993)
• Milton Friedman, monetarist economist, Clark Medal (1951), Nobel Prize (1976)
• Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve
• Zvi Griliches, econometrist, Clark Medal (1965)
• Sanford J. Grossman, economics of information, Clark Medal (1987)
• John Harsanyi, game theorist, Nobel Prize (1994)
• Jerry A. Hausman, econometrist, Clark Medal (1985)
• Robert Heilbroner, leftist economist
• Israel Kirzner, Austrian School economist
• Lawrence Klein, econometric models, Clark Medal (1959), Nobel Prize (1980)
• David M. Kreps, economist, Clark Medal (1989)
• Paul Krugman, economist & journalist, Clark Medal (1991)
• Simon Kuznets, econometrics, Nobel Prize (1971)
• Wassily Leontief, Input-Output method, Nobel Prize (1973) (Jewish mother)
• Steven Levitt, economist, Clark Medal (2003)
• Harry Markowitz, economist, Nobel Prize (1990)
• Robert Merton, Black-Scholes equation, Nobel Prize (1997) (Jewish father)
• Merton Miller, economist, Nobel Prize (1990)
• Ludwig von Mises, Austrian School economist
• Franco Modigliani, economist, Nobel Prize (1985)
• Oskar Morgenstern, game theorist
• Marc Leon Nerlove, economist, Clark Medal (1969)
• Matthew Rabin, economist, Clark Medal (2001)
• Murray Rothbard, Austrian School economist
• Jeffrey Sachs, economic shock therapy
• Paul Samuelson, economic analysis, Clark Medal (1947), Nobel Prize (1970)
• Andrei Shleifer, economist, Clark Medal (1999)
• Myron Scholes, Black-Scholes equation, Nobel Prize (1997)
• Robert Solow, economic growth, Clark Medal (1961), Nobel Prize (1987)
• Joseph Stiglitz, economist & author, Clark Medal (1979), Nobel Prize (2001)
• Lawrence Summers, economist, Clark Medal (1993)
• Jacob Viner, economist

Historians

• Herbert Aptheker, Marxist historian
• Bernard Bailyn, historian
• Daniel Boorstin, historian
• Alan Brinkley, historian (half Jewish)
• Norman Cantor, medieval historian
• Ariel Durant, The Story of Civilization
• Eric Foner, historian
• Peter Gay, historian
• Oscar Handlin, historian
• Raul Hilberg, holocaust historian
• Richard Hofstadter, historian (Jewish father)
• Gerda Lerner, feminist historian
• Bernard Lewis, historian of Islam
• Deborah Lipstadt, Holocaust historian
• Erwin Panofsky, art historian
• Meyer Schapiro, art historian
• Barbara Tuchman, historian
• Howard Zinn, leftist historian

Physicists

• Ralph Alpher, background radiation
• Hans Bethe, nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize (1967) (Jewish mother)
• Felix Bloch, nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize (1952)
• David Bohm, quantum physicist, philosopher of science
• Leon Cooper, BCS theory, Nobel Prize (1972)
• Martin Deutsch, positronium
• Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize (1921)
• Richard Feynman, quantum physicist, Nobel Prize (1965)
• David Finkelstein, physicist
• James Franck, physicist, Nobel Prize (1925)
• Edward Fredkin, digital physicist
• Herbert Friedman, solar X-rays
• Jerome Friedman, physicist, Nobel Prize (1990)
• Margaret Geller, astronomer
• Murray Gell-Mann, quarks, Nobel Prize (1969)
• Sheldon Glashow, physicist, Nobel Prize (1979)
• Donald A. Glaser, bubble chamber, Nobel Prize (1960)
• Thomas Gold, cosmologist (Jewish father)
• Daniel S. Goldin, NASA administrator
• Samuel Goudsmit, electron spin
• David Gross, string theorist, Nobel Prize (2004)
• Alan Guth, cosmic inflation
• Robert Hofstadter, physicist, Nobel Prize (1961)
• Theodore von Kármán, aeronautical engineer
• Daniel Kleppner, atomic research
• Leon M. Lederman, physicist, Nobel Prize (1988)
• David Morris Lee, superfluidity, Nobel Prize (1996)
• Fritz London, quantum chemistry
• Theodore Maiman, first operable laser
• Ben Roy Mottelson, physicist, Nobel Prize (1975)
• Albert Michelson, speed of light, Nobel Prize (1907)
• Robert Oppenheimer, nuclear physicist
• Douglas D. Osheroff, superfluidity, Nobel Prize (1996)
• Abraham Pais, historian of science
• Wolfgang Pauli, nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize (1945) (Jewish father, half-Jewish mother)
• Arno Allan Penzias, background radiation, Nobel Prize (1978)
• Martin Lewis Perl, physicist, Nobel Prize (1995)
• H. David Politzer, physicist, Nobel Prize (2004)
• Isidor Isaac Rabi, physicist, Nobel Prize (1944)
• Simon Ramo, physicist, engineer
• Frederick Reines, neutrino experiment, Nobel Prize (1995)
• Burton Richter, physicist, Nobel Prize (1976)
• Carl Sagan, astronomer & science popularizer
• Arthur Schawlow, laser spectroscopy, Nobel Prize (1981) (Jewish father)
• John Schwarz, string theorist
• Melvin Schwartz, physicist, Nobel Prize (1988)
• Emilio G. Segrè, anti-proton, Nobel Prize (1959)
• Julian Schwinger, quantum physicist, Nobel Prize (1965)
• Lee Smolin, loop quantum gravity
• Gerald Soffen, NASA scientist
• Alan Sokal, Sokal affair
• Jack Steinberger, physicist, Nobel Prize (1988)
• Otto Stern, physicist, Nobel Prize (1943)
• Andrew Strominger, string theory
• Leonard Susskind, string theory
• Leo Szilard, nuclear physicist
• Edward Teller, nuclear physicist
• Immanuel Velikovsky, controversial writer on cosmology
• Steven Weinberg, electroweak force, Nobel Prize (1979)
• Stephen Wiesner, quantum cryptography
• Victor Weisskopf, physicist
• Eugene Wigner, quantum physicist, Nobel Prize (1963)
• George Zweig, quarks

Chemists

• Christian B. Anfinsen, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1972) (converted)
• Sidney Altman, chemist, Nobel Prize (1989)
• Paul Berg, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1980)
• R. Stephen Berry, physical chemist
• Herbert C. Brown, chemist, Nobel Prize (1979)
• Melvin Calvin, calvin cycle, Nobel Prize (1961)
• Erwin Chargaff, DNA pioneer
• Morris Cohen, metallurgist
• Camille & Henry Dreyfus, cellulose acetate, founders of Celanese
• Kasimir Fajans, isotopes, identified protactinium
• Walter Gilbert, DNA sequencing, Nobel Prize (1980)
• Henry Gilman, organometallic chemist
• Moses Gomberg, free radicals
• Norman Hackerman, chemist
• Herbert A. Hauptman, chemist, Nobel Prize (1985)
• Alan J Heeger, chemist, Nobel Prize (2000)
• Roald Hoffmann, chemist & writer, Nobel Prize (1981)
• Martin Kamen, Carbon 14
• Martin Karplus, theoretical chemist
• Walter Kohn, physicist, Nobel Prize (1998)
• Izaak Kolthoff, analytical chemist
• Phoebus Levene, nucleic acid pioneer
• Rudolph A. Marcus, chemist, Nobel Prize (1992)
• Jacob A. Marinsky, discovered promethium
• Herman Mark, polymers (half Jewish)
• George Olah, chemist, Nobel Prize (1994)
• Irwin Rose, biologist, Nobel Prize (2004)
• William Stein, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1972)

Biologists and physicians

• Richard Axel, olfactory system, Nobel Prize (2004)
• Julius Axelrod, neurotransmitters, Nobel Prize (1970)
• David Baltimore, reverse transcriptase, Nobel Prize (1975)
• Baruj Benacerraf, immunologist, Nobel Prize (1980)
• Konrad Bloch, cholesterol, Nobel Prize (1959)
• Samuel Blum, excimer laser surgery
• Baruch Blumberg, hepatitis B vaccine, Nobel Prize (1976)
• Michael S. Brown, molecular geneticist, Nobel Prize (1985)
• Stanley Cohen, neurologist, Nobel Prize (1986)
• Stanley N. Cohen, genetic engineering
• Gerty Cori, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1947)
• Jared Diamond, evolutionary biologist & biogeographer
• Carl Djerassi, contraceptive pill
• Gerald Edelman, biologist, Nobel Prize (1972)
• Gertrude Elion, drug development, Nobel Prize (1988)
• Joseph Erlanger, physiologist, Nobel Prize (1945)
• Edmond H. Fischer, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1992) (Jewish father)
• Judah Folkman, cancer angiogenesis
• Casimir Funk, vitamins
• Robert F. Furchgott, pharmacologist, Nobel Prize (1998)
• Herbert Gasser, physiologist, Nobel Prize (1945) (Jewish father)
• Alfred G. Gilman, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1994)
• Avram Goldstein, opiate receptors
• Joseph L. Goldstein, molecular geneticist, Nobel Prize (1985)
• Michael Gottlieb, Joel Weisman, early identifiers of AIDS
• Paul Greengard, neuroscientist, Nobel Prize (1990)
• Stephen Jay Gould, evolutionary biologist & writer
• Michael Heidelberger, immunochemist
• H. Robert Horvitz, biologist, Nobel Prize (2002)
• Jerome Horwitz, AZT
• Eric R. Kandel, neuroscientist, Nobel Prize (2000)
• Charles Kelman, cataract surgery
• Carl Koller, local anesthesia
• Arthur Kornberg, DNA replication, Nobel Prize (1959)
• Eric Lander, Human Genome Project
• Joshua & Esther Lederberg, molecular biologists, Nobel Prize (1958)
• Rita Levi-Montalcini, neurologist, Nobel Prize (1986)
• Jay Levy, AIDS researcher
• Richard Lewontin, evolutionary biologist
• Fritz Lipmann, coenzyme A, Nobel Prize (1953)
• Otto Loewi, acetylcholine, Nobel Prize (1936)
• Salvador Luria, bacterial evolution, Nobel Prize (1969)
• Lynn Margulis, Gaia theory
• Matthew Messelson, DNA replication
• Otto Meyerhof, glycolysis, Nobel Prize (1922)
• Stanley Miller, Miller-Urey experiment
• Irving Millman, viral hepatitis vaccine
• Hermann Muller, geneticist, Nobel Prize (1946) (Jewish mother)
• Daniel Nathans, microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1978)
• Marshall Nirenberg, genetic code, Nobel Prize (1968)
• Gregory Pincus, contraceptive pill
• Stanley Prusiner, neurologist, Nobel Prize (1997)
• Martin Rodbell, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1994)
• Albert Sabin, oral polio vaccine
• Jonas Salk, polio vaccine
• Andrew V. Schally, endocrinologist, Nobel Prize (1977)
• Albert Schatz, streptomycin
• Béla Schick, diphtheria test
• Rudolf Schoenheimer, radioactive tracers
• Alexander Shulgin, pharmacologist, populariser of ecstasy
• Solomon H. Snyder, opiate receptors
• Adolphus Solomons, co-founder of the American Red Cross
• Leo Sternbach, valium
• Howard Temin, reverse transcriptase, Nobel Prize (1975)
• Max Tishler, synthetic vitamins
• Harold Varmus, virologist, Nobel Prize (1989)
• George Wald, retina pigmentation, Nobel Prize (1967)
• Selman Waksman, streptomycin, Nobel Prize (1952)
• Charles Weissmann, interferon cloning
• Rosalyn Yalow, medical physicist, Nobel Prize (1977)
• Charles Yanofsky, geneticist

Mathematicians

• Kenneth Appel, four-color problem
• Richard Bellman, dynamic programming (Jewish mother, half Jewish father)
• Salomon Bochner, harmonic analysis
• Raoul Bott, geometry (half Jewish)
• Richard Brauer, modular representation theory
• Eugenio Calabi, differential geometry
• Paul Cohen, set theorist, Fields Medal (1966)
• Richard Courant, algebraic topology
• George Dantzig, simplex algorithm
• Martin Davis, mathematician
• Persi Diaconis, statistician
• Jesse Douglas, mathematician, Fields Medal (1936)
• Samuel Eilenberg, category theorist
• Noam Elkies, mathematician
• Charles Fefferman, mathematician, Fields Medal (1978)
• Mitchell Feigenbaum, chaos theorist
• William Feller, probability theory
• Michael Freedman, mathematician, Fields Medal (1986) (Jewish father)
• Solomon Golomb, polyominoes
• Paul Halmos, mathematician
• Mark Kac, mathematician
• Edward Kasner, mathematician
• Martin Kruskal, mathematician
• Peter Lax, mathematician, Abel Prize (2005)
• Solomon Lefschetz, algebraic topology
• Norman Levinson, mathematician
• Barry Mazur, mathematician
• Louis Mordell, number theorist
• George Pólya, mathematician
• Emil Post, logician
• Herbert Robbins, statistician
• Abraham Robinson, nonstandard analysis
• Isadore Singer, mathematician, Abel Prize (2004)
• Richard P. Stanley, mathematician
• Elias Stein, mathematician
• Alfred Tarski, logician
• Stanislaw Ulam, mathematician
• André Weil, mathematician
• Edward Witten, M-theory, Fields Medal (1990)
• Oscar Zariski, algebraic geometry

Computer scientists

• Hal Abelson, artificial intelligence
• Norman Abramson, ALOHAnet
• Len Adleman, RSA cryptography, DNA computing, Turing Award (2002)
• Paul Baran, packet switching
• Yehoshua Bar-Hillel, machine translation
• Dan Bernstein, cryptologist (unconfirmed)
• Manuel Blum, computational complexity, Turing Award (1995)
• Gregory Chaitin, algorithmic information theory
• Peter Elias, information theory
• Robert Fano, information theory
• Edward Feigenbaum, artificial intelligence, Turing Award (1994)
• William F. Friedman, cryptologist
• Eugene Garfield, library & information scientist
• David Gelernter, parallel computation, Unabomber victim
• Adele Goldberg, Smalltalk design team
• Herman & Adele Goldstine, developers of ENIAC
• Shafi Goldwasser, cryptographer
• Martin Hellman, public key cryptography
• Douglas Hofstadter, academic & author (half Jewish)
• Bob Kahn, TCP/IP
• Richard Karp, computational complexity, Turing Award (1985)
• John Kemeny, BASIC
• Leonard Kleinrock, packet switching
• Joseph Kruskal, Kruskal's algorithm
• Solomon Kullback, cryptographer
• Raymond Kurzweil, OCR, speech recognition
• Leslie Lamport, LaTeX
• Jaron Lanier, virtual reality
• Douglas Lenat, artificial intelligence
• Leonid Levin, computational complexity
• John McCarthy, LISP, Turing Award (1971) (Jewish mother)
• Marvin Minsky, artificial intelligence, neural nets, Turing Award (1969)
• John von Neumann, computer scientist, mathematician & economist
• David Parnas, software engineering
• Seymour Papert, LOGO
• Judea Pearl, baysean networks
• Ken Perlin, fractal noise
• Alan J. Perlis, compilers, Turing Award (1966)
• Lawrence Rabiner, digital signal processing
• Frank Rosenblatt, perceptrons
• Azriel Rosenfeld, image analysis
• Jean E. Sammet, language design
• Bruce Schneier, cryptographer
• Herbert Simon, cognitive & computer scientist, Turing Award (1975)
• Abraham Sinkov, cryptanalyst
• Daniel Sleator, splay trees (Jewish mother)
• Gustave Solomon, error correction
• Ray Solomonoff, algorithmic information theory
• Richard Stallman, GNU, FSF
• Gerald Jay Sussman, Scheme
• Jeffrey D. Ullman, compilers
• Leslie Valiant, parallel computing
• Andrew Viterbi, Viterbi algorithm
• Peter J. Weinberger, awk
• Joseph Weizenbaum, ELIZA, artificial intelligence critic
• Avi Wigderson, randomized algorithms
• Norbert Wiener, cybernetics
• Terry Winograd, SHRDLU
• Jacob Wolfowitz, information theory
• Lotfi Zadeh, fuzzy logic (Jewish mother)

Inventors

• Robert Adler, remote control
• Zora Arkus-Duntov, father of the Corvette
• Ralph Baer, games console
• Emile Berliner, gramophone
• Richard Frenkiel & Joel Engel, cellular technology
• Joseph Friedman, flexistraw
• Charles Ginsburg, video recorder
• Leopold Godowsky, Jr. & Leopold Mannes, Kodachrome
• Sylvan Goldman, shopping cart
• Peter Goldmark, LP record, color television
• Bernard Gordon, inventor
• Gordon Gould, laser
• Al Gross, pager, walkie-talkie (unconfirmed)
• Dean Kamen, inventor (unconfirmed)
• Edwin H. Land, polaroid
• Julius Lilienfeld, pre-transistor
• Stanford Ovshinsky, inventor
• Ron Popeil, inventor
• Jacob Rabinow, inventor
• Harold Rosen, geosynchronous satellite
• Raymond Scott sequencer, portable synthesizer

Presidential candidates

• Katharine Dukakis, wife of presidential candidate
• Barry Goldwater, presidential candidate (Jewish father)
• Janet Jagan, president of Guyana (1997-99)
• John Kerry, presidential candidate (Jewish paternal grandparents)
• Joseph Lieberman, vice-presidential candidate

Cabinet members

• Judah Benjamin, confederate secretary of war (1861) & state (1862-64)
• Oscar Straus, secretary of commerce & labor (1906-09)
• Henry Morgenthau, Jr., secretary of the treasury (1934-45)
• Pierre Salinger, white house press secretary (1961-64) (Jewish father)
• Henry Kissinger, national security advisor (1969-75), secretary of state (1973-77)
• W. Michael Blumenthal, secretary of the treasury (1977-79)
• Harold Brown, secretary of defense (1977-81)
• Robert Reich, secretary of labor (1993-97)
• John M. Deutch, CIA director (1995-96)
• Robert Rubin, secretary of the treasury (1995-99)
• Madeline Albright, secretary of state (1997-01) (raised Episcopalian)
• Sandy Berger, national security advisor (1997-01)
• William Cohen, secretary of defense (1997-01) (Jewish father)
• Larry Summers, secretary of the treasury (1999-01)
• Ari Fleischer, white house press secretary (2001-03)
• Michael Chertoff, homeland security secretary (2005-)

Senators

• David Levy Yulee, senator (D-FL: 1845-51, 1855-61)
• Judah Benjamin, senator (Whig-LA: 1853-61)
• Benjamin F. Jonas, senator (D-LA: 1879-85)
• Joseph Simon, senator (R-OR: 1898-03)
• Isidor Rayner, senator (D-MD: 1905-12)
• Simon Guggenheim, senator (R-CO: 1907-13)
• Herbert Lehman, senator (D-NY: 1949-57)
• Richard L. Neuberger, senator (D-OR: 1955-60)
• Jacob Javits, senator (R-NY: 1957-81)
• Ernest Gruening, senator (D-AK: 1959-69)
• Abraham Ribicoff, senator (D-CT: 1963-81)
• Howard Metzenbaum, senator (D-OH: 1974, 1976-95)
• Richard Stone, senator (D-FL: 1975-80)
• Edward Zorinsky, senator (D-NE: 1976-87)
• John Kerry,senator, (rased as Roman Catholic)
• Rudy Boschwitz, senator (R-MN: 1978-91)
• Carl Levin, senator (D-MI: 1979-)
• Warren Rudman, senator (R-NH: 1980-93)
• Arlen Specter, senator (R-PA: 1981-)
• Frank Lautenberg, senator (D-NJ: 1982-01, 2003-)
• Jacob Hecht, senator (R-NV: 1983-89)
• Herb Kohl, senator (D-WI: 1989-)
• Joseph Lieberman, senator (D-CT: 1989-)
• Paul Wellstone, senator (D-MN: 1991-02)
• Dianne Feinstein, senator (D-CA: 1992-)
• Barbara Boxer, senator (D-CA: 1992-)
• Russ Feingold, senator (D-WI: 1993-)
• Ron Wyden, senator (D-OR: 1996-)
• Charles Schumer, senator (D-NY: 1999-)
• Norm Coleman, senator (R-MN: 2003-)

Representatives

Prominent representatives only – for a full list see jewishvirtuallibrary.org.

• Francis Salvador, first jewish member of a colonial legislature.
• Lewis Charles Levin, first Jewish representative (Amer-PA: 1845-51)
• Victor L. Berger, socialist (Soc-WI: 1911-13, 1919, 1923-29)
• Florence P. Kahn, first Jewish woman representative (R-CA: 1925-37)
• Allard K. Lowenstein, civil rights activist (D-NY: 1968-1970)
• Bella Abzug, feminist leader & gay rights activist (D-NY: 1971-77)
• Henry Waxman, liberal leader (D-CA: 1975-)
• Tom Lantos, holocaust survivor (D-CA: 1981-)
• Barney Frank, liberal, openly gay politician (D-MA: 1981-)
• Bernie Sanders, independent (Ind-VT: 1991-)
• Jerrold Nadler, WTC district congressman during 9/11 (D-NY: 1992-)

Governors

• Moses Alexander, governor of Idaho (D-ID: 1915-19)
• Simon Bamberger, governor of Utah (D-UT: 1917-21)
• Arthur Seligman, governor of New Mexico (D-NM: 1931-33)
• Julius L. Meier, governor of Oregon (Ind-OR: 1931-35)
• Henry Horner, governor of Illinois (D-IL: 1933-40)
• Herbert H. Lehman, governor of New York (D-NY: 1933-42)
• Ernest Gruening, territorial governor of Alaska (D-AK: 1939-53)
• Abraham Ribicoff, governor of Connecticut (D-CT: 1955-61)
• Samuel H. Shapiro, governor of Illinois (D-IL: 1968-69)
• Frank Licht, governor of Rhode Island (D-RI: 1969-73)
• Marvin Mandel, governor of Maryland (D-MD: 1969-77)
• Milton Shapp, governor of Pennsylvania (D-PA: 1971-79)
• Madeleine M. Kunin, governor of Vermont (D-VT: 1985-91)
• Neil Goldschmidt, governor of Oregon (D-OR: 1987-91)
• Bruce Sundlun, governor of Rhode Island (D-RI: 1991-95)
• Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii (R-HI: 2002-)
• Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania (D-PA: 2002-)

Mayors

Prominent mayors/major cities only.

• Cincinnati: Bill Gradison (1971), Jerry Springer (1977-78)
• Las Vegas: Oscar Goodman (1999-)
• Louisville: Jerry E. Abramson (1985-98, 2002-)
• New York: Fiorello LaGuardia (1934-45; Jewish mother), Abe Beame (1974-77), Ed Koch (1978-89), Michael Bloomberg (2002-)
• Philadelphia: Edward Rendell (1992–2000)
• San Francisco: Adolph Sutro (1894-96), Diane Feinstein (1976–88)
• Seattle: Bailey Gatzert (1875-76)

Jurists, economists and military people

Supreme Court

• Louis Brandeis, supreme court justice (1916-39)
• Benjamin N. Cardozo, supreme court justice (1932-38)
• Felix Frankfurter, supreme court justice (1939-62)
• Arthur Goldberg, supreme court justice (1962-65)
• Abe Fortas, supreme court justice (1965-69)
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg, supreme court justice (1993-)
• Stephen Breyer, supreme court justice (1994-)

Lawyers

• Gloria Allred, feminist lawyer
• Marcia Clark, lawyer
• Roy Cohn, McCarthyist lawyer
• Alan Dershowitz, lawyer
• William Kunstler, civil rights lawyer
• Samuel Leibowitz, lawyer, defender of the Scottsboro Boys
• Edward Levi, US attorney general (1975-77)
• Peter Neufeld, Innocence Project
• Barry Scheck, Innocence Project
• Robert Shapiro, lawyer
• Eliot Spitzer, New York attorney general

Economists

• Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve (since 1987)
• Eugene Meyer, chairman of the Federal Reserve (1930-1933), president of the World Bank (1946)
• James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank (1995-2005)
• Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank (since 2005)

Military

• Julius O. Adler, brigadier general
• Jeremy Michael Boorda, admiral, Chief of Naval Operations
• Wesley Kane Clark, general, NATO supreme allied commander (Jewish father, raised Baptist, converted to Catholicism)
• David Camden DeLeon, confederate surgeon-general
• William F. Friedman, army cryptologist
• Leopold Karpeles, sergeant, Congressional Medal of Honor
• Uriah P. Levy, commodore, abolished flogging
• Ben Moreel, admiral, founder of the Seabees
• Ben Rich, co-inventor of the stealth fighter
• Hyman Rickover, admiral, father of the nuclear navy
• Maurice Rose, general, killed in action
• Edward S. Salomon, brigadier general
• Haym Salomon, financer of the War of Independence
• Francis Salvador, "Paul Revere of the South"
• Joseph Seligman, unionist civil war financer
• Milton Wolff, head of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Activists

Social leaders

• Saul Alinsky, social organizer
• Daniel De Leon, socialist leader
• David Dubinsky, labor leader
• Emma Goldman, anarchist leader
• Samuel Gompers, labor leader
• Sidney Hillman, labor leader
• Abbie Hoffman, social activist, Yippie
• Jackie Presser, labor leader, racketeer
• Jerry Rubin, social activist, Yippie

Political and civil rights activists

• Michael Albert, co-founder of Z Magazine
• Leslie Cagan, founder of UPJ
• Ben Cohen, founder of TrueMajority
• Jeff Cohen, founder of FAIR
• Daniel Ellsberg, leaked the Pentagon Papers (Jewish parents)
• Felix Frankfurter, helped found the ACLU
• Mitch Kapor, co-founder of EFF
• William Kunstler, civil rights lawyer
• Aryeh Neier, head of HRW, ACLU, OSI
• Eli Pariser, campaigns director of MoveOn.org
• Bruce Perens, open source advocate, co-founder of SPI
• Marcus Raskin, co-founder of IPS
• Kenneth Roth, head of HRW
• George Soros, founder of OSI
• Richard Stallman, founder of FSF
• Nadine Strossen, head of ACLU (father half Jewish holocaust survivor)

Anti-racism

• Abraham Foxman, head of the ADL
• Kivie Kaplan, head of the NAACP
• Winona LaDuke, Native American acitivst & environmentalist (Jewish mother)
• Stanley Levison, advisor of Martin Luther King
• Abel Meeropol, composer of Strange Fruit
• Mickey Schwerner & Andrew Goodman, CORE activists, KKK victims
• Joel & Arthur Spingarn, early NAACP leaders
• Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi-hunter
• Tim Wise, anti-racism activist

Feminism and gay rights

• Bella Abzug, feminist politician
• Gloria Allred, feminist lawyer
• Andrea Dworkin, feminist writer
• Susan Faludi, feminist writer
• Leslie Feinberg, transgender activist & author
• Betty Friedan, co-founder & first president of NOW
• Arnie Kantrowitz, co-founder of GLAAD
• Harvey Milk, gay rights activist & openly-gay politician
• Robin Morgan, editor of Ms. Magazine
• Ernestine Rose, feminist
• Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms. Magazine
• Rebecca Walker, feminist writer (Jewish father)
• Naomi Wolf, feminist writer
• Evan Wolfson, gay marriage activist

Health and environment

• Judi Bari, environmentalist (Jewish mother)
• Bernard Lown, co-founder of IPPNW, Nobel Peace Prize (1985)
• Ed Rosenthal, canabbis activist
• Elizabeth Glaser, founder of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
• Rose Kushner, breast cancer activist
• Mathilde Krim, founder of amFAR (converted)
• Larry Kramer, co-founder of GMHC
• Henry Spira, animal rights activist
• Irving & Dorothy Stowe, co-founders of Greenpeace

Controversial

Criminals

• Lori Berenson, activist convicted of terrorism in Peru
• David Berkowitz, serial killer (adopted by Jewish parents)
• Samuel Byck, failed assassin of Richard Nixon
• Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood madam
• Frank Collin, neo-nazi
• Dylan Klebold, Columbine massacre (Jewish maternal grandfather, mother identifies)
• Meyer Lansky, gangster
• Jean Lafitte, pirate ('part-Jewish')
• Leopold and Loeb, murderers
• Kevin Mitnick, hacker
• Sara Jane Moore, failed assassin of Gerald Ford
• Jonathan Pollard, jailed spy
• Ethel & Julius Rosenberg, executed spies
• Arnold Rothstein, gangster
• Jack Ruby, killer of Lee Harvey Oswald
• Dutch Schultz, gangster
• Bugsy Siegel, gangster
• Adam Worth, Victorian thief, model for Moriarty

Other

• Alan Berg, murdered radio host
• Nick Berg, beheaded entrepreneur
• Josephine Earp, wife of Wyatt Earp
• Leo Frank, lynching victim
• Jeremy Glick (1), September 11 victim (UA flight 93)
• Jeremy Glick (2), activist & son of September 11 victim (WTC)
• Ronald Goldman, murdered friend of Nicole Brown Simpson
• Chandra Levy, disappeared intern
• Monica Lewinsky, sex scandal intern
• Joshua A. Norton, eccentric & self-proclaimed emperor
• Daniel Pearl, beheaded journalist
• Judith Resnik, Space Shuttle Challenger victim
• Mickey Schwerner & Andrew Goodman, KKK victims
• William James Sidis, child prodigy
• Nancy Spungen, murdered girlfriend of Sid Vicious