Celebrities: Jewish or Not?
Celebrities you might not have known are Jewish….or maybe you did…
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 09: Actor and Li.st co-founder B.J. Novak speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2016 at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on May 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for TechCrunch) *** Local Caption *** B.J. Novak
B.J. Novak – Jewish
B.J. Novak is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He’s best known for his portrayal of Ryan on the iconic NBC sitcom The Office (2005-2013) and as Smithson “Little Man” Utivitch in Inglorious Basterds (2009). More recently, he captured headlines for reports that he was dating TikTok star Delaney Rowe.
B.J. Novak was raised Jewish in Newton, Massachusetts, to Linda and William Novak. His father has ghostwritten books for numerous celebrities, from Nancy Reagan to Magic Johnson, and co-edited The Big Book of Jewish Humor. Novak does not speak publicly about his Jewish identity, but has been actively involved in Jewish community events, including a conversation on Justice and Judaism at Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation in 2024. He also said that Jewish humor was very influential on his early work, noting that “I think looking at things with an outsider’s eye is very Jewish.”
