Rock star Alanis Morissette uncovers her family’s Holocaust history
The singer says she didn't know she was Jewish until she was in her 20s
Seven-time Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette explored her family’s Jewish past, which she said was kept a secret from her for most of her life, on Tuesday night’s season premiere of the American genealogy series Finding Your Roots.
“I think I found out that I was Jewish in my late 20s. I didn’t know,” Morissette tells host and Harvard University history professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. in the episode, a snippet of which was shared exclusively with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Morissette, 49, was raised Catholic and is now a practising Buddhist. But her mother, Georgia Mary Ann Feuerstein, was born in Hungary to two Holocaust survivor parents, Imre Feuerstein and Nadinia Anna Lauscher/Gulyas.
As Gates explains, the family’s experience in the Holocaust was so traumatic that they kept their Jewishness a secret for many years.
“I think there was a terror that is in their bones and they were being protective of us and just not wanting antisemitism,” Morissette says. “So they were doing it to protect us, sort of keeping us in the dark around it.”
Morissette, who has sold more than 85 million albums worldwide and has performed in Israel multiple times, is the latest in a long list of celebrities to explore their Jewish ancestry on the show, which is returning for its 10th season. Past guests have included Pamela Adlon, Dustin Hoffman, Scarlett Johansson and Paul Rudd.
Later this season, the show will spotlight Jewish comedians Lena Dunham and Iliza Shlesinger, Jewish actor Michael Douglas, plus Hamilton star Anthony Ramos and The View co-host Sunny Hostin, both of whom have Jewish heritage.
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
