Lists of Jews
Note that "Jewishness" has the meanings both of "adherence to the religion of Judaism" and "membership in the ethnic group 'Jews'". People of both groups are listed here.
List of noted Jews
Actors, comedians, and stage performers
- Anouk Aimee, French actress
- Woody Allen (born 1935), United States comedian, film director
- Jason Alexander, US actor, known from Seinfeld
- Patricia Arquette, US actress
- Bea Arthur, US actress, known from Maude and The Golden Girls
- Ed Asner, US actor
- Lauren Bacall, US actress
- Barbara Bain, US actress, known from Mission Impossible
- Theda Bara, US actress
- Richard Belzer, US actor and comedian
- Jack Benny, US comedian
- Milton Berle, US comedian
- Sandra Bernhard, US actress
- Sarah Bernhardt, French actress
- Joey Bishop, US comedian and actor, member of the Rat Pack
- Jack Black, US actor and rock musician
- Mel Blanc, US cartoon voice actor
- David Blaine (born 1973), US illusionist
- Selma Blair, US actress
- Yasmine Bleeth, US actress
- Lisa Bonet, US actress, known from The Cosby Show
- Ernest Borgnine, US actor
- Tom Bosley, US actor
- Fanny Brice, US comedienne
- Albert Brooks, US actor
- Mel Brooks (b. 1926) US comedian, filmmaker
- Lenny Bruce, US satirist
- George Burns, US comedian
- James Caan, US actor
- Sid Caesar, US comedian
- Dyan Cannon, US actress
- Eddie Cantor US comedian, singer, entertainer
- Al Capp, US cartoonist
- Kate Capshaw, US actress
- Kitty Carlisle, US game show panelist
- Nell Carter, US actress
- Jill Clayburgh, US Oscar-nominated actress
- Sacha Baron Cohen, UK comedian best known for his fictional character, Ali G
- Joan Collins, British actress, known from Dynasty
- David Copperfield, US illusionist
- Billy Crystal, US actor and comedian
- Jamie Lee Curtis, US actress
- Tony Curtis, US actor
- Rodney Dangerfield, US comedian
- Larry David, US actor and comedy writer
- Sammy Davis Jr., American actor and performer
- Kirk Douglas, US actor
- Richard Dreyfuss, US actor
- Fran Drescher, US actress.
- Will Eisner, US comic book creator
- Mark Evanier, US cartoonist/comic book creator
- Peter Falk, US actor
- Corey Feldman, US actor
- Marty Feldman, British comedian
- Norman Fell, US actor
- Harvey Fierstein, US actor
- Larry Fine, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Carrie Fisher, US actress, star of Star Wars movies
- Max Fleischer, US animated cartoonist
- Harrison Ford is 1/4 Jewish, not too shabby.
- Al Franken, US actor and comedy writer
- Bonnie Franklin, US actress, known from One Day at a Time
- Allen Funt, creator of Candid Camera
- Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-American actress
- Sarah Michelle Gellar, US actress
- Uri Geller, Israeli spoon bending magician
- Estelle Getty, US actress, known from Golden Girls
- Melissa Gilbert, US actress, known from Little House on the Prairie
- Judith Godrèche, French actress
- Jeff Goldblum, US actor
- Gilbert Gottfried, US comedian
- Seth Green, US actor
- Jennifer Grey, US actress
- Joel Grey, US actor
- Charles Grodin, US actor
- Steve Gutenberg, US actor
- Buddy Hackett, US comedian
- Monty Hall, Canadian game show host
- Goldie Hawn, US actress
- Judd Hirsch, US actor
- Dustin Hoffman, US actor
- Judy Holliday, US Oscar-winning actress
- Harry Houdini (1874-1926), US illusionist
- John Houseman,(born Jacques Haussmann) Romanian-born American actor
- Curly Howard, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Moe Howard, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Shemp Howard, US actor, one of the Three Stooges
- Kate Hudson, US actress, daughter of Goldie Hawn
- Amy Irving, US actress
- Ricky Jay, US magician and actor
- Ron Jeremy, US adult film actor
- Al Jolson, US singer, actor, early sound film star
- Carolyn Jones, US actress, known from The Addams Family
- Madeline Kahn, US actress
- Gabriel Kaplan, US actor
- Andy Kaufman, US actor and comedian
- Danny Kaye, US actor, dancer, and singer
- Harvey Keitel, US actor
- Jack Kirby, US comic book creator
- Jack Klugman, US actor
- Stanley Kubrick, US director
- Lisa Kudrow, US actress
- Rikki Lake, US talk show hostess
- Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-US actress
- Juliet Landau, US actress
- Martin Landau, US actor
- Piper Laurie, US actress
- Linda Lavin, US actress
- Stan Lee (born 1922), US comic book creator
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, US actress
- Eugene Levy, US actor
- Al Lewis, US actor, Grandpa on The Munsters
- Richard Lewis, US comedian
- Jerry Lewis, US actor and comedian
- Shari Lewis, US actress, known as companion of Lambchop
- Hal Linden, US actor
- Jonathan Lipnicki, US child actor
- Peggy Lipton, US actress, known from the Mod Squad
- Peter Lorre, US actor
- Tina Louise, US actress
- Jon Lovitz, US actor and comedian
- Branko Lustig, US-Croatian film director
- Ali MacGraw, US actress
- Howie Mandel, Canadian comedian
- Marx Brothers, US actors
- Marlee Matlin, US Oscar-winning deaf actress
- Benjamin "Petey" Masten, US radio personality
- Walter Matthau, US actor
- Anne Meara, US comedienne and actress
- Bette Midler, US singer and actress
- Marilyn Monroe, US actress
- Rick Moranis, Canadian actor
- Bess Myerson, Miss America, tv entertainer
- Judd Nelson, US actor, member of the Brat Pack
- Laraine Newman, US actress, known from Saturday Night Live
- Paul Newman, US actor
- Leonard Nimoy, US actor, known from Star Trek
- Sharon Osbourne, actress wife of Ozzy Osbourne
- Gwyneth Paltrow, US actress
- Sara Jessica Parker, US actress
- S. J. Perelman, US writer
- Rhea Perlman, US actress
- Suzanne Pleshette, US actress
- Kevin Pollack, US actor
- Tracy Pollan, US actress wife of Michael J. Fox
- Roman Polanski, director
- Natalie Portman, US actress
- Gilda Radner, US actress, known from Saturday Night Live
- Harold Ramis, US actor
- Joan Rivers, US comedian
- Roseanne, US actress
- Winona Ryder, US actress
- Emma Samms, British actress, known from Dynasty
- Adam Sandler, US actor/comedian
- Laura Schlessinger, US radio personality
- Jerry Seinfeld, US comedian
- William Shatner, Canadian actor, known from Star Trek
- Ally Sheedy, US actress
- Dinah Shore, US actress
- Simone Signoret, French actress
- Jaclyn Smith, US actress, original Charlie's Angels
- Rena Sofer, US actress
- Steven Spielberg, US director
- Howard Stern, US radio personality
- Jon Stewart, US comedian
- Ben Stiller, US actor and comedian
- David Suchet, British actor, cited as the definitive Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot
- Elizabeth Taylor, British actress
- Rachel Weisz, British actress
- Billy Wilder (1906-2002), director
Adult film
Actors
- Buck Adams
- Bobby Astyr
- R. Bolla, also known as Richard Parnes
- Jerry Butler, also known as Paul Siderman
- Seymour Butts, also known as Adam Glaser
- David Christopher, also known as Bernie Cohen
- Steve Drake
- Jesse Eastern
- Jamie Gillis
- Ron Jeremy, also known as Hyatt
- Michael Knight
- Ashley Moore
- David Morris
- George Payne
- Ed Powers, also known as Mark Arnold
- Harry Reems, also known as Herbert Streicher
- Dave Ruby
- Herschel Savage
- Carter Stevens, also known as Mal Whorb
- Marc Stevens
- Paul Thomas, also known as Phil Tobias
- Marc Wallice
- Randy West
- Jack Wrangler
Actresses
- Avalon
- Jenny Baxter, also known as Jenny Wexler
- Busty Belle, also known as Tracy Praeger
- Chelsea Blake
- Tiffany Blake
- Bunny Bleu
- Lee Carroll, also known as Leslie Barns
- Blair Castle/Brooke Fields, also known as Allison Shandibal
- Courtney/Natasha/Eden, also known as Natasha Zimmerman
- Daphne, also known as Daphne Franks
- Barbara Dare, also known as Stacy Mitnick
- April Diamond
- Jeanna Fine
- Alexis Gold
- Tern Hall
- Heather Hart
- Nina Hartley
- C. J. Laing, also known as Wendy Miller
- Frankie Leigh, also known as Cynthia Hope Geller
- Gloria Leonard
- Traci Lords, also known as Nora Louise Kuzman
- Amber Lynn
- Tonisha Mills
- Melissa Monet
- Susan Nero
- Scarlett 0., also known as Catherine Goldberg
- Tawny Pearl, also known as Susan Pearlman
- Nina Preta
- Tracey Prince
- Janey Robbins, also known as Robin Lieberman
- Alexandra Silk
- Susan Sloan
- Annie Sprinkle, also known as Ellen Steinberg
- Karen Summer, also known as Dana Alper
- Zara Whites and Ona Zee, also known as Ona Simms
Producers
- Wesley Emerson
- Paul Fishbein
- Herbert Feinberg, also known as Mickey Fine
- Lenny Friedlander
- Bobby Hollander
- Rubin Gottesman
- Fred Hirsch
- Paul "Norman" Apstein
- Steve Orenstein
- Theodore Rothstein
- Reuben and David Sturman
- Ron Sullivan
- Sam and Mitch Weston
Business
- Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaire
- Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
- Boris Berezovsky, Russian billionaire
- Michael Bloomberg (born 1943), founder of Bloomberg Financial Markets, Mayor of New York City (2002-)
- Sergey Brin Co-founder of Google
- Samuel Bronfman, Seagrams Distilleries
- Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Seagrams Distilleries
- Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Vivendi Universal
- Isaac Carasso, Spanish founder of Danone group
- Andre Citroen, French automaker
- Joshua Lionel Cowen, American inventor and founder of toy manufacturer Lionel Corporation
- Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of Dallas Mavericks
- Marcel Dassault (born Marcel Bloch), French industrialist
- Michael Dell (born 1965), founder of Dell Computer Corporation
- Bernie Ecclestone, F1 racing
- Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation
- Mikhail Fridman, Russian billionaire
- Alan Greenspan (born 1926), economist, chairman of the American Federal Reserve
- Vladimir Gusinsky, Russian billionaire
- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russian oligarch
- Henry Kravis, American financier
- Roy Neuberger, (Neuberger & Berman) who uses money to buy and publicize rare art (staunchly atheistic Jew)
- Ron Popeil, US inventor
- Sumner Redstone (born Murray Rothstein), CEO of Viacom
- Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812), German banker, first of the Rothschild family
- David Sarnoff, General Manager of RCA corporation
- Ron Sommer, CEO of Deutsche Telekom
- George Soros, Hungarian billionaire
- Victor Vekselberg, Russian billionaire
- Max Warburg (1867-1946), German banker
- Paul Warburg (1868-1932), American banker, Federal Reserve founder and board member
Comic books
- Will Eisner
- Mark Evanier
- Bob Kane
- Jack Kirby
- Stan Lee
- Harvey Pekar
- Julius Schwartz
- Joe Shuster
- Jerome Siegel
- Joe Simon
- Art Spiegelman
Crime
- David Berkowitz, US serial killer, Son of Sam murders (adopted by Jewish family, but later converted to Christianity)
- Meyer Lansky, US gangster
- Leopold and Loeb, US killers
- Kevin Mitnick, US hacker
- Arnold Rothstein, US gangster
- Bugsy Siegel, US gangster
Law
- Louis Brandeis, US Supreme Court Justice
- Alan Dershowitz, US lawyer
- Abe Fortas, US Supreme Court Justice
- Stephen G. Breyer, US Supreme Court Justice
- Felix Frankfurter, US Supreme Court Justice
- Benjamin N. Cardozo, US Supreme Court Justice
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court Justice
- Arthur J. Goldberg, US Supreme Court Justice
Music
- Herb Alpert, US musician
- Daniel Barenboim (born 1942), Israeli classical musician and conductor
- Irving Berlin, US songwriter, composer
- Dan Bern, US songwriter, singer
- Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), US conductor, composer
- Ernest Bloch, Swiss-born composer
- Leonard Cohen, Canadian singer (converted to Buddhism)
- Aaron Copland, US composer
- Sammy Davis, Jr., US singer
- Neil Diamond, US singer
- Paul Dukas, French composer
- Bob Dylan (b. 1941), US singer, songwriter
- Giora Feidman, famous clarinet player and Klezmer musician
- Perry Farrell, US musician, bandleader
- Kenny G, US musician
- Art Garfunkel, US singer
- Benny Goodman, US musician, bandleader
- Billy Joel, US singer
- Jascha Heifetz, US violinist
- Susannah Hoffs, one-fourth of the US band The Bangles
- Otto Klemperer, German-born conductor
- Lenny Kravitz, US musician
- Ted Lewis, musician, entertainer
- György Ligeti, Hungarian composer
- Gustav Mahler, composer (converted to Catholicism)
- Barry Manilow (born 1946), US entertainer
- Felix Mendelssohn, Romantic composer (converted to Christianity)
- Yehudi Menuhin, US/British violinist, conductor, educator
- Giacomo Meyerbeer, opera composer
- Mezz Mezzrow, US jazz musician
- Darius Milhaud, French composer
- Nathan Milstein, US violinist
- Randy Newman, US singer
- Jacques Offenbach, French composer
- Itzhak Perlman, US violinist
- Lou Reed, US singer, songwriter
- Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist and composer
- David Lee Roth, US rock singer
- Curt Sachs, musicologist
- Artur Schnabel, pianist
- Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer
- Artie Shaw, US musician, bandleader
- Gene Simmons, bass player for KISS
- Paul Simon, US musician
- Slash, lead guitarist for Guns n' Roses
- Georg Solti, Hungarian/US conductor
- Phil Spector, US record producer and songwriter
- Isaac Stern, US violinist
- Barbra Streisand, US singer, actress
- Willie "The Lion" Smith, US pianist
- Paul Stanley, guitar player for KISS
- Sophie Tucker, Russian born US singer and entertainer
- Jane Wiedlin, one-fifth of the US band the Go-Gos
- Kurt Weill, German/US composer
- John Zorn, American saxophonist and composer
Philosophy, literature, and psychology
- Uriel Acosta (1585-1640), philosopher
- Sholem Aleichem, Yiddish writer
- Theodor Adorno, German philosopher, sociologist, composer, music theorist, essayist
- Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize winner
- Isaac Asimov, American science fiction author
- Saul Bellow, American writer
- Walter Benjamin, German philosopher, critic, essayist
- Ernst Bloch, German philosopher
- Brod Max, Bohemian writer and composer
- Harold Brodkey American novelist
- Noam Chomsky (born 1928), American linguist, political writer
- Jacques Derrida (born 1930), French philosopher
- Anne Frank (1929-1945), Holocaust victim, diarist
- Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Austrian psychologist
- Allen Ginsberg (1926 - 1997), American poet
- Zellig Harris, American linguist
- Samuel Hirsch (1815 - 1889), German rabbi and philosopher
- Max Horkheimer, German philosopher, sociologist
- Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), German philosopher and holocaust victim
- Franz Kafka Austrian/German-Bohemian writer
- Irving Layton, (born Israel Pincu Lazarovitch) Romanian-born Canadian poet.
- Primo Levi, Italian novelist and chemist
- Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian born French philosopher
- Judah Loew, (1511 - 1609), Prague rabbi and philosopher
- Maimonides (1135-1204), Philosopher, doctor, rabbi
- Herbert Marcuse, German/American philosopher, sociologist, political scientist
- Bernard Malamud (1914-1986), American writer
- Erich Mühsam (1878-1934), German poet and revolutionary
- Nachmanides Philosopher, mystic, rabbi
- Amos Oz (born 1937), Israeli writer
- Daniel Pearl (1963-2002), Wall Street Journal journalist, kidnapped and killed.
- I. L. Peretz, Yiddish writer
- Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher
- Chaim Potok, American writer
- Marcel Proust, French writer, son of a Jewish mother
- Ayn Rand (1905-1982), writer
- Mordecai Richler (1931-2001) Canadian writer
- Philip Roth (b.1933), American writer
- Robert Silverberg, American science fiction author
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, (1904-1991), Yiddish writer
- Baruch Spinoza, (1632-1677) philosopher
- Joel Stein, Time magazine columnist
- Tristan Tzara, (1896-1963) (born Sami Rosenstock) Romanian-born French poet
- Ruth Westheimer, sex expert
- Elie Wiesel, writer
- Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), Austrian philosopher
- Stefan Zweig, (1881-1942), Austrian writer
Politics
- Madeleine Albright (born 1937), US Secretary of State (1997-2001)
- Ehud Barak (b.1942), Israeli prime minister (1999-2001)
- Menachem Begin (1913-1992), Prime Minister of Israel (1977-1983)
- David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), founder of Israel, Prime Minister of Israel (1948-1953 and 1955-1963)
- Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884), Secretary of State for the Confederate States of America
- Michael Bloomberg (born 1943), founder of Bloomberg Financial Markets, Mayor of New York City (2002-)
- Léon Blum, former Prime Minister of France
- Barbara Boxer, US Senator from California
- Norm Coleman, US Senator from Minnesota
- Moshe Dayan (1915-1981), Israeli politician and general. Directed the 1956 Suez War and Six-Day War
- Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), British Prime Minister (1868 and 1874-1880), raised as an Anglican
- Kurt Eisner (1867-1919), German politician (socialist), first prime minister of Bavaria
- Dianne Feinstein, US Senator from California
- Russ Feingold, US Senator from Wisconsin
- Abe Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League
- Emma Goldman (1869-1940), feminist and anarchist
- Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), founder of Zionism
- Michael Howard (born 1941), leader of the Conservative Party (UK)
- Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860-1935), British politician and Viceroy of India
- Vladimir Jabotinsky, Zionist leader
- Henry Kissinger (born 1923), US Secretary of State (1973-1977), winner of 1973 Nobel Peace Prize
- Herb Kohl, US Senator from Wisconsin
- Ferdinand Lasalle, German Socialist revolutioner
- Joe Lieberman, Vice President candidate and US Senator from Connecticut
- Rosa Luxemburg (1870-1919), German Communist leader
- Karl Marx (1818-1883), founder of Marxism. Although Jewish by ethnicity, Marx was born and raised a Lutheran before becoming an atheist.
- Julius L. Meier, governor of the State of Oregon
- Golda Meir (1898-1978), Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974)
- Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist
- Benjamin Netanyahu (born 1949), Prime Minister of Israel (1996-1999)
- Shimon Peres (born 1923), Prime Minister of Israel (1977, 1984-1986, and 1995-1996), shared winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1994
- Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995), Prime Minister of Israel (1974-1977 and 1992-1995), shared 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, assassinated in 1995
- Walther Rathenau (1867-1922), German industrialist and statesman
- Irv Rubin, chairman of the Jewish Defense League
- Jack Ruby (1911-1967) US assassin of assassin
- Herbert Samuel (1870-1963), British politician and High Commissioner of Palestine
- Charles Schumer, US Senator from New York
- Ariel Sharon (b. 1928), Israeli general and prime minister
- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), Russian Bolshevik
- Julius Vogel, former Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Chaim Weizmann (1874-1952), leading Zionist and first President of Israel
- Paul Wellstone former US Senator from Minnesota
- Tim Wise, anti-racism lecturer and activist
- Ron Wyden, US Senator from Oregon
- Grigory Zinoviev (1883-1936), Russian Bolshevik
Rabbis
- Hillel
- Shammai
- Judah haNasi (Judah the Prince, redactor of the Mishnah)
- Abba Mari
- Asher ben Jehiel
- Abraham ibn Ezra
- Bahya ibn Paquda 11th century Spanish Jewish philosopher
- Abraham ibn Daud
- Gersonides, Levi ben Gershom, the Ralbag
- Maimonides Moshe Ben Maimon, aka the Rambam
- Nahmanides Moshe ben Nahman of Gerondi, aka the Ramban
- Yair Bacharach
- Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidic Judaism
- Dovber of Mezeritch
- Shneur Zalman
- Jacob Abendana
- Jacob Ettlinger
- Nosson Zvi Finkel
- Zecharias Frankel - Founder of the positive-historical school of Judaism
- Samuel Holdheim A founder of classic German Reform Judaism
- Samson Raphael Hirsch - Founder of neo-Orthodox Judaism
- Samuel Hirsch (1815 - 1889) - German philosopher of the Reform Movement
- Emil Hirsch (1851 - 1923) Reform rabbi and scholar
- Abraham Isaac Kook - First chief rabbi of pre-State Israel in Palestine.
- Moses Chaim Luzzato - Kabbalist, mystic
- Solomon Schechter - Founder of Conservative Judaism as a distinct movement
- Elliot N. Dorff - Bioethicist
- Nosson Zvi Finkel
- Louis Finkelstein - Talmud scholar
- Robert Gordis - Leader in Conservative Judaism
- Abraham Joshua Heschel - Hasidic, Conservative
- Jules Harlow - Liturgist
- Yitzchok Hutner
- Meir Kahane - Extremist
- Mordecai Kaplan - Founder of the Reconstructionist movement
- Isaac Klein
- Harold Kushner
- Jacob Neusner - Prolific writer
- Joel Roth
- Zalman Schachter-Shalomi - Jewish Renewal
- Menachem Mendel Schneerson Last Rebbe of Lubavitch (Chabad) Hasidic Judaism
- Joseph Soloveitchik - Leading figure in American Modern Orthodoxy
- Adin Steinsaltz - Talmud scholar
- Jesus Christ
Religion (non-rabbis)
- Abraham (approx. 1980 BC - 1890 BC), first patriarch of Judaism
- Moses (approx. 1530 BC - 1470 BC) leader of Jewish exodus from Egypt and receiver of Jewish law
- Jesus Christ (4 BC - 29 AD), Messianist and central figure of Christianity
- Saul of Tarsus (approx. 2 BC - 67 AD), later known as Saint Paul
- David, king of ancient Israel
Science and mathematics
- Niels Henrik Bohr (1885-1962), Danish physicist, winner of 1922 Nobel Prize
- Herman Branover
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955), scientist, winner of 1921 Nobel Physics Prize
- Paul Erdös, prolific mathematician
- Richard Feynman (1918-1988), US physicist
- Rosalind Franklin, British chemist
- Murray Gell-Mann, US physicist
- Stephen Jay Gould, US paleontologist and author of popular science
- Andrew Grove co-founder and chairman of Intel Corporation
- Fritz Haber, German chemist
- Roald Hoffmann, theoretical chemist
- Karl Gustav Jacobi, German mathematician
- Arthur R. Jensen, eminent American psychologist
- Hans Krebs biologist, discovered Krebs Cycle
- Benoit Mandelbrot (born 1924), Mathematician, creator of fractal geometry
- Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist
- Herman Minkowski, German mathematician
- Robert Oppenheimer, US physicist, leader of the Manhattan Project
- Yakov I. Perelman (1882-1942), Russian author of popular science books
- Gregory Pincus (1906-1969), Biologist, inventor of the birth control pill
- Steven Pinker, Canadian psychologist
- Lionel Rothschild, 2nd Lord Rothschild (1868-1937), British zoologist, businessman, and politician
- Oliver Sacks (born 1933), neurologist and author
- Carl Sagan, US astronomer
- Jonas Salk polio vaccine
- Richard Stallman, leader of the GNU project
- Robert Sternberg, leading American psychologist
- Leo Szilard physicist, worked on the Manhattan Project
- Edward Teller, physicist, worked on the hydrogen bomb
- Stanislaw Ulam, mathematician, worked on the hydrogen bomb, descendant of Joseph Caro
- John von Neumann, mathematician and computer scientist
- George Waldbott (1898 - 1982), physician; allergy and fluoride research pioneer
- Andre Weil, French mathematician
- Steven Weinberg Nobel prize winning physicist
- Doron Zeilberger, Outstanding contemporary mathematician
Sports
- Bob Arum, American boxing promoter
- Moe Berg, American spy and baseball player
- Gary Bettman, National Hockey League Commissioner
- Bernie Ecclestone, owner of F1 racing
- Marty Friedman, defensive basketball player in early basketball history
- Bill Goldberg, U.S. professional wrestler
- Shawn Green, All-Star baseball player
- Hank Greenberg, Hall of Fame baseball player
- Alfréd Hajós (born Arnold Guttmann), swimmer (double Olympic champion) and architect
- Sandy Koufax, Hall of Fame baseball player
- Sid Luckman, Hall of Fame football player
- Ron Mix, Hall of Fame football player
- Barney Ross, world champion boxer
- Mike Rossman, world champion boxer
- Dolph Schayes, Hall of Fame basketball player
- Mathieu Schneider, National Hockey League player
- Bud Selig, Major League Baseball Commissioner
- Mark Spitz, 9-time Olympic gold medal winning swimmer
- David Stern, National Basketball Association Commissioner
- James Toney, world champion boxer
The visual arts
- Richard Avedon, U.S. photographer
- Marc Chagall, Russian/French painter and stained glass artist
- Judy Chicago, U.S. feminist painter and artist
- Frank Gehry, (born 1929) architect
- Rube Goldberg, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author
- Al Hirschfeld, U.S. caricaturist
- Max Jacob, artist
- Pinchus Kremegne, painter
- Michel Kikoine, painter
- Daniel Libeskind, architect
- Peter Max, artist
- Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter
- Helmut Newton, German photographer
- Jules Pascin, French artist
- Camille Pissarro, French impressionist painter
- H.A. Rey, illustrator
- Chaim Soutine, painter
- William Steig, U.S. cartoonist and illustrator
War
- Sarah Aaronsohn (1890-1917), head of Nili, a Jewish spy-ring in Palestine assisting the British during WWI.
- King David, biblical Jewish king (tribe of Judah), the conqueror of Yevus and the builder of Jerusalem
- Denise Bloch (1915-1945), SOE agent, decorated in WW II
- Eli Cohen, Israeli spy
- Moshe Dayan (1915-1981), Israeli politician and general. Directed the 1956 Suez War and Six-Day War
- Baruch Goldstein, Israeli extremist who killed 29 Muslims.
- Simon bar Kokhba leader of the second Jewish revolt
- Yoni Netanyahu (1946-1976), Israeli war hero
- Ilan Ramon ((1955-2003), Israeli pilot, Israel's first astronaut
- Hyman Rickover US Admiral and nuclear engineer, "Father of the Nuclear Navy".
- Julius (1918-1953) & Ethel Rosenberg (1915-1953), American spies who sold nuclear information to the USSR
- Samson, biblical judge (Shofet) with super-human strength
- Ariel Sharon, Israeli general Prime Minister of Israel.
- Haym Solomon, Financier of the American Revolution and Revolutionary War.
- Krystyna Skarbek (1915-1952), SOE agent
- Hannah Szenes (1921-1944), SOE agent
- Joseph Trumpeldor, soldier and early Zionist
Miscellaneous
- Alex Chiu, inventor of "immortality ring", Chinese by ethnicity and Jewish by religion [1]
- Alfred Dreyfus, French army officer falsely accused of treason
- Monica Lewinsky, US intern to President Bill Clinton, involved in a scandal
- Mel Mermelstein, Auschwitz survivor and reward-winner from the Institute for Historical Review
- Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi hunter
Jewish fictional characters
- Shylock, from The Merchant of Venice (William Shakespeare)
- Krusty the Clown, from The Simpsons
- Kyle Broslofski, from South Park