Drew Barrymore To Raise Child Jewish

By Renee Ghert-Zand January 29, 2013

We think we have the answer to the question we’ve been asking ever since we heard that Drew Barrymore had enlisted her buddy Adam Sandler as a conversion coach. The answer, at least in the interim, is that the actress has not become a Jew. However, there are signs that she may be moving in that direction.

Barrymore, a self-described “shiksa,” recently announced that she has embraced Judaism and is planning to raise her baby daughter Olive “traditionally.”

Demonstrating that she can drop Hebrew and Yiddish terms like ketubah, huppah, seder and yarmulke correctly in conversation, Barrymore schmoozed with the hosts of “The View” last Friday. The actress told them, “I chose well, I’m so lucky he loves me back. It’s fantastic,” in speaking of her husband, art consultant Will Kopelman. She called her new hubby, whom she wed last June, “a nice Jewish man from a nice Jewish family.”

“I’m there, I love it! It’s a beautiful faith and I’m so honored to be around it,” the new mom said about Judaism. “It’s so family-oriented … The stories are so beautiful and it’s incredibly enlightening. I’m really happy.”

So, will Barrymore eventually take the plunge? Might there be a beit din and a mikveh visit in her future? We think it’s not totally out of the question, especially if you listen carefully to what she said at the beginning of her visit to “The View.” She said she hadn’t converted yet.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO