Drew Barrymore, Shiksa Wife

Drew Barrymore Image by Getty Images

By Anne Cohen January 7, 2014

Want to add Drew Barrymore to your list of celebrity sightings? Try dropping in on services at New York’s Central Synagogue.

In an interview for the February 2014 cover Marie Claire, the actress talks about married life with Jewish hubby Will Kopelman, whose father, Arie Kopelman, was the former head of Chanel.

“I try to be a good shiksa wife,” explains Barrymore. “I go to Central Synagogue in New York.” She also attempted to prepare a Passover Seder when she and her husband were courting. “It was a disaster. I screwed everything up. And I got the date wrong. I ended up taking him to a really awesome Seder at [Working Title president and producer] Liza Chasin’s house.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

There’s more. When asked about her thoughts on religion, Barrymore added: “I thought about converting, but it takes a lot of work and time. I love the Jewish faith. I love the family values. I can get behind those.”

This new Drew Barrymore, or as sister-in-law Jill Kargman calls her, “Jew Barrymore,” has traded in her wild child leathers for comfy sweatpants and cookbooks — an the occasional ball gown or two. She and Kopelman have a 16-month-old daughter, Olive, and await their second child in March.

For more on Drew’s obsession with food (or in her words, “porn”), her pregnancy, and how she relates (read: cringes) to her early stardom see the February issue of Marie Claire.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

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