Film

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Susan Levitas

As a folklorist, Susan Levitas had a special appreciation for the unique beauty of New Orleans culture.

Susan Levitas

A folklorist by training, Susan Levitas has used documentary and feature films to capture unexpected facets of the cultural history of the American South, from blues musicians in Washington to Jewish boxers in Savannah.

Birth of writer Marisa Silver

April 23, 1960
"I write like a collagist might work. I piece together random things and try to find their underlying joins. I don’t assert meaning or purpose. I let all that emerge." - Writer Marisa Silver
"No Strings Attached" Movie Poster, 2011

No Strings Attached? No Way.

Maya Sinclair

In the film industry, 2011 was the year of casual sex. In January, Paramount Pictures released No Strings Attached, starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. The movie documents two best friends who think that introducing physical intimacy into their relationship won’t complicate things and that feelings will not be involved, resulting in a “no strings attached” relationship.

Topics: Film

Lisa Edelstein

An actress with a long history of activism, House star Lisa Edelstein organized her first protest at age sixteen as a cheerleader for Donald Trump’s New Jersey Generals, outraged that the cheerleaders were forced to flirt in bars.

Melissa Gilbert

After a highly successful decade as the lead on Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert defied the odds for child actors by becoming a Hollywood power-broker as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001–2005.

Kyra Sedgwick

Kyra Sedgwick earned praise for a variety of supporting and starring roles in films, but it was her award-winning, seven-year stint as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on The Closer that made her a household name.

Sarah Jessica Parker

While she is best known as the iconic Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker’s roles in theater, television and film have run the gamut from instant classics like 1984’s Footloose and 1991’s LA Story to cult favorites like 1994’s Ed Wood and 1996’s Mars Attacks!
Gett: The Trial of Vivian Anselem, 2014

Film Review: "Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem"

Karen Davis

Directed and written by the sister-brother team of Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz and based partly on their own family history, this gripping courtroom drama set in Israel traces a Moroccan Jewish woman's effort to obtain a gett, or religious divorce, after years of a loveless marriage. In Israel, there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce; only Orthodox rabbis can legalize a union or its dissolution, which is only possible with the husband’s full consent.

Topics: Film

Ilana Glazer

Ilana Glazer defied the odds for young female comedians by co-creating the popular and critical hit sitcom Broad City with Abbi Jacobson.

Death of Susan Braun, dance archivist

October 3, 1995
Artist Susan Braun made an about-face in her career in the art world and began to fill the need of documenting dance on film.

Idina Menzel

A longtime star of the Broadway stage, Idina Menzel became the first person ever to claim both a Billboard Top 10 slot (for Holiday Wishes in 2014) and a Tony Award (for Wicked in 2003).

Gwyneth Paltrow

Known best for her Oscar-winning performance in the romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love, Gwyneth Paltrow has repeatedly sought out difficult roles playing unconventional women, including playing Sylvia Plath in 2003.

Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo credits her heritage as a “North London, working-class, black, Jewish girl” with giving her the range to act in roles ranging from Hotel Rwanda to Doctor Who.

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal has garnered critical acclaim for her performance in difficult roles in 2002’s Secretary, 2009’s Crazy Heart, and 2014’s The Honourable Woman.

Patricia Arquette

Patricia Arquette has navigated a career path from Hollywood to television and back again, culminating in a landslide of awards for her supporting role in 2014’s Boyhood.

Death of writer Sarah Brandstein Smith, “Queen of the shundroman"

April 29, 1968
“Sarah B. Smith is the most beloved Jewish newspaperwoman, the first who ever served as a reporter on a Jewish paper, and the one who has triumphantly overcome the misgivings of editors who mistrusted the abilities of a mere woman writer.”

Debut of "The Sarah Silverman Program"

February 1, 2007

“People are always introducing me as ‘Sarah Silverman, Jewish comedienne.’" 

Sasha Cohen

Figure skater Alexandra “Sasha” Cohen won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics and popularized the difficult I-spin, which many now call the “Sasha spin” in her honor.

Jenette Kahn

Jenette Kahn rebranded National Periodical Publications as DC Comics, reviving the failing company as a proving ground for both experimental titles and reboots of iconic characters like Batman and Superman.

Lauren Bacall, 1924 - 2014

It seemed a fairy tale life with echoes of Isaac Bashevis Singer; fame, fortune, three children she adored, but etched with the tragedy of Bogart’s early death and a divorce from her second husband, Jason Robards.

Lizzy Caplan

Lizzy Caplan was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2014 for her portrayal of Virginia Johnson on the TV show Masters of Sex.

Alyson Hannigan

From her role as an unconventional flautist in American Pie to that of a lesbian witch on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, actress Alyson Hannigan has delighted in turning audience expectations on their heads.

Julianna Margulies

Julianna Margulies has earned the most SAG awards of any woman in the Screen Actors Guild for her starring roles on ER and The Good Wife.

Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones has starred in dozens of films, but is best known for her roles on TV shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation.

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