This list of British Jewish entertainers includes Jewish entertainers (actors, musicians and comedians) from the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. Listed entertainers are ones who embrace Jewish culture or Judaism rather than simply having Jewish ancestry.
The number of Jews contributing to British cinema increased after 1933, when Jews were prohibited from working in Nazi Germany. In the early 1930s, the Imperial Fascist League's anti-semitic newspaper The Fascist sought to isolate the Jews in British cinema.
Stephen Brook wrote in The Club in 1989 that while there had been Jewish actors in British theatre, Jews had been more prominent as producers or agents. The Independent observed that British-Jewish comedians had taken the lead from American-Jewish comedian Jackie Mason by laughing at their own Jewish neuroses, Jewish mothers, and their leaning towards chicken soup and chopped liver, which they would not have done a decade prior. By the year 2000, British-Jewish comics may have reached their largest numbers.
Actors
Rodney Ackland (1908–1991) was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter; born Norman Ackland Bernstein in Southend, Essex, to a Polish Jewish father from Warsaw and a non-Jewish motherWilliam D. Rubinstein, Michael Jolles, Hilary L. Rubinstein, The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), p. 13 Bennett Arron, Jewish and Welsh actor (born 1973) Jacob Adler (1855–1926),Adler, Jacob, A Life on the Stage: A Memoir, translated and with commentary by Lulla Rosenfeld, Knopf, New York City, 1999, . Yiddish actor Sandra Caron (1936 – 2025), actress, ( as well as sister of popular singer Alma Cogan ) who appeared in the films The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom , Carry On Camping, Agony Again and Channel 4 game show The Crystal Maze. Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971), was a member of the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, where he performed in shows such as Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as in Habonim Dror, a Labour Zionist youth movement (where Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland was a mentor to Baron Cohen); comedian and actor known for playing the comedic characters Ali G, Brüno, and Borat, the latter of whom is portrayed as extremely antisemitic Alfie Bass (1916–1987), actorObituary, The Jewish Chronicle, 24 July 1987, p. 14 Gina Bellman (born 1966), actress John Bennett (1928–2005), actorThe Jewish Chronicle, 22 Dec 1967, p. 32/33 Inez Bensusan (1871–1967), Jewish actress, playwright and suffragette in the UK. She was a leader of the Actresses' Franchise League and the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage. Harold Berens (born Isadore Harold Berenbaum; 4 March 1903 – 10 May 1995); British comedian and character actor who appeared in The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's, Trail of the Pink Panther and Carry On Columbus films. Elisabeth Bergner (22 August 1897 – 12 May 1986) was an Austrian Jewish British actress. Steven Berkoff (born 1937), actor, writer, and director Ivan Berlyn (1867 – 11 December 1934); English actor of stage and silent film whose career spanned four decades. Peter Birrel (born Cohen; 19 July 1935 – 23 June 2004); English actor who played numerous parts on British television for nearly forty years; appeared in the Doctor Who. Lionel Blair (1928–2021), TV entertainer John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-Jewish -born Australian actor, moved to the United Kingdom permanently in 1960, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Josh Bowman (born 1988), actor Leonora Braham (1853-1931), opera singer and actress Bernard Bresslaw (1934–1993), actor and comedian Eleanor Bron (born 1938), actress and writer Katrin Cartlidge (1961–2002), actress Debbie Chazen (born 1971) Sir Daniel Day-Lewis (born 1957); Day-Lewis's maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, head of Ealing Studios, helping develop the British film industry. The BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award is presented every year in honour of Balcon's memory Cary Elwes (born 1962), actor Marty Feldman (1934–1982), actor, comedian and writer Fenella Fielding (1927–2018);The Jewish Chronicle, 24 October 2003 p. 35: "(Noel) Coward was less complimentary about (Maureen) Lipman's fellow Jewish stage star Fenella Fielding" born on 17 November 1927 in Hackney, London, to a Romanian Jewish mother, Tilly ( Katz; 1902–1977), and a Lithuanian Jewish father, Philip Feldman.; starred in The Avengers, Danger Man, Carry On Screaming! Maria Friedman (born 1960), musical theatre actress Rebecca Front (born 1964), comedy actress Stephen Fry (born 1957), comedian and actor Rafi Gavron (born 1989), actor Leo Genn (9 August 1905 – 26 January 1978); prolific English actor and barrister; appeared in well over one hundred films, radio dramas, television shows and classical theatre plays; awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1945; was part of British unit that investigated war crimes at Belsen concentration camp and was an assistant prosecutor at Belsen war crimes trials in Lüneburg, Germany Joshua Ginsberg (born 1998), Training: The Oxford School of Drama (known for): ‘Cable Street – a new musical’ Iddo Goldberg (born 1975) Brett Goldstein (born 1980), actor and comedian Henry Goodman (b. 1950) is a RADA trained British actor."Henry damned happy to take role of man who fired legend Brian Clough" Jewish Telegraph. Retrieved 5 May 2010. He has appeared on television and radio, in film and in the theatre. Laurence Harvey (1928–1973), actor Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Leslie Howard (1893–1943), actor Jason Isaacs (b. 1963), actor, amongst other roles, has appeared in The Patriot, Black Hawk Down, Harry Potter, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Battle of the Brave,The Death of Stalin, Operation Mincemeat; television roles include Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery; voice acting roles include Admiral Zhao in the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender and the second season of The Legend of Korra, and the Grand Inquisitor / Sentinel in Star Wars Rebels; was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for The State Within and for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor; also nominated for International Emmy Award for Best Actor, won the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for Case Histories, and was nominated for Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama for Brotherhood. Isaacs was born to Jewish parents in Liverpool on 6 June 1963. Sid James (1913–1976), actor Tony Jay (1933–2006), actor Lesley Joseph (born 1945), actor Miriam Karlin (1925–2011), actress Robert Kazinsky (born 1983), actorKazinsky – "Jewish Actor Joins EastEnders... The 22-year-old actor – who can speak Hebrew and who starred in a mobile phone commercial in Israel..." Barbara Kellerman (born 1949), actress Felicity Kendal (born 1946), actress David Kossoff (1919–2005), actor Harry Landis (1926–2022) Bettina Le Beau, (23 March 1932 – 8 September 2015), also known as Bettine Le Beau, was a Belgian Jewish actress. Benny Lee (11 August 1916 – 9 December 1995) was a Scottish Jewish comedy actor and singer; he portrayed Mr. Klein in the British sitcom, Are You Being Served? (1981). Anton Lesser (born 1952), actor Mark Lester (born 1958), actor Dame Maureen Lipman (born 1946), actress Leon Lissek, (19 January 1939 – 13 June 2022) appeared in The Professionals, Journey to the Unknown, Hammer Film Productions, EastEnders and Franz Kafka's The Trial. Herbert Lom (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), a Czech Jewish-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939; noted for precise, elegant enunciation of English. He is best known for his roles in The Ladykillers, The Pink Panther film series, War and Peace and the television series The Human Jungle. Ferdy Mayne (11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998); German Jewish British actor known as versatile character actor, often playing suave villains and aristocratic eccentrics in films like The Fearless Vampire Killers, Where Eagles Dare, Barry Lyndon, and Benefit of the Doubt. Mayne worked for MI5 during WW2. Miriam Margolyes (born 1941), actress Kay Mellor (1951–2022), actress and screenwriter Warren Mitchell (1926–2015), actor Julian Morris (born 1983), actor Amanda Noar (born 14 October 1962) is a British actress and the former wife of actor Neil Morrissey. Tracy-Ann Oberman (born 1966), actressThe Jewish Chronicle, 30 June 2006 p. 36: "Tribal beat: Showbiz Jews in the news" Sophie Okonedo (born 1969), actress Eric Pohlmann (born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) best known for his work in the James Bond films From Russia with Love and Thunderball. Ruth Posner (née Wajsberg; born 20 April 1933) is a Polish Jewish born British dancer, choreographer, actress former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Hana Maria Pravda ( Becková; after first marriage, Munk; after second marriage, Pravda; 29 January 1916, Prague − 22 May 2008, Oxford) was a Czech Jewish actress. Featured in The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Dracula (1974). Other TV credits include: Danger Man, Department S, Callan, Z-Cars, Dad's Army and Tales of the Unexpected. Natalie Press (born 1980), actress Lara Pulver (born 1980), actress Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989), actor David Rappaport (1951–1990), actor Robert Rietti, (8 February 1923 – 3 April 2015), of Italian-Jewish descent; over 200 film credits to his name, prominent in post-production work in the James Bond series, Lawrence of Arabia, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Guns of Navarone. Andrew Sachs (1930–2016), actor Emma Samms (born 1960) Danny Schwarz (born 1986), actor, model Jane Seymour (born 1951), actress Antony Sher (1949–2021) British actor, writer and theatre director of South African Jewish origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and toured in many roles, as well as appearing on film and television. In 2001, he starred in his cousin Ronald Harwood's play Mahler's Conversion. During his 2017 "Commonwealth Tour", Prince Charles referred to Sher as his favourite actor. Georgia Slowe (born 1966), actress Samantha Spiro, actress Sheila Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019); South African Jewish, appeared in The Frost Report, Z-Cars, Sykes, Dave Allen at Large, The Kenny Everett Television Show, Minder, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, Oh Brother! and The Laughter of a Fool. Ed Stoppard (born 1974) Gregg Sulkin (born 1992), actor Janet Suzman, (born 1939) South African British actress of Lithuanian ancestry who had successful career in Royal Shakespeare Company; was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama; Honorary Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute; was awarded Pragnell Award for lifetime services to Shakespeare and is a patron of the London International Festival of Theatre."Meet The Team" , LIFT. Retrieved 9 August 2016. Clive Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019), worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company; best known as Richard Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. He played many other television and film roles. David Swift (3 April 1931 – 8 April 2016), Actor. Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979); acted in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s including Dixon of Dock Green, The Lavender Hill Mob, Alfie and The Spy Who Loved Me. Dame Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011), actress Aaron Taylor-Johnson (born 1990), actor Harriet Thorpe (born 1957), actress Meier Tzelniker, actor "the distinguished Jewish actor, Meier Tzelniker" Accessed 16 December 2006. Sam Wanamaker (1919–1993), actor