Lea Michele

Michele in 2011, kathclick/bigstock.com

Birth Name: Lea Michele Sarfati

Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 29, 1986

Ethnicity:
*Sephardi Jewish (father)
*Italian (mother)

Lea Michele is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She is known for her roles in the films New Year’s Eve and Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, and on the shows Glee and Scream Queens, and for her Broadway performances.

Lea is the daughter of Edith Thomasina (Porcelli) and Mark David Sarfati. Her father is a Sephardi Jew, from a family that moved to the U.S. from Turkey and Greece, and had originally left Spain, likely in the 1400s. Lea’s mother is of Italian descent, and is Catholic. Lea stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2012, that she was raised in her mother’s Catholic faith.

Lea is married to clothing brand president Zandy Reich, with whom she has a son. Zandy is Jewish.

Lea’s paternal grandfather was named Albert Sarfati (the son of Yomtov Sarfati and Sol/Celia). Albert was born in New York, to Sephardi Jewish emigrants, from Turkey.

Lea’s paternal grandmother was Celia/Sylvia Veissy (the daughter of Moise Joseph “Morris” Veissy/Veissey/Veissi/Vaisha and Benuta/Benouta/Benoueta “Bessie” Kouenkas/Cohenka). Celia was born in New York, to Jewish parents, from Thessaloniki, Greece. Moise was the son of Joseph Veissy and Dona. Benuta was the daughter of Isaac/Issac Shemtov Couenca/Cohenka/Kouenkas and Meriam/Miryam/Miriam Arania. Meriam was killed in the Holocaust, in Auschwitz.

Lea’s maternal grandfather is surnamed Porcelli. His family was from Rome.

Lea’s maternal grandmother is surnamed Mariano. Her family was from Naples.

Sources: JVibe interview about Lea’s heritage – http://archive.is

Information about Lea’s appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, 2016 – http://ancestraldiscoveries.blogspot.ca

Genealogy of Lea Michele – https://www.geni.com

Lea’s paternal grandfather, Albert Sarfati, on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

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