Key Takeaways
- Goldblum’s heritage combines Jewish roots from Russia and Austria.
- His family immigrated from Russia, Austria, and Hungary to the USA.
- Goldblum’s career started in the 1970s with minor roles.
Jeff Goldblum, an American actor and musician, has a Jewish ethnic background with roots in Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including Austria.
His family hailed from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian realms, with roots in Starobin (now Belarus) and Zolochiv (now Ukraine).
His family, with origins in Russia, Austria, and Hungary, immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s.
In the “Finding Your Roots” episode, Jeff Goldblum discovers that his great-grandfather, Zelik Pavarcik, emigrated from Starobin in 1911 to escape anti-Semitic violence.
Tragically, many of his relatives were k*lled during the Nazi invasion of 1941.
Likewise, the episode reveals that Goldblum’s great-grandfather’s grand-nephew, Aaron Golan, fought and died in the Soviet Army in March 1943, adding a poignant layer to his family’s WWII history.
The coincidence deeply moves Goldblum that both his father and cousin were fighting against the Nazis at the same time, despite not knowing each other.
On his father’s side, he is Russian-Jewish, and on his mother’s side, he inherits part of his Austrian-Jewish ethnicity.
Born on October 22, 1952, in West Homestead, Pennsylvania, USA, Jeff Goldblum’s parents are Harold Leonard Goldblum and Shirley Jane Goldblum (née Temeles).
His father, Harold, a physician and WWII U.S. Army major born April 25, 1920, and his mother, Shirley, a radio broadcaster and kitchen sales executive born October 30, 1926, both had notable careers.
Also, he has three siblings: elder brother Lee, sister Pamela, and late brother Rick, who died at 23 from dysentery and kidney failure in Morocco.
Jeff Goldblum’s Three Marriages And Kids
Jeff Goldblum has been married three times. From 1980 to 1985, he was married to actress Patricia Gaul, with whom he appeared in the film Silverado (1985).
He married actress Geena Davis from 1987 to 1991 and finalized their divorce in 1991 after Geena filed in October 1990.
In mid-2014, Goldblum became engaged to Emilie Livingston, a Canadian Olympic rhythmic gymnast 30 years his junior, and they married on November 8, 2014.
They have two sons: Charlie Ocean, born on July 4, 2015, and River Joe, born on April 7, 2017.
While he has a blend of Russian and Austrian Jewish ethnicity, Emilie is of French and Canadian descent.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Jeff Goldblum moved to New York City at the age of 17 to pursue his career in acting.
- He made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning musical “Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
- In the 1990s, Goldblum voiced many U.S. Apple commercials, including those for the iMac and iBook.
