Mrs. Maisel Star on Heritage (EXCLUSIVE)

May 2024 · 4 minute read

'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' star Alex Borstein has a rich family heritage. So what's Alex's ethnicity? What is her faith? Here's what we know.

Katherine Stinson - Author

The hit comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Prime Video follows the adventure of Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a young Jewish housewife who reveals herself on a comedic occupation path after her husband cheats on her.

Renowned comedic actress Alex Borstein performs Susie Myerson, Midge's snarky yet unswerving talent manager. Susie could also be supposed to be Jewish, however her faith isn't in point of fact explored on the show like Midge's during the events of each and every episode.

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Interestingly offscreen, Rachel isn't Jewish like her onscreen character, whilst Alex is! Alex's family history is tragic yet extremely inspiring. In reality, Distractify spoke exclusively with Alex about her circle of relatives heritage and how that inspired her to turn out to be the actor she is today.

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What is 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' star Alex Borstein's ethnicity?

Speaking with Distractify, Alex explained, "My mother was born in Budapest. And she's Hungarian. I mean, if you go back it's like Hungarian-Mongolian ... My dad's side is Polish and Russian. And I don't you know, I don't speak any Polish. I don't speak any Russian. I don't have a huge connection with that side just because my mother was, you know, I was first generation."

"I felt just very Hungarian," she shared. "We had some Hebrew and my dad speaks Yiddish, as well my mom Hungarian, and there were so different languages in the house. My dad was raised Orthodox Jewish, my mom was very spiritual Jewish, having survived the Holocaust. I know a lot of people have a similar similar experience—their grandparents or their parents that survived are very spiritual and very Jewish that way, but not religious."

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"Step out of line, ladies!"

Damn, Alex Borstein. That was once superb.

A tale about her grandmother who survived the Holocaust because she "stepped out of line". #Emmys pic.twitter.com/rk7xD0Snp9

— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly REMOVE MY BLUE CHECK ELON (@AynRandPaulRyan) September 23, 2019

"It's a feeling or it's a piece of them as opposed to something they put on every day," Alex persisted. "I was raised conservative Jewish. I went to a private Jewish Day School up until sixth grade and then, I still feel pretty Jewish. I mean, I love some of the traditions and the music and food, the challah. I don't go to temple, except for the High Holy days, but I do identify strongly as Jewish."

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She also advised the Jewish Journal, "My mother is a child survivor of the Holocaust. She was born in Budapest at the time when they were lining Jews up and shooting them into pits ... My grandmother gave my mother in her bassinet to a cousin, who was around 8 or 9, and the girl just walked out of line and kept walking. There were stories of holes in their shoes and lice in their hair, but they got out alive."

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Alex lovingly famous in the same interview that Susie reminded her of her grandmother and her mother.

"My grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, was very funny, very dark and bi---y. My mother went back to school later in life to get her MSW or MFT psychotherapy degree, one of those ... series of letters with a bunch of m’s in it. They were tough broads who kept reinventing themselves, and there’s a piece of Susie in there."

Alex Borstein also has a brand new comedy special out on Prime Video.

Alex's folks are within the target market for her comedy particular Alex Borstein: Corsets & Clown Suits, the place Alex jokingly requested him if she used to be what he expected when he first discovered he was having a daughter.

She appears to be very shut along with her folks, even taking her father, Irv Borstein, as her date to the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season Five premiere! (We love to look it.)

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You can catch Alex in the Corsets & Clown Suits special, which is now streaming on Prime Video. Alex additionally reprises her role because the wonderfully acerbic Susie in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5, which drops new episodes Fridays on Prime Video as well.

Reporting through Jamie Lerner

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