FEBRUARY 25 • 2021 | 35
Matthew Sklar; and Palm Springs, direct-
ed by Max Barbakow, 35.
There are no Jewish actresses nomi-
nated for best lead in a TV series. The
best lead actor category has one nominee,
Josh O’Connor, with an unusual Jewish
backstory. He’s nominated for playing
Prince Charles in The Crow. His mater-
nal great-grandmother was Jewish and
although he is, in common terms, one-
eighth Jewish, he is a “Halachic Jew.” I
mention him because his domestic partner
is Margot Hauer-King, 30ish, the sister of
hot British actor Jonah Hauer-King, 25. I
know these siblings are practicing Jews —
so who knows where O’Connor will end
up “religion-wise?”
Jane Levy, 31, is nominated for best
lead actress, comedy or musical (TV).
She stars in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
I know her father is Jewish and her moth-
er is not. But she never talks about her
Jewish ancestry or any religious practice.
A “quite” Jewish actress, Israeli Shira
Haas, 25, is nominated for best perfor-
mance in a mini-series or TV movie. She
starred in Unorthodox, a series about a
Hasidic woman who leaves her sect for
the secular world.
Dan Levy, 37 (Schitt’s Creek) is nomi-
nated for best supporting actor in a series
and Julia Garner, 27 (Ozark) vies for
the same award in the actress category.
Garner’s mother is Jewish, and Garner has
described herself as Jewish several times.
She won the 2019 and 2020 Emmy for
this role.
The nominees for best mini-series
include The Queen’s Gambit. It was writ-
ten and directed by Scott Frank, 60. This
series about a female chess grandmaster
was a monster ratings and critical hit
for Netflix. Also in this category are
The Undoing, a murder mystery, and
Unorthodox. The Undoing is based on a
novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, 59, and
it was directed by Susanne Bier, 60, a
Danish Jew. Unorthodox was inspired by a
memoir by Deborah Feldman, 34, once a
member of a Hasidic sect. It was co-writ-
ten by Anna Winger, 50.
The best TV drama series nominees
include The Crown, which was created
by, and is written by Peter Morgan, 57.
His Jewish father fled Nazi Germany for
England. His mother isn’t Jewish. Also
in this category is The Mandalorian, a
Disney fantasy series that was created by,
and is directed by Jon Favreau, 54.
The best musical or comedy series
nominees include Emily in Paris, a light
show about a Midwestern young woman
who moves to Paris. It was created by
Darren Star, 59, who also created Beverly
Hills, 90210 and co-created Sex and the
City. Emily vies with Schitt’s Creek for
this Globe. Perhaps because it was on the
little-watched Popcorn channel, Creek
languished in relative obscurity during its
first four seasons (2015-2019). But critics
and viewers eventually found it and it
swept the 2020 Emmys. Dan Levy and his
father, Eugene Levy, 74, co-star in Creek
and they co-created the show.
Norman
Lear
WIKIPEDIA
Sacha Baron
Cohen
BY JOELLA MARANO, WIKIPEDIA
Ibrahima Gueye
and Sophia Loren in
The Life Ahead.
REGINE DE LAZZARIS AKA GRETA/NETFLIX
OVER THE MOON
WAS WRITTEN BY
AUDREY LEDERER
WELLS, WHO DIED OF
CANCER AT AGE 58.