Lainie Kazan was born Lainie Levine on May 15, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Ben, was of Ashkenazi descent, and her mother, Carole, was from a Turkish Sephardic family. Kazan’s grandparents lived in Israel before moving to Manchester, England, and eventually settling in Brooklyn.
“I knew I was Jewish, and I was very proud of my Jewish heritage and the fact that my grandparents were from Israel.”
She attended Brooklyn’s Erasmus Hall High School with Barbra Streisand. While at Hofstra, Kazan appeared in school musicals written and directed by a classmate, director Francis Ford Coppola, and actor James Caan. Eventually, she served as Barbra Streisand’s understudy for the role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, and when Streisand was unable to perform, Kazan took her place.
You may remember the actress in one of her many Jewish character roles, such as Leona Bloom, CeCe’s Jewish mother in Beaches, Rose Zuckerman, Andrea’s (Holocaust survivor) grandmother on Beverly Hills 90210, and Fran’s Aunt Freida on The Nanny.
Last week, the singer, actress and My Big Fat Greek Wedding star celebrated her 84th birthday. #MazalTov
