Gwyneth Paltrow talks to Noa Tishby about Hanukkah family traditions and Jewish heritage

Gwyneth Paltrow lights a menorah to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with Noa Tishby. Photo: YouTube screenshot

Jewish-American Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow joined author and activist Noa Tishby on Wednesday to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah as part of her new Hanukkah video series on YouTube called “#BringOnTheLight.”

Paltrow — whose late father, Bruce Paltrow, was Jewish, while her mother, actress Blythe Danner, is Christian — also spoke with Tishby about her Jewish faith and holiday traditions. When Tishby asked the “Iron Man” star and Goop founder and CEO about a childhood Hanukkah memory that is close to her heart, Paltrow recalled being at her grandparents’ house in Long Island, New York and celebrated Hanukkah valid.

“I have such a strong memory of the gold, round coins, and my brother and I just tore them up,” she recalled, talking about the coin-shaped chocolates that are typically given to children at Hanukkah.

The “Contagion” star also told Tishby that she now makes latkes for Hanukkah and lights the menorah with her family at her home. “We always light the menorah, we always gather after lighting the candles; it’s actually very sweet. We all embrace each other and bring in the light,” she said. “And ever since (my children) were little, they would sit on the floor, close their eyes, and then I would give them their gift. We give eight gifts. I’m a spoiler.”

Paltrow has two children – Apple, 20, and Moses, 18 – with her ex-husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. She is now married to American television writer, producer and director Brad Falchuk, whose parents are both Jewish. His mother was previously national president of the Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America.

In 2011, Paltrow discovered that she comes from a long line of rabbis on her father’s side and that her great-great-great-grandfather was Rabbi Tsvi Paltrowitch, a Kabbalah master and Gaon of Nitzy-Novgorod in southwestern Russia. She told Tishby that she comes from 17 generations of rabbis.

Paltrow also spoke about what it was like growing up with a Jewish father and a Christian mother. “I grew up in the ’70s when I thought interfaith marriage was a big thing, so it was really hard for both of my parents to marry each other. So it was a bit scandalous. Nobody was happy about it,” she said.

“They definitely accepted it later in life,” the actress added, speaking about her grandparents. “They kind of let it all go. But I was very lucky because I was able to grow up with these two very different worlds and very different beliefs. I have always felt an incredible attraction to my Jewish family, and I still do. And the traditions and the warmth, the unconditional love, the food, the shouting, the family… I’m so close to everyone in my family. We are all somehow intertwined and important to each other and are there for each other over and over again.”

Tishby’s eight-part video series “#BringOnTheLight,” coinciding with the eight days of Hanukkah, launched on YouTube on Wednesday and promotes Jewish pride and unity. A new video is released every day of Hanukkah at 11 a.m. ET.