Celebrities You Didn’t Know are Arab
By Sara Tawfik/ Arab America Contributing Writer
Although Arabs are considered minorities, you will find that there are quite a few celebrities of Arab Descent in the industry that you would least expect or think are Arab. Some may not be too surprising, but I can assure you, this list of celebrities will be pleasantly surprised. These are just a few celebrities that have Arab roots.
Jerry Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American comedian, actor, and producer who is best known for his role in 23 Hours to Kill and wrote the Bee Movie. Seinfeld was born in Brooklyn Borough, New York City. His mother is from Aleppo, Syria and his father is of Hungarian-Jewish descent, therefore he gets his Middle Eastern background mainly from his mother’s side of the Family.
There isn’t too much to be said about Seinfeld regarding his ethnic background because he never spent too much time discussing it within the industry.
Steven Jobs
This specific celebrity was especially surprising, we all know him as the founder of Apple and his name has been seen everywhere, but I was surprised to find out that he is half Arab because this entire time I really did believe that Steve Jobs was a Caucasian man. It turns out that he is in fact of Arab descent. Steve’s story is a bit different in the sense that his biological Father Abdulfattah Jandali is a Syrian Muslim and his biological mother was forced to leave his father and as a result Jobs was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. Jobs has spoken a few times in interviews about his Syrian background, but never in too much depth. He did share the story of when he was younger trying to find his biological parents and was able to get a hold of his biological mother who then referred him to his sister Mona Simpson, a well-known novelist. However, he then heard many things about his biological father that made him steer away from the idea of seeking him out.
Teri Hatcher
Hatcher is best known for her role in Desperate Housewives, I remember this being my favorite show at a point. I loved Teri’s character Suzan and felt that she played the role brilliantly. I was even more excited to find out that an actress who I respect so much is also a fellow Arab. Hatcher’s mother is Syrian along with different European descents.
Shakira
Although Shakira was born and partially raised in Columbia, she actually is half Lebanese. Her biological father is 100% Lebanese and her grandparent emigrated from Lebanon to the United States of America where her father was born and moved to Columbia at the age of 5. Shakira is more known for her Latin ambiance and performances, but there are the occasional songs that do add a bit of an Arab flavor to them such as the song Ojos Asi, the music video as well as the actual music reminds me of many Arabic songs or music videos I have seen. I think this was one way for Shakira to get in touch with her Lebanese background as well as her Columbian background.
Jenna Dewan Tatum
Many know her as Channing Tatum’s wife or from the film Step Up. She started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and worked with artists such as Pink, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliott later on in her career. Jenna also played the character Freya in one of my personal favorite TV shows called Witches of East End. Jenna’s father is of Lebanese and Polish descent which explains her beautiful Arab features such as her Dark hair and eyebrows as well as her piercing blue eyes. Jenna has always slightly reminded me of the famous Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram.
In conclusion, it’s incredible to know that there are so many celebrities we love and admire who come from Arab backgrounds and roots. We can almost feel a sense of relation to them because we can resonate with their ethnicity and cultural background. It’s very important to shed light on the fact that being Arab is in fact a minority, but that we are capable of making it big and accomplish so much similar to all these Arab celebrities that I have mentioned.
To learn more about Arab celebrities, check out our blog!