When and if (but mostly when) you check out “The Thing About Pam,” Peacock’s latest true-crime inspired show, you’ll most likely be focused on Academy Award-winning actress Renée Zellweger. However, odds are you’ll probably also be transfixed by Renée’s co-star, up-and-coming actress Gideon Adlon.
Over the last few years, Gideon’s career has already taken off, due to her superb acting in many big-budget movies and shows. And, to top off her talent, she’s Jewish!
Here are 18 things to know about Gideon Adlon.
1. Gideon was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father.
2. She was born on March 30, 1997, making her an Aries!
3. Her mother is actress Pamela Adlon, her father is director Felix O. Adlon and she has two sisters, Odessa and Rocky.
Here is a photo of a young Gideon with her mom and siblings!
4. Please enjoy this video of Gideon being an adorable, and very fashionable, child:
5. Through her mother’s side, Gideon is the descendant of a famous rabbi!
You can watch Gideon’s mom discover this information in this clip from “Finding Your Roots“:
6. Speaking of her mom, Gideon is the real-life inspiration behind Max, the eldest daughter character on Pamela Adlon’s show “Better Things.”
Check out this clip of Pamela’s character and Max having an argument:
7. She got her start in acting by doing community theater.
“I loved doing community theater growing up,” she told an interviewer. “I was obsessed with all the musicals and Shakespeare.”
8. Gideon’s first on-screen role was a cameo in “Louie,” a show her mom was involved with due to her friendship with Louis C.K.
Following the reports of Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct, Gideon was asked what witnessing this #MeToo reckoning was like firsthand.
“My family’s been through a lot recently, in light of the whole #MeToo movement,” she said. “But I really think that, you know, every single story, doesn’t matter if it’s personal to me or whatever, every single story that has come out has created a safer workspace for me, what with me just starting in the industry.”
9. Gideon studied photography at Columbia College Chicago for a year before dropping out to pursue acting.
10. She has a really cool Jewish grandma:
11. Her first big-screen role was as Sam in the movie “Blockers.”
Check out this scene wherein her character comes out to her dad:
12. Gideon’s favorite coffee spot in her hometown is Aroma Café.
“It’s so cute and cozy and there are plants everywhere. It’s just a nice place to go on a rainy day,” Gideon said in an interview. “And I don’t even drink coffee. I hate coffee. I like tea.”
13. In her own words, Gideon is “a good Jewish lady.”
Just check out this Instagram caption:
14. Gideon is a “theater junkie.”
15. Despite having starred in “The Craft: Legacy” directed by (fellow Jew!) Zoe Lister-Jones, Gideon is superstitious about the occult.
“I’ve never used an Oujia board in my life, I don’t fuck with that,” she explained. “On the set of the film when we did stuff with the Ouija board, Eric Vogel (a resident witch on-set) put salt in my pocket and then the other girl’s pockets to protect us.”
16. Thanks to her role in the Netflix show “The Society,” in which her character Becca is friends with a deaf person, Gideon knows some American Sign Language.
“Gideon knew a little bit of American Sign Language going into the audition but knew she’d have to learn more if she booked the role,” Teen Vogue writer Gabe Bergado wrote in a profile on Gideon. “So when she signed on to play the character, she started working with ASL coaches and would spend hours in her apartment on weekends learning her dialogue.”
17. Gideon’s second film about witches, “Witch Hunt,” came out in 2021.
Check out the trailer here:
18. Gideon has nothing but good things to say about Mariah Day, the real life person behind her character in “The Thing About Pam.”
“Portraying Mariah Day in #thethingaboutpam was an experience I will never forget,” Gideon wrote in an Instagram post. “Mariah is so strong. I was lucky enough to speak with her on the phone at the beginning of this process and I can not thank her enough for being so open with me. There was not a day that passed by where I did not think about her strength and what she’s been through.”
Check out the trailer here:
