Do you know Zoey Deutch? You should probably know Zoey Deutch! Here are 18 things to know about Jewish actress Zoey Deutch:
1. She was bon in Los Angeles, California, and has one sister, Madelyn, who is also an actress.
2. The best advice she ever got? “Work hard, be nice and keep going. No one just gets lucky, in my opinion. Hard work pays off,” Zoey explained.
3. Zoey started acting classes at age 5; her first role was on The Suite Life on Deck in 2011.
(“I never have a fun answer to the question of how I decided to become an actress,” Zoey said in an interview. “I never had that ‘aha!‘ moment. It was just always what I wanted to do.”)
4. She was raised Jewish. Being Jewish, Zoey said, is “so embedded in [my] DNA. I very much feel pride in my Jewish heritage and culture. We celebrate the High Holidays and I can recite the whole Vahavta.”
5. Her bat mitzvah theme was “Winter Wonderland,” and she wore “the ugliest silver BCBG dress that I found at a Goodwill. It’s the ugliest dress I’ve ever seen. Ever. I mean, it’s almost impressive how ugly it is.”
6. Of visiting Israel, Zoey said, “The food and the people were amazing. They really live for the now, and no one was confused with my argumentative personality there. They really got me. It was a revelatory experience.”
7. “Our mom [actress Lea Thompson] was really gung-ho about starting us in Hebrew school at an early age. When she met my dad, I think she felt very at home with [Judaism] and the Jewish community. She grew up with Christianity in the Midwest in the ’60s, and the whole idea that [Jews] are commanded to argue with God, I think, blew her mind. She just loved that. Artists are so much about challenging the norm,” Zoey’s sister Madelyn said. (“I would say she’s more Jewish than my dad,” Zoey said.)
8. On her dad, Zoey explained, “He’s the funniest person I’ve ever met. He’s so crazy. Here’s a textbook neurotic-father-daughter outing: I was out of town for four months, and I came back, and my knee was hurting, so we did a whole week of doctor tours together. My dad [film director Howard Deutsch] and I went to every doctor in L.A. together. But the problem was, he was going with me to be a loving father and be there with me — and instead, he would just make it about himself and make appointments with those doctors.”
9. She has a deep sense of Jewish humor, explaining, “I don’t know how you’d describe it, but it is such a cool part of the culture. It obviously was meant to help us survive and to deal with all the craziness. You had to laugh. And that’s something that I really value and I’m grateful to have seen in my parents: laughter during difficult times, which I do actually qualify as a characteristic of the culture.”
10. This is Zoey’s dog:
This is Zoey’s tattoo of her dog:
Here she is talking about it:
11. She’s starred in a ton of movies: Beautiful Creatures (2013), Vampire Academy (2014), Everybody Wants Some!! (2016), Set It Up (2018), Support the Girls (2018), and so many more.
12. She’s also set to star in The Politician, with another one of our favorites, Ben Platt.
13. Have you seen the music video for “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran? Zoey plays the love interest:
14. She’s active in social justice work, working on behalf of Planned Parenthood, Water.org, the Women’s March, Time’s Up, and more. “There are privileges in my life, inherently, because of my job and that I’m white. I have these things that are completely out of my control and if I don’t use these things to raise awareness for people who don’t, then that’s lame,” she said.
15. In one 2017 profile, she ordered her interviewer matzah ball soup at Art’s Deli. Just felt like we had to share that. Her ideal Art’s Deli order is “Matzah ball soup, half pastrami, pickles, Caesar salad, egg cream, and latkes. Dream meal.”
She’s also a self-declared pastrami on rye expert:
— zoey deutch (@zoeydeutch) May 5, 2019
(Side note: Can you believe Chrissy Teigen has never had pastrami on rye!?)
16. “I have a complicated relationship with social media because I don’t want to admit that I’m addicted to it, but I totally am,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “My bios on Instagram and Twitter are kind of blasé, but meanwhile, I’m obsessive. I’m a total poser and liar about that stuff.” Yes, Zoey, keep it real!!!
17. Although… her Instagram is so good:
18. Zoey’s advice? “Don’t be afraid to be ambitious. I don’t know why that word has a bad rap and really, it’s mostly just for women. All it means is that you’re willing to work hard for what you want and love, as far as I’m concerned. So work hard, love what you do, be nice to people and be ambitious! There’s nothing wrong with that. And, you know, wear sunscreen.”
