How Jewish is Marty Supreme star Odessa A’zion? - The Jewish Chronicle

Of all the myriad reasons to love Josh Safdie’s new Jewish-coded film Marty Supreme, Odessa A’zion is among the most convincing.

The up-and-coming actress, who plays the cunning hometown paramour of Timothée Chalamet’s titular table tennis champion Marty Mauser, proves more than capable of stepping into the shoes of a brash Jewish housewife in this 1960s romp, giving a charismatic performance as Rachel Mizler with equal parts heart and deceit. And thanks to her other recent turn as a self-absorbed social media influencer in Rachel Sennott’s popular sitcom I Love LA, A’zion is swiftly en route to A-list prestige.

But just how Jewish is this Gen Z sweetheart, whose trademark mop of dark curls, septum ring and omnipresent Star of David necklace are taking Hollywood by storm?

Born Odessa Zion Segall Adlon in Los Angeles in 2000, A’zion, 25, is the daughter of Jewish comedian and actress Pamela Adlon, known for voicing the character Bobby Hill on the animated series King of the Hill and co-creating and starring in the drama series Better Things (alongside Jewish Oscar winner Mikey Madison, who is also a longtime friend of A’zion). A’zion’s father is the German director Felix Adlon, whose own father was New German Cinema director Percy Adlon.

While Felix reportedly converted to Judaism after marrying Pamela in 1996, the couple separated in 2010. They had two other daughters, Gideon and Rocky.

(L-R) Rocky Adlon, Gideon Adlon, and Pamela Adlon attend the 5th and final season celebration of FX's "Better Things" at Hollywood Forever on February 23, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)Getty Images

A’zion’s maternal grandfather was the writer-producer Don Segall, who was born to a Ukrainian-Jewish family in Boston, and her maternal grandmother converted to Judaism before marrying Segall. Pamela, who grew up attending Hebrew school and had a bat mitzvah, discovered in a 2022 episode of the celebrity genealogy show Finding Your Roots that her great-great-grandfather was a rabbi.

A’zion, who took on her stage name around 2020 by creating a portmanteau of her surname and middle name, has not spoken explicitly about her personal connection to her Jewish background, but she is often pictured wearing a Star of David necklace.

The actress began acting as a teenager, with movie roles in thrillers Ladyworld (2018) and Let’s Scare Julie (2019). In between early TV roles, she played music with a band called Dessa, and has recently said she has plans to make more music in the future.

Odessa A'zion, wearing her Star of David necklace, attends the "Fresh Kills" premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva

In 2020 she starred in the Netflix drama Grand Army, which marked the start of A'zion's swift upward trajectory in the industry, despite the show lasting just one season. She cemented herself as a scream queen in horror films like The Inhabitant (2022) and Hellraiser (2022) while exploring her versatility in the mainstream via a role in the 2022 film Am I OK? with Dakota Johnson and a starring turn in the 2023 movie Sitting in Bars with Cake, also featuring Bette Midler.

But the real cincher for A’zion’s newfound A-list status, alongside her well-documented friendship with popstar Billie Eilish, was being cast in Sennott’s 2025 HBO comedy I Love LA, in which she plays the vapid “zillennial” influencer Tallulah. The series was renewed for a second season in November and, after a keen critical reception, it's poised to keep A’zion firmly in the spotlight.

Her most recent role as the gutsy, scheming and distinctly Jewish Rachel Mizler in Marty Supreme, however, spoke more deeply to the actress than any other.

In an interview with Elle last month, A’zion said of her character: “I connected with her so hardcore. I really felt like I understood her, like I was meant to play her, and I felt like they wrote her for me.”

If she is anywhere near as headstrong and beguiling as Mizler, A’zion might just have the chutzpah to become Hollywood’s next big leading lady.

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How Jewish is?

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