Showbiz
Is Harry Styles Jewish? Star’s Hebrew heritage revealed
Wednesday marked 15 years since One Direction was formed and one of the band members has been very Jewishy since the beginning
July 24, 2025 16:38
Wednesday marked 15 years since One Direction was formed and one of the band members has been very Jewishy since the beginning
July 24, 2025 16:38Yesterday marked 15 years of One Direction. That is 15 years of chart-topping songs, 15 years of making front pages and 15 years of one certain member being very Jew-ish.
Harry Styles has repeatedly got fans wondering if he is, in actual fact, a Jew. From wearing a Magen David necklace to speaking Yiddish to filming music videos in Synagogues, he has always seemed very much tied in to the religion, but he is not in fact Jewish.
In 2011 a documentary about the band called One Direction: A Year in the Making was directed by Ben Winston, a Jewish producer brought up in an observant family. Styles clearly picked up on some of Winston's Jewishness as it was around this time he tweeted: "It's Yom Kippur tonight so just wanted to wish my Jewish followers well over their fast. Gemar Tov!!"
Another post read: "Eating as much as I can now. Gonna be a tough 25 hours. My problem is I am always hungry straight after Kol Nidre. Fast well everyone!"
The singer ended up moving in with the Winstons when a house he was planning on buying in Hampstead Heath fell through.
At the time, Rolling Stone reported: “The Winstons’ Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, with a strong family emphasis, helped keep him sane.”
During his stay, he took to X again to say: "Shana Tova to all our Jewish fans.. Hope you have a great day. xx"
He doesn’t just like tweeting in Yiddish; he has even tweeted in Hebrew before, replying to a fan on X who was asking him how he was by saying: "Kol beseder".
That's not where the Hebrew ends. In 2012, Styles got a tattoo of his sister Gemma’s name and chose for it to be written out in a Hebrew script.
His Jewish ties also extend to his music. The video for the One Direction hit Best Song Ever was filmed in an old Miami synagogue. It isn't known exactly why the location was chosen, but Winston, who also directed the music video, looked back on it with fond memories and wrote much later on Instagram: "Seven" years ago today we shot the Best Song Ever video in a synagogue in Miami. The best of times."
Styles was once pictured in a kippah (bought as a present by Winston). As well as being pictured several times in bagel shops, he was also spotted at Le Marais, a kosher restaurant in Manhattan wearing his kippah.
Winston's mother, Lira Helen Feigenbaum, won a lifetime achievement award for her work in Jewish education. When Harry heard the news, he congratulated her and thanked her for teaching him about the Jewish community. He wrote: “By being welcomed so many times into your home and feeling like family, I’ve learned what the Jewish community is like, what it stands for, and what a wonderful person you are.
“You really are my favourite balaboosta.”
Styles’ father, Des Styles confirmed this when he once tweeted: "Still lots of queries asking if H is some [per cent] Jewish? No idea where any rumours came from in but, categorically, he is 0 [per cent] Jewish. Not at all. X"
So, as much as we would like to claim him as one of us, Styles isn't Jewish. He once tweeted that he was christened "but not really that religious" and it is widely reported that he is "spiritual" instead.
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