‘Shiksa under a chuppah’
Actress Drew Barrymore embraces Judaism after marriage to art consultant Will Kopelman
Actress Drew Barrymore has outed herself as a “shiksa” who, despite not converting (“yet”) to the Jewish religion of new husband Will Kopelman, celebrates Passover, got married under a chuppah (wedding canopy) and plans to raise daughter Olive “traditionally.”
Barrymore, 37, loves practicing Judaism, she told the talk show The View on Friday. “It’s a beautiful faith and I’m so honored to be around it,” she said. “It’s so family-oriented… the stories are so beautiful and it’s incredibly enlightening. I’m really happy.”
Barrymore, who was married twice before and whose romantic life has provided ample fodder for tabloids and paparazzi, said her marriage was the “most important thing I’ll ever do with my life,” and that she will “never” mess up.
She said husband Kopelman, an art consultant with ties to the Chanel fashion empire, was “a nice Jewish man from a nice Jewish family.” Even though she was “a shiksa,” she added, “I do the seders and we do Passover…. We had a very traditional wedding ceremony…. I did the ketubah. We wore the yarmulkes and we did the chuppah.”
Barrymore, who achieved fame as a child star and had a period of high-profile substance abuse as a teen, said she was raised “a hippy” but plans to introduce more structure for her daughter, and is thinking of converting to Judaism.
“I haven’t converted yet,” she said, “but Olive will be raised traditionally.”