Was Billy Wilder Jewish?

• Home
• Directors
• Billy Wilder

Well, to make a long story short, Billy Wilder was Jewish!

Since Billy Wilder's mother was Jewish, and in Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism, those with a Jewish mother (or those who underwent a halakhic conversion) are considered Jewish, then that makes him Jewish. His father was Jewish too.

Billy Wilder (whose full birth name was Samuel Wilder) was born on June 22, 1906 in Sucha Beskidzka, Austria-Hungary.

He was known as a filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. Wilder is one of only five people to have won Academy Awards as producer, director and screenwriter for the same film (The Apartment), and was the first person to accomplish this.

Wilder is known for films such as Ninotchka (1939), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), and Sabrina (1954).

Wilder received a total of twenty-one Academy Award nominations; eight for Best Director, twelve for writing, and one as the producer of Best Picture. With eight nominations for Academy Award for Best Director, Wilder is, together with Martin Scorsese, the second most nominated director in the history of the Academy Awards, behind William Wyler, and the second most nominated screenwriter behind Woody Allen.

Wilder won a total of six Oscars: Best Director for The Lost Weekend and The Apartment, Best Screenplay for The Lost Weekend, Sunset Blvd. and The Apartment, and Best Picture for The Apartment.

Wilder was recognized with the American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award in 1986.

(Added: 11/10/2014)

If you see any details that require update, please Let us know!