‘Jeopardy!’: What Is Mayim Bialik’s Ethnicity?

Fans of 'Jeopardy!' want some details on guest host Mayim Bialik and are curious of her heritage.

by Melissa Mitas

Published on October 6, 2021

2 min read

Mayim Bialik is proud of her Jewish heritage

According to Kveller, Bialik is a second-generation Jewish immigrant whose grandparents came from Poland, Hungary, and then-Czechoslovakia. After being named a host of Jeopardy! prime time in August, the actor spoke proudly of her grandparents immigrating to the U.S.

“My grandparents fled the pogroms of Eastern Europe with barely anything to their name and started a new life here with no certainty, no support and no idea where their lives would lead,” she told the Jewish Journal. “My parents were born during WWII and scraped by and fought for every cause they came in contact with as they navigated a new culture and language.”

Bialik shared that her upbringing was rooted in her heritage, which she values and embraces to this day.

“They raised me to believe in my Jewish faith and culture,” the Emmy nominee explained. “They taught me to have a personal relationship with a complicated God who holds me close when I’m scared or uncertain or alone. I carry these struggles, this history and my family’s bravery and moxie as I embark on this new chapter of my career.”

‘Jeopardy!’ host’s clothing reflect her background

Kveller reports that Bialik comes from a Reform Jewish family, but now considers herself modern Orthodox. Her tailored and more conservative attire on Jeopardy! falls in line with her Orthodox practices, as well as her academic studies as a neuroscientist.

“This is actually something that I felt instantly really passionate about,” she remarked in a Jeopardy! video. “I really just wanted to look like the academic that I was trained to be. And to me, that does mean a certain amount of formality and decorum.”

Bialik includes a nod to her heritage in each ensemble when she’s at the iconic Jeopardy! lectern.

“Here’s a fun secret: I wore a Jewish star in every episode of Jeopardy! that I guest hosted,” Bialik revealed. “Sometimes a pin, sometimes a ring and most often, one of two ‘hidden’ Mogen Dovids. One of my outfits featured earrings from The City of David in Jerusalem, which were unearthed in a dig in recent years. I find ways to maintain my sense of ‘Jewishness’ wherever I go. And it’s especially important to me to do that on such a public stage.”

Mayim Bialik is named after her grandmother

The Jeopardy! star’s full name is Mayim Chaya Bialik, after her grandmother, Maryam. Mayim’s name means “water” in Hebrew, according to Kveller. Her middle name, Chaya, means “alive” in Hebrew.

Bialik has two sons – Miles, 15, and Frederick, 12 – from her previous marriage to Michael Stone. She has raised her kids with some treasured Jewish traditions, such as saying The Shema at bedtime.

“I still try to sing the Shema to them,” Bialik said in 2019. “I remember that I used to watch their eyes shift from blinking, to heavy lids, to closing and fluttering, to closing completely for the night, when I used to pray for their souls to be watched over as they slept.”

Watch Bialik on Jeopardy! through November 5, 2021.