Jewish actress Emily Arlook is on the rise. Over the last few years she’s played Nomi, a proudly bisexual college student in “grown-ish,” Kate Harris, Mo’s older sister in “Big Time Adolescence” and Kim Glassman, a woman who goes on a date with Ezra in “You People.” Excitingly, two out of three of those characters are explicitly Jewish and she’s only adding more Jewy roles to her resume. In 2024, she’s slated to play Rebecca, the ex-girlfriend of hot Rabbi Noah in “Nobody Wants This” and Leah in the Hallmark Hanukkah movie “Leah’s Perfect Gift.”
Here are 18 things to know about her.
1. Emily was born on July 24, 1990 in Los Angeles in a Jewish family.
2. She’s a Leo!
3. As a kid, she was a #modelmatzah.
4. Here’s what Emily’s Jewish upbringing was like in her own words:
“I grew up pretty Conservative when I was younger, and I did Hebrew school and all of that, and then after my bat mitzvah, it kind of fell by the wayside, like a lot of people, that tends to happen. But I’m still very, very connected in my culture.”
5. Her acting debut was in the 1998 mockumentary “20 Dates,” where she played a fictional version of herself. Her father Richard Arlook also had a role in the movie.
6. Emily remembers her bat mitzvah as being “long.”
“I’d say it was three hours long, but that could’ve just been me being dramatic. It felt really long,” she said in 2018. “But then I had the party, and it was like in my backyard, and it was really fun. I think there was a henna artist there… It was a typical bat mitzvah in the early 2000s.”
7. She studied at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
8. Emily identifies as a Jewish Buddhist or JewBu. In 2018, she told Hey Alma, “I both meditate daily and listen to The Howard Stern show. Not necessarily in [that] order.” As a sentiment, that feels very JewBu.
9. The first episode of “grown-ish” flashes back to Nomi’s bat mitzvah. (And there’s a dog there!)
“I was so excited — I literally said to Kenya [Barris, the ‘grown-ish’ creator], ‘I have my bat mitzvah photos, you can use them if you want,’” Emily told Hey Alma in 2018. “But I think it was too complicated with adding the Rottweiler to the picture. But I was so excited at the prospect of having my actual bat mitzvah photos in the show.”
10. For Emily, it was “such an honor” to be a part of Nomi’s empowered, bisexual storyline in “grown-ish.”
“You know, I’ve been able to learn so much about the bi community. I didn’t know that bi people make up the majority of the LGBT+ community, and yet they’re the most underrepresented. So to be able to represent the bi community at all and to bring light to these double standards was for me very awesome and very exciting.”
11. Emily starred opposite Pete Davidson in “Big Time Adolescence.” You can listen her talk about how much she appreciated playing a character who feels empowered to hold her ground when it comes to men:
12. Emily’s scene in “You People” takes places in a Jewish deli. Kim and Ezra go on a date to Nate ‘n Al’s deli in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, Emily’s dad is a regular at Nate ‘n Al’s!
13. She considers her mom’s kugel to be “a delicacy.”
14. Emily’s partner is actor Will McCormack. They have two kids together.
15. During the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike in 2023, Emily was inspired by her late Jewish grandfather Marty. He was a Labor Law Scholar and Attorney.
“We talked a lot about labor peace, and what that meant. His job was to remedy unfair labor practice between employers and workers. He was SURE to impart upon me the importance of a worker’s right to strike with their union,” she wrote on Instagram. “He passed away several years ago, but I know he would’ve been so proud of SAG and WGA for sticking up for what is right.”
She concluded, “In Grandpa Marty’s spirit, we march forward for fair labor ✊”
16. In “Nobody Wants This,” Emily plays Rebecca, a Jewish woman who dated Rabbi Noah for three years. Until their break-up, she was excited about the possibility of being a rebbetzin, or rabbi’s wife. In July 2024, Emily describe the show saying, “Over the spring I was a part of a show I really like, with people I really like.”
17. You can watch the trailer for “Nobody Wants This” here:
18. In the Hallmark Hanukkah movie “Leah’s Perfect Gift,” Emily plays a Jewish woman named Leah Meyer.
“Leah Meyer (Arlook) is a bonafide lover of Christmas — the trees, the ornaments, the eggnog! But she has always admired the holiday from afar because she’s Jewish,” the description the movie reads. “Though her family celebrates Hanukkah, Leah has longed to experience a traditional Christmas. When her boyfriend Graham (Roderick) invites her to spend the holidays with his classic Connecticut family, she eagerly accepts.”
