How Lauren Bacall faced and overcame antisemitism: Born Betty Joan Perske in the Bronx, Bacall was known as the epitome of a strong-minded, independent woman

Abstract

This article discusses the well-known actor, Lauren Bacall, who died in 2014 at the age of 89. Although she had a very successful career, she had to battle antisemitism. As a teenage model, for example, she was fired after telling a colleague that she was Jewish. She was selective in the roles she chose, which were sometimes controversial. Proudly Jewish, she wrote in her memoir, "By Myself and Then Some," she stated, “Going back through my life until now, the Jewish family feeling stands strong and proud, and at last I can say I am glad I sprang from that – I would not trade those roots – that identity.” She was ethically engaged, protesting the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) over its persecution of people suspected of being Communists. Click on the link to read the article.