‘Finding Your Roots’ Sneak Peek: Chrissy Teigen Is Gobsmacked to Learn She’s Not Jewish (VIDEO)
Chrissy Teigen is going to get one heck of a wake-up call on Tuesday’s (January 28) new episode of Finding Your Roots. In fact, the revelation host Henry Louis Gates Jr. presents her in this exclusive sneak peek is an identity-shattering one.
In the video (embedded above), Gates reveals his team’s findings about a longstanding family rumor that Teigen was Jewish on her paternal side of the family — that those stories are totally untrue!
“I understand in the last couple of years, you have come to believe that your grandmother Ruth was Jewish. Well, that was quite a story, and we wanted to investigate it for you. We couldn’t find any records, though, to indicate that she might have been Jewish,” he says, to which Teigen breaks out in loud laughter.
“But records are not always accurate,” Gates continues. “So we turned to DNA. Now, since your father’s one generation closer to your grandmother, we looked at his DNA. So if Ruth was indeed fully Jewish, we would expect to see 50 percent of Jewish DNA in your father. You with me? Okay, so let’s see how much Jewish DNA your father actually has. Please turn the page… 0 percent for DNA.”
Teigen is visibly shocked by the news and proclaims, “You have no idea how proud I was to be Jewish. That is so wow.”
When Gates asks where this false heritage claim came from, Teigen thinks it could stem from the name but isn’t sure.
“You want to be Jewish that bad. I bet the Jewish people would welcome you,” he offers.
One thing Teigen is sure of, though, is how much that family identity element it meant to her: “It was like, ‘That’s why I’m so funny,'” she says.
Find out what else Chrissy Teigen learns about her family history on Tuesday’s new edition of Finding Your Roots, “Dreamers One and All,” which also features Sharon Stone.
Finding Your Roots, Tuesdays, 8/7c, PBS
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