I heard she is of Greek descent??

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The name does come from Greek - the Hebrew "margalit" comes from the Greek word for pearl. It then transformed into Margolis, Margulies, etc. Reasonably common Jewish surname.

There are Greek Jews, by the way, descendants of Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492. Or were until the Shoah; it pretty much destroyed the community. Salonika (Thessaloniki) had a large community.

Thanks for the interesting thread! I thought Margulies is a Jewish name too, but my husband swore it was Spanish (he is Hispanic himself). So then it comes from the same root as "Margaret", which is from the Greek for "pearl"? The flower name "marguerite" comes from the same root; it is a type of daisy, considered to be a "pearl-like" flower because it is small and white. How pretty. Julianna is very pretty too, and a wonderful actress. I had often wondered myself about her ethnic origins.

No-her parents were Jewish, Margulies' mother converted to Roman Catholicism at some point in her life and raised Julianna in the Catholic faith as well.

Gimmesomehead,

What makes a person Jewish is a much, much more complicated issue than you make it out to be. It is not merely confined to being a religion, although than can be (and often is) a key component of it.
But you're right. One can be both Greek and Jewish.

alexis-5,

The Romaniote Jewish Community has been in Greece considerably longer than the Sefardim have.

"Hey Juliana, that name Margulies, is dat Italian?"

"No...but its Catholic..."

"ah...close enough!"