Published: 6 August 2018
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Yet one aspect of his background remains obscure — evidence indicates he had a Jewish great-grandfather.
Lee’s Jewish lineage is among the revelations in a new book, Bruce Lee: A Life, by author Matthew Polly. A martial artist himself, Polly seeks to go beyond the many myths surrounding Lee and present a more nuanced portrait of the famed fighter and movie star.
“Bruce, for me, is a diverse and interesting person who is not generally thought of in that area,” Polly said. “Even people who know his story think of him as Chinese. He was a polyglot from lots of different ethnic backgrounds. That he was part Jewish indicates how diverse an individual he was.”
In addition to interviewing surviving members of Lee’s family, including his widow, Linda, and their daughter Shannon (the couple’s son Brandon, a star in his own right, tragically died while filming the movie “The Crow” in 1993), Polly also conducted research that contradicts established versions of Lee’s life.
In the book’s footnotes, Polly refers to “incorrect statements” that led to assumptions that Lee’s maternal great-grandfather was German Catholic. Polly found evidence that this great-grandfather, Mozes Hartog Bosman, came from a Dutch Jewish family of German descent.
FULL STORY Mixed martial artist: Uncovering Bruce Lee’s hidden Jewish ancestry (Times of Israel)
Photo: Courtesy Bruce Lee.com
