Jonah Speidel, the Emmy-nominated writer and producer formerly known as Our Lady J, recently experienced her first experience of grief as a Jew. Just six weeks after converting to Judaism and officially changing his name in March, Speidel lit a candle and said a prayer for the dead on his late brother’s yahrzeit. She texted prayers to the family.
“None of them are Jewish or have any desire to convert, but they all say they are Yahrzeit,” Speidel tells me over Zoom from her New York City apartment. “Everyone read the messages and lit candles. I feel so lucky to have so much support. It makes me cry because it’s a really great testament to the amazing people my family is and the amazing people they’ve become.”
Speidel, who grew up in an ultra-religious Amish and Mennonite community in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, moved to New York when he was 21 years old. She came out as transgender in 2004. Established in New York’s downtown art scene, she landed in Los Angeles as a screenwriter for “Transparent,” the groundbreaking Amazon Prime Video series about an older trans woman (Jeffrey Tambor) and a Jewish family in Los Angeles.
The “Transparent” writers’ room inspired Speidel to explore a possible transition about 12 years ago. “When I moved to New York as a young queer person at age 21, I knew I loved the city,” she says. “I didn’t realize that so much of what I love about New York was Jewish New York, from the musicals to the food to the attitude of learning and acceptance to progress and social progress. Those were huge influences on my adult life. I didn’t realize how much of it was Jewish until I started writing Transparent.” Then came formal study. In other words, I think it was a lifelong relationship with Judaism. ”
Speidel officially converted on March 23. “I’m a little more careful than some of my Reform friends,” she says. “I take the Sabbath and rest. I’m learning Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew.”
Speidel said today’s political climate, especially around issues in the Middle East, has made telling people that she’s Jewish a little more complicated than she expected. “It’s much harder than coming out as transgender,” she says. “There’s been more social backlash and more silence. It’s kind of like an uncomfortable silence where people don’t know what I’m doing. It feels a lot like that.”
I asked Speidel what he likes about being Jewish. Without missing a beat, she said, “Barbra Streisand,” with a big smile on her face.
“Have you ever listened to her audiobook for 48 hours straight?” she asked, citing Streisand’s 2023 memoir, “My Name is Barbra.” “I’m so proud to be Jewish. I love her so much.”
“There are many things I love about being Jewish, but humor is high on the list, from how we deal with adversity to how we develop our intellectual skills. We hunker down and solve problems rather than running away from them. We have creative solutions rather than destructive ones. We rely on ourselves to get the job done,” Speidel says.
Gaby Hoffman (left), Judith Light and Jonah Speidel at the 2016 “Transparent” screening.
Penske Media (via Getty Images)
Speidel is not only a writer and producer, but also an actress, director, and classically trained pianist (she was the first trans woman to perform at Carnegie Hall). She currently serves as co-executive producer and writer on Netflix’s upcoming series “The Boroughs.” The series is a 1980s-style sci-fi adventure in which a group of elderly people battle beings from another world. “‘The Boroughs’ is not a Jewish show, but it’s a show about family,” Speidel says. “Family is a big part of being Jewish.”
“‘The Boroughs’ is my first on-screen title,” Speidel says, although the final cut of the series’ episodes was locked down by the time she turned.
She continued, “The credits used Virgin J, but I also texted the producers and one of the showrunners and said, ‘Is there any chance you could just keep[my new name]in?'” They unlocked the episode and gave me a new business card. I feel very lucky just to be able to say that to myself. ”
“The Boroughs” will premiere on Netflix on May 21st.
