Rebecca "Becky" Griffin (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: רבקה "בקי" גריפין, born 27 December 1977) is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

TV presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

and actress.

Early life

Rebecca (Becky) Griffin was born in

Givatayim Givatayim ( he, גִּבְעָתַיִים, lit. "two hills") is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population ...

, Israel. Her mother, Ariela, was an accountant for the

Steimatzky Steimatzky ( he, סטימצקי) is the oldest and largest bookstore chain in Israel. History Under Tzvi Steimatzky, 1920–25 The first store was opened by Tzvi Steimatzky in 1920 in Tel Aviv, 6 Herzl St. Under Yechezkel Steimatzky, 1925–63 ...

bookstore chain and is of

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

( Yemenite-Jewish) descent. Her father, Bob Griffin, is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

who played for professional basketball teams in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

in the 1970s, and is now an associate professor of English Literature. Her parents met at a bus stop in Israel. She was first discovered in a commercial at the age of 11. By the time she was 20 she had already starred in several commercials and campaigns, and then got her first job in TV as a sports reporter on the Israeli Sport channel. She also hosted youth programs on Israel's Channel 1, and worked as a reporter in the "Erev Tov" show and in "In Out". Griffin also starred in the movie Matana Mi Shamayim, and has had guest appearances on several TV dramas.

Media and modelling career

On May 12, 2003, she become an MTV VJ on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serv ...

, and left the sports channel. Until 2005 Griffin stayed in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and appeared on the channel as the host of the Dance Floor Chart, the World Chart Express, and many Pan-Euro specials. During her time in the UK, Griffin was chosen to star in the

Nissan Micra The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car ( B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982. The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan J ...

Campaign all over Europe. In December 2003, she was chosen to lead the campaign of the fashion chain " Castro". She returned to Israel in 2005, and a year later enrolled as a Film & Television student at

Tel-Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Loc ...

, and was one of the leaders of the Student strike in 2007. In 2008, Becky was the Euroleague Correspondent for Channel 10, and in 2010 hosted "Inside Israeli Basketball", a magazine that aired on several American cable stations. In August 2011, Griffin brought international attention to the

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG. The company was founded on 28 March 1882, by Paul Carl Beiersdorf. In 1890, it w ...

Cosmetics website for failing to list Israel as a country, while including the Palestinian territories. Griffin wrote a letter to Nivea which she publicized on her Facebook page, beginning a boycott of Nivea products. Conservative radio and TV personality Glenn Beck raised the issue on his radio show on the morning of August 4, 2011, and minutes later Nivea's site included Israel. That day, Nivea told BLAZE Magazine that the site for Israel was under construction and had therefore not been listed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Becky 1977 births Living people Israeli expatriates in the United Kingdom Israeli female models Israeli people of American descent Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Israeli reporters and correspondents Israeli television actresses Jewish Israeli actresses Jewish female models People from Givatayim Tel Aviv University alumni VJs (media personalities) Israeli Mizrahi Jews