Lili Rosen is an American transgender actress and cultural consultant. She is best known for her work on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''Unorthodox'', which garnered her the

AFI award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

for best television series in 2020. She made headlines when she came out as transgender after playing the Rabbi in ''Unorthodox'', and published the first LGBTQ resource in Yiddish translation. In another first, in 2024, she developed and performed ''The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen'', the first theatrical show by a "trans woman of Hasidic experience."

Acting career

Theater

In 2017, Rosen made her stage debut in a production of

Sholem Asch Sholem Asch (, ; 1 November 1880 – 10 July 1957), also written Shalom Ash, was a Polish Jews, Polish-Jewish novelist, dramatist, and essayist in the Yiddish language who settled in the United States. Life and work Asch was born Szalom Asz in ...

's Yiddish classic ''

God of Vengeance ''God of Vengeance'' (Yiddish: גאָט פֿון נעקאָמע, ''Got fun nekome'') is a 1906 play by Sholem Asch. It is about a Jewish brothel owner who attempts to become respectable by commissioning a Torah Scroll and marrying off his daught ...

''. Rosen also played the role of Jean in ''Rhinoceros'' and the role of Vladimir in ''

Waiting for Godot ''Waiting for Godot'' ( or ) is a 1953 play by Irish writer and playwright Samuel Beckett, in which the two main characters, Vladimir (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters w ...

'' in Yiddish. The_Second_Circumcision_of_Lili_Rosen_poster

In 2024, Rosen debuted a one-woman-show called "The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen" at the 14th Street Y Theater in the

East Village, Manhattan The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street on the ...

. In her show, Rosen tells the story of her Hasidic upbringing, her gender transition, and coming out to her Hasidic family.

Film

Rosen played the title character in the short film ''The Binding of Itzik'', which was nominated with the

Iris Prize The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex a ...

, and won numerous awards, including the JFI Film Completion Grant, Film Movement Best Narrative Short Award at the

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is the oldest Jewish film festival in the world, and currently the largest with a 2016 attendance figure of 40,000 at screenings in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael, and Palo Alto. The three-week summ ...

, Best Film Award (Berlin Underground Film Festival), Jury Award (International Women's Film Festival), and Audience Choice Award (YoFiFest). In 2023, Rosen won the SFFILM Rainin Development Grant for ''The Binding of Itzik''. Other film roles include "Zishe" in '' SHTTL'', "Principal Rabbi" in ''

Minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( ''mīnyān'' , Literal translation, lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain Mitzvah, religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism ...

'', and "Shulem" in ''Tzadeikis''.

Television

Rosen had a recurring role in the 2020 German miniseries ''Unorthodox'', in which she played the Rabbi.

Consulting

Dubbed by ''Air Mail'' as "Hollywood's Yiddish Consultant", Rosen is a Yiddish specialist who consulted on shows including '' Shttl'', ''Unorthodox'',

Little America (TV series) ''Little America'' is an American anthology television series produced for Apple TV+. It premiered on January 17, 2020. The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on December 9, 2022. Premise ''Little America'' looks to "go beyo ...

, An American Pickle and

Minyan (film) ''Minyan'' is a 2020 American LGBT-related coming-of-age drama film written by Eric Steel and Daniel Pearle. It was directed by Eric Steel, in his feature film debut. It is based on a short story of the same name by David Bezmozgis. The film star ...

''Unorthodox''

''Unorthodox'' was the first Netflix series to be filmed primarily in Yiddish. Rosen was "the first person hired" on the series to ensure the authentic portrayal of the Hasidic Yiddish-speaking community. Rosen was brought in early to translate the script into Yiddish, coach the actors, consult on cultural details, and play the rabbi.

Shira Haas Shira Haas (born ) is an Israeli actress. She first rose to local prominence for her role in the television series '' Shtisel'' (2013–2021). Her international breakthrough came with her portrayal of Esther "Esty" Shapiro in the Netflix minis ...

, the Emmy-nominated star of

Unorthodox (miniseries) ''Unorthodox'' is a Drama (film and television), drama television miniseries that debuted on Netflix on March 26, 2020. Inspired by Deborah Feldman's 2012 autobiography, ''Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots'', it is the f ...

, credited Rosen with her ability to speak Yiddish in the series, calling her "an amazing teacher." Emmy-winning director

Maria Schrader Maria Schrader (born 27 September 1965) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award-winning 2007 film ''Love Life'' and the 2020 Netflix miniseries '' Unorthodox'', for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

said that she "would've been lost without osen'sadvice." Rosen acted as the "backstage rabbi" on set, working on set every day, conferring with

, offering technical and emotional support, and was involved in writing many of the scenes. In recognition of her influential work, Rosen was awarded the Best Screen Stories award by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in 2020.

Translation

In addition to translating TV and film scripts into Yiddish, Rosen translated "You Be You: The Kid's Guide to Gender, Sexuality and Family" into Yiddish--the first LGBTQ youth guide in Yiddish. In her translation, she had to decide on appropriate Yiddish language terminology for many LGBTQ+ terms and related concepts that did not previously exist, at least in print. She also translated several theatrical plays into Yiddish, including

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's ''Rhinoceros'', and two plays by

Hanoch Levin Hanoch Levin (; December 18, 1943 – August 18, 1999) was an Israeli dramatist, theater director, author and poet, best known for his plays. His absurdist style is often compared to the work of Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. Biography Lev ...

Personal life

Rosen was born and raised in the

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

community of

Borough Park, Brooklyn Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heigh ...

. She was a cantor and an attorney before she got divorced and left the Hasidic community. In 2022, Rosen came out as trans during an interview about an upcoming release of a book. The story was first reported by ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' in a headline reading "Ex-Hasid who advised 'Unorthodox' comes out as trans." This story was syndicated appearing in other Jewish newspapers worldwide. Since coming out, she is largely estranged from her family. In a recent interview, she said that she felt an obligation or a calling to use her voice on behalf of her trans siblings. In 2024, Rosen was featured on the cover of Crain's New York Business. In the interview, she talks candidly about her medical transition and her experience with the health care system experience, while calling for universal access to trans health care.

References

{{Reflist Actresses from Brooklyn American translators Living people American transgender actresses LGBTQ people from New York (state) Former Hasidim Transgender women writers