Odeya Rushinek (; born ), known professionally as Odeya Rush (), is an Israeli actress.Israeli acting phenom Odeya Rush joins Jack Black in 'Goosebumps' film

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

, 14 February 2014 She is known for her lead roles in ''

The Giver ''The Giver'' is a 1993 young adult dystopian novel written by American author Lois Lowry and is set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be dystopian as the story progresses. In the novel, the society has take ...

'' (2014), '' Goosebumps'' (2015), ''

The Bachelors The Bachelors were a popular music group from Dublin, Ireland, but based primarily in the United Kingdom. They had several international hits during the 1960s, including eight top-ten singles in the UK between 1963 and 1966. The Bachelors spli ...

'' (2017), '' Lady Bird'' (2017), '' Dumplin''' (2018), ''

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. ...

'' (2019) and '' Dangerous Waters'' (2023).

Early life

Rush was born Odeya Rushinek on 12 May 1997 into a Jewish family in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, Israel. In

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, her given name means "I will thank God". As an eight-year-old growing up in her hometown of Haifa, Israel, she wrote and performed plays. Her family moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

when she was nine years old so that her father could take up a job as a security consultant in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. When she arrived, Rush did not know English and could only speak

. She attended the N. E. Miles Jewish Day School in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, where she resided; she later moved to Midland Park, New Jersey, where she attended public school. In the beginning of 2013, Rush moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with her family. She has six brothers; four of them are younger than her—two sets of twins who reside with their parents in Los Angeles, and two older paternal half-brothers who reside in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Career

Modelling

Before becoming an actress, Rush began her career in her childhood and adolescence when she was discovered as a model in the United States, appearing in major campaigns and advertisements for fashion brands

Polo Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American public company, publicly traded fashion and lifestyle brand founded in 1967 by Ralph Lauren in New York City. The company markets products in apparel, home, accessories, and fragrances, and is most known ...

, Gap,

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

, and H&M. She also starred in a summer campaign for a collaboration between FILA and

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland, the United Arab Em ...

in 2018.

Acting

Her first acting roles began in 2010 in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', in the episode "Branded", in which she played the character Hannah Milner; and in the television series ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

'' in the episode " Mister Softee", as Emily. Her first film role was in 2012, playing Joni Jerome, the best friend of Timothy, in the Peter Hedges-directed

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film '' The Odd Life of Timothy Green''. Rush co-starred, as Fiona, in the science fiction film ''

'' (2014), based on the 1993 novel of same name from

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...

, and directed by

Phillip Noyce Phillip Roger Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian film and television director. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama ('' Newsfront'', '' Rabbit-Proof Fence'', '' The Quiet Amer ...

. The film also starred

Brenton Thwaites Brenton Thwaites (born ) is an Australian actor. Beginning his career in his home country in 2011, he had a starring role on the series '' Slide'' and later appeared on the soap opera ''Home and Away''. Since moving to the United States, Thwait ...

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...

Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born 25 August 1976) is a Swedish actor. A son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he began acting at age seven but quit at age thirteen. After serving in the Swedish Navy, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained ...

and

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

. In 2015, Rush played Ashley Burwood, niece of Johana Burwood (played by Sarah Hyland), in the comedy film '' See You in Valhalla''. Rush's next role was the female lead in the film '' Goosebumps'', based on the R. L. Stine's popular

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publ ...

. Rush played Hannah Fairchild, the "daughter" of R. L. Stine (portrayed by

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

), who teams up with her neighbor to fight the ''Goosebumps'' monsters. In 2016, Rush completed filming the satirical comedy film '' Dear Dictator'', in which she starred with

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

and

. She was also cast as Ella Hatto, opposite Sam Worthington, in action-thriller film ''

The Hunter's Prayer ''The Hunter's Prayer'' is a 2017 action crime film directed by Jonathan Mostow, based on the 2004 novel ''For the Dogs'' by Kevin Wignall. The film tells about a conflicted hitman helping a young woman to avenge the death of her family. The film ...

'' directed by

Jonathan Mostow Jonathan Mostow (born November 28, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed films such as '' Breakdown'' (1997), '' U-571'' (2000), '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003), and ''Surrogates'' (2009). ...

. In 2017, she had a supporting role in

Greta Gerwig Greta Celeste Gerwig ( ; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. Initially known for working on various mumblecore films, she has since expanded from acting in and co-writing independent films to directing ...

's '' Lady Bird''; Rush was nominated along with the rest of the cast for numerous awards. The film earned five

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations, including

Best Picture The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

. In that same year, she also starred in ''

'' with J. K. Simmons. In 2021, Rush played the title role in her first Hebrew-language Israeli drama series, ''Baalat HaChalomot'', and, in the following year, she played Macy in the comedy-drama film '' Cha Cha Real Smooth'' and River in the supernatural horror film ''

Umma Umma () in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been sugges ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Accolades

* 2013: Rush was named one of Hollywood's 20 up and coming young actresses under 20 to watch by The Midwest TV Guys * 2014: Rush was one of two Israeli actresses, along with Gal Gadot, to be named as Hollywood's newest leading ladies by ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith, and started originally as a brand extension of ''People (magazine), People'' before carving out its own ide ...

'' magazineIsrael's Gal Gadot and Odeya Rush get noticed as Hollywood's newest leading ladies
By Elia Berger, 8 June 2014, ''The Jerusalem Post''

References

External links

* * *
Interview: Get the inside scoop on starlet Odeya Rush
on ''Calabasas Courier'' (13 November 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rush, Odeya 1997 births Living people 21st-century Israeli actresses 21st-century Israeli Jews Actresses from Birmingham, Alabama Actresses from Haifa Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from New Jersey Female models from Alabama Female models from Los Angeles Female models from New Jersey Israeli child actresses Israeli child models Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli expatriate actresses in the United States Israeli female models Israeli film actresses Israeli television actresses Jewish Israeli actresses Models from Haifa People from Midland Park, New Jersey Actors from Bergen County, New Jersey