Cindy Crawford: Supermodel, Super Ally
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt
Meeting Survivor Ella
Cindy recounts her filmed encounter with Ella, Ella's resilience, and her work educating others.
In this intimate and revealing episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, iconic supermodel and Jewish ally Cindy Crawford sits down for a rare interview with Jonah to discuss family, faith, and allyship. Known worldwide for redefining beauty and celebrity, Cindy opens up about the quieter values that have shaped her life — from her interfaith marriage to Rande Gerber to the loss of her only brother to leukemia at an early age.
Cindy shares personal stories about building a home rooted in Jewish and Protestant tradition, raising her children with an appreciation for Jewish rituals, and why speaking out against antisemitism now feels both urgent and unavoidable. She reflects on her experience working with Holocaust survivors through the Borrowed Spotlight Project, her role in preserving the cultural legacy of Nate and Al’s, and her decision to use her platform for Jewish advocacy (New Year New Voices). Jonah and Cindy also discuss the trajectory of her career, the shifting landscape of beauty standards, and what the future might look like for her.
The episode underscores Cindy's ongoing commitment to cultural empathy, allyship, and what it looks like to stand with the Jewish community not by accident or obligation, but by choice.
In this episode, Cindy and Jonah dive into:
- How social media has become “poison”
- Why even small acts of Jewish allyship now feel “controversial”
- Growing up Protestant in the Midwest
- Cindy’s first visit to Israel
- Navigating a Jewish/Protestant Interfaith Marriage
- Jewish traditions that resonated with Cindy
- Cindy’s adult children's relationship to Jewish identity
- Cindy’s participation in the Borrowed Spotlight Project
- The loss of Cindy’s brother
Links to things mentioned in the episode:
Cindy Crawford and Noa Tishby Hanukah lighting
B’rit Mialh: The Circumcision Ritual
Cindy Crawford Capezio Shoot in Israel
Cindy Crawford reflects on 'devastating' loss of her brother to leukemia
Cindy Crawford's 2 Children: All About Models Presley and Kaia Gerber
Breaking the Glass at a Jewish Wedding
Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth
Cindy Crawford “New Year New Voices” Video
Chris Caresnone (Campbell) BJJP Episode
Ella Mandel’s Story - Shoah Foundation
Displaced Persons Camps after the Holocaust
Holocaust Museum L.A. honors visionary figures at gala
Sebastian Maniscalco “Same corporation different divisions” joke
Cindy Crawford (and others) step in to save Nate ‘N Al’s Deli
Casamigas - Cindy’s Spicy Tequila
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Written and Hosted by Jonah Platt, Executive Producers: Steve Hein, Jonah Platt, Chief Business Officer: Kenyon Laing, Production Manager/Executive Assistant: Josie Rothschild, Research Associate: Samantha Greenwald, Production Associates: Rachel Stern, Charlie Zuker, Production Interns: Sasha Nelson, Emma Webb, YouTube Consultants: Jason Al-Samarrie & Zac Stein, Post Production by TIMEWEAVER, Creative Director: F. Brian Scofield, ACE, Lead Editor: Noam Klement, Editor: Gray Clevenger, Joe King. Graphic Designer: Noah Bell, Theme Music by Gabriel Mann, Performed by Jonah Platt
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