Is Emily Maitlis Jewish Or Catholic? Religion And Parents’ Origin Explored

Emily Maitlis is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC. She was the lead anchor of the BBC Two news and current affairs programme Newsnight until the end of 2021. She is currently a presenter of the daily podcast The News Agents on LBC Radio.

Maitlis is known for her sharp and incisive interviews with prominent figures from politics, business, entertainment, and sports. She has covered major events such as the US presidential elections, the Brexit referendum, the refugee crisis in Europe, and the coronavirus pandemic. She has also won several awards for her journalism, including the Royal Television Society Presenter of the Year in 2019 and 2020.

But what do we know about her personal life, especially her religious background and her parents’ origin? In this article, we will explore these aspects of Maitlis’s identity and how they have shaped her career and worldview.

Maitlis’s Jewish heritage and upbringing

Maitlis was born on September 6, 1970, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to British Jewish parents. Her paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany. She is the daughter of Professor Peter Maitlis FRS, Emeritus Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, and Marion Maitlis, a psychotherapist.

She was brought up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with her two older sisters, Nicky and Sally. She was educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield, and then studied English at Queens’ College, Cambridge. As of 2019, she was the only Newsnight presenter not to have attended a private school.

Maitlis has said that she grew up in a “very Jewish” household, where they celebrated Jewish festivals, ate Jewish food, and learned Jewish values. She also attended Hebrew classes and had a bat mitzvah. She has described her Jewish identity as “a huge part of who I am” and “a very strong cultural thing”.

However, Maitlis has also admitted that she is not very religious or observant, and that she struggles with finding the right balance between her Jewish heritage and her secular lifestyle. She has said that she feels guilty for not bringing up her two sons, Milo and Max, in a more Jewish way, as they are not practising Jews and do not attend synagogue regularly. She has also said that she is married to a Catholic man, Mark Gwynne, an investment manager, whom she has referred to as “my Catholic boy”.

Maitlis has said that she respects and appreciates both Judaism and Catholicism, and that she tries to expose her children to both faiths. She has also said that she values the diversity and tolerance of British society, where people of different religions and backgrounds can coexist peacefully.

Emily Maitlis Religious Beliefs

Maitlis’s international career and outlook

Maitlis’s parents’ origin and her own birthplace have given her a global perspective and a curiosity for different cultures and places. She has said that she feels “very lucky” to have a Canadian passport, as it allows her to travel and work in many countries.

Maitlis initially wanted to work as a director, prompted by her love for drama, but instead went into radio broadcasting. Prior to working in news, she was a documentary maker in Cambodia and China. She worked for the NBC network and was based in Hong Kong. She spent six years in Hong Kong with TVB News and NBC Asia, initially as a business reporter creating documentaries, and then as a presenter in Hong Kong covering the collapse of the tiger economies in 1997. She also covered the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong with Jon Snow for Channel 4.

She then moved to Sky News in the UK as a business correspondent, and then to BBC London News when the programme was relaunched in 2001. She joined Newsnight in 2006 and became one of its main presenters in 2014. She has also presented other BBC programmes such as BBC Breakfast, BBC News at One, BBC News at Five, BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, and BBC Weekend News.

Maitlis has travelled extensively for her work, reporting from various locations around the world, such as Washington, New York, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, Jerusalem, Kabul, Islamabad, and Tehran. She has interviewed many influential and controversial figures, such as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamid Karzai, Pervez Musharraf, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Maitlis has said that she enjoys the challenge and excitement of covering international news, and that she likes to learn from different perspectives and experiences. She has also said that she tries to be fair and impartial in her reporting, and that she does not let her personal opinions or beliefs interfere with her professional judgement.

Emily Maitlis is a prominent and respected journalist, who has a rich and diverse background. She is proud of her Jewish heritage, but also open to other cultures and faiths. She is not very religious, but she values the moral and ethical teachings of Judaism. She is married to a Catholic man, and they have two sons who are exposed to both traditions.

She is a global citizen, who has lived and worked in many countries, and who has covered some of the most important and complex stories of our time. She is a skilled and versatile presenter, who can handle any topic and any guest with confidence and intelligence. She is a role model for many aspiring journalists, especially women, who want to make a difference in the world.