Kat Dennings — actor with roots in the Russian Empire / USSR
Kat Dennings (born Katherine Victoria Litwack) is an American actress best known for playing Max Black in 2 Broke Girls (CBS, 2011–2017) and Darcy Lewis in the Thor franchise and WandaVision. She began her career as a child actress and has built a long career across comedy and drama.
Tracing the roots — Russian Empire / early USSR
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1986, her family name Litwack is distinctly Eastern European Jewish. Her grandparents came from the Russian Empire's Jewish communities — the Litwacks were Litvaks (Lithuanian Jews), part of the world within the Russian Empire's Pale of Settlement. She has spoken about her Jewish heritage.
Biographical entries describe her grandparents as Russian-Jewish immigrants.[web:17]
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Russian Empire / early USSR. At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.