Designer Zac Posen and 鈥淲atch What Happens Live鈥� host Andy Cohen learn about their Ashkenazi 91传媒 heritage this month on episodes of 鈥淔inding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.鈥� Both knew little about their immigrant roots other than they originated in the Eastern European Pale of Settlement in greater Russia. But forensic genealogy research reveals several generations of ancestors and some unexpected surprises.
Posen discovers that the apparel business runs in his family: his paternal great-grandfather was a shoemaker and paternal great-grandfather was a tailor, as was his great-great-great grandfather. Cohen鈥檚 lineage is traced back six generations on his mother鈥檚 side, and he鈥檚 shown photographs of ancestors and the synagogue in their town, Bialystok in what is now Poland. 鈥淚t gives me goosebumps,鈥� he tells Gates. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like you鈥檙e among these ghosts that paved the way for you.鈥�
DNA tests confirm that both Posen and Cohen have 100% Ashkenazi roots, and in Cohen鈥檚 case, reveal a famous cousin. He鈥檚 elated to find out that he shares DNA with Scarlett Johansson, whose mother is 91传媒.
Posen appears on the Jan. 12 鈥淐oming to America鈥� episode and Cohen on the Jan. 26 episode, 鈥淎gainst All Odds.鈥�
