Profile Text
Gavron in 2009, image via Prphotos
Birth Name: Raphael Pichey Gavron
Place of Birth: Hendon, London, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 24 June, 1989
Ethnicity: * father – Ashkenazi Jewish * mother – French-Canadian, Austrian or Austrian Jewish
Rafi Gavron is a British actor. His roles include the films Breaking and Entering , Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist , Inkheart , Celeste and Jesse Forever , The Cold Light of Day (2012), Mine Games , Snitch (2013), Tracers , The Land , Love Is All You Need? (2016), A Star Is Born (2018), Books of Blood , and Mercy (2026); and the series Rome , 24 , Life Unexpected , Parenthood , Homecoming , Counterpart , Catch-22 , Godfather of Harlem , and Westworld . In Snitch , he played The Rock’s character’s son.
Rafi is the son of Simon Gavron, a British-born publisher, and Martha Pichey, an American-born writer. He has stated that he was raised in a Jewish household. His paternal grandparents were born in London, England, and Tel Aviv, Israel, respectively, both of them to Ashkenazi Jewish families. The family surname was originally spelled Gavronsky. Rafi’s maternal grandfather was from a French-Canadian (Catholic) family. Rafi’s maternal grandmother is of Austrian or Austrian Jewish background.
His aunt, father’s half-sister, is director Sarah Gavron; her mother, Rafi’s former step-grandmother, was Nicky Gavron, a politician, who was Deputy Mayor of London, from 2000 to 2003, and again, from 2004 to 2008.
Rafi’s paternal grandfather was Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron (born Israel Gavron, the son of Nathan/Natie Gavron and Lily/Lilly Ettman). Robert was a printing millionaire, philanthropist, and Labour Life Peer. He was born in Hampstead, London, England, to a Jewish family with ancestors who lived in Lithuania, Moravia, Belarus, Germany, and Poland. Nathan was the son of Israel Gavronsky, who was born in Klikole, Lithuania, and of Esther Katz. Lily was the daughter of Lazar Etman and Jenny Jawitz/Yaabetz Zusman.
Rafi’s paternal grandmother was Hannah Fyvel (the daughter of T. R. Fyvel, Tosco Raphael Fyvel, and of Mary Kirschner). Hannah was a sociologist and academic, and was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, which was then part of the British Mandate for Palestine. Rafi’s great-grandfather T. R. was an author, journalist, and literary editor, and was born as Raphael Joseph Feiwel in Cologne, Germany. T. R.’s father was a Moravian-born Jew, Berthold Feiwel, who was executive director of a Keren Hayesod, the Israeli fundraising agency. T. R.’s mother, a Belarusian Jew, was Sterna Schneersohn, who was from the Lubavitcher-Schneerson dynasty, and whose own father was a rabbi. Sterna’s uncle, Rafi’s great-great-great-great-uncle, was Zionist thinker and essayist Ahad Ha’am. Rafi’s great-grandmother Mary was born in Benoni, South Africa, to Lithuanian Jewish parents, Nikolai Kirschner and Rosie Hillman.
Rafi’s maternal grandfather was Joseph Raymond Pichey (the son of Joseph Albert Pichey/Piché and Yvonne Couture). J. Raymond was born in Massachusetts, to French-Canadian parents. His family was Catholic. Rafi’s great-grandfather Joseph was the son of Joseph Piché and Delima Guyon/Young. Yvonne was the daughter of Octave Couture and Luce/Lucie Maltais.
Rafi’s maternal grandmother was born Alberta Ann Meyer. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, likely to Austrian parents, Frank Meyer and Theresa. It is unclear if she is of Austrian and/or Austrian Jewish background.
Sources: Interviews with Rafi Gavron – http://www.mykindaplace.com http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk
Genealogy of Rafi Gavron (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Rafi’s father’s family – http://www.craiglevin.com
Rafi’s maternal grandfather, Joseph Raymond Pichey (“Raymond Piche”), on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Rafi’s maternal grandfather, Joseph Raymond Pichey – http://www.findagrave.com
Marriage record of Rafi’s maternal great-grandparents, Joseph Albert Pichey/Piché and Yvonne Couture – https://www.familysearch.org https://www.familysearch.org
Possibly Rafi’s maternal grandmother, Alberta Ann Meyer, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Rafi’s maternal great-grandfather, Frank Meyer – https://www.newspapers.com