21st-century American Jews

Allan Henry Spear (June 24, 1937 – October 11, 2008) was an American politician and educator from Minnesota who served almost thirty years in the Minnesota Senate, including nearly a decade as President of the Senate.

Adlene Harrison (November 19, 1923 – February 19, 2022) was an American politician who served on the Dallas City Council from 1973 to 1977, and was acting mayor of Dallas in 1976. She also served as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency from 1977 to 1981 and as the first chair of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board. She was the first Jewish woman to serve as Mayor of a major U.S. city. She was Dallas' first Jewish mayor and first female mayor; Annette Strauss would follow her in both categories. Harrison, a Democratic city councilwoman, succeeded Wes Wise as mayor when he resigned to run for the United States Congress. She served until the election of a new mayor, Robert Folsom, at the end of the year.
Harrison died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 98.

Marvin Harold Zindler (August 10, 1921 – July 29, 2007) was a news reporter for television station KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas, United States. His investigative journalism, through which he mostly represented the city's elderly and working class, made him one of the city's most influential and well-known media personalities.

Ruthe Lewin Winegarten (August 26, 1929 – June 14, 2004) was an American author, activist, and historian.

Aaron Robert Schwartz, better known as A. R. Schwartz or "Babe" Schwartz (July 17, 1926 – August 10, 2018), was an American politician, lawyer, and lobbyist who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1955 to 1959 and in the Texas Senate from 1960 to 1981, representing his native Galveston, Texas. He was known for being a liberal "yellow-dog" Democrat.

Sue Alexander (August 20, 1933 – July 3, 2008) was an American writer of children's literature. She authored 26 books for children as well as "scores of stories" for newspapers and magazines. She was also a children's book reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. She was a charter member and advisory board member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, which established two awards in her name in recognition of her efforts to educate and mentor aspiring writers.

Sasha Sergei Mitchell (born July 27, 1967) is an American actor best known for his television roles as Cody Lambert on Step by Step and James Beaumont on Dallas. He also played the role of David Sloane in three of the four installments of the original Kickboxer film franchise. Mitchell has a black belt in taekwondo.

Joel King Goldsmith (November 19, 1957 – April 29, 2012) was an American composer of film, television, and video game music.

Thomas Andrew Franco (born April 14, 1980) is an American actor, artist, and the founder of the Firehouse Art Collective in Berkeley, California. He is the brother of actors James Franco and Dave Franco.

Eric Salter Balfour (born April 24, 1977) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the Lifetime movie No One Would Tell in 1996, followed by the drama Shattered Image (1998), followed by roles in What Women Want (2000) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). His roles on television include Milo Pressman on the action-thriller TV series 24, a recurring role in the drama Six Feet Under as Gabriel Dimas, Duke Crocker in Haven, Eddie on The OC, and as Boone in Country Comfort.