Northwestern Hillel hosted actress Jackie Tohn as its celebrity speaker Tuesday in Ryan Family Auditorium, where she reflected on her life, acting career and Jewish identity.
Tohn most recently played the character Esther Roklov in Netflix’s romance series “Nobody Wants This,” which is about the relationship between a rabbi and an agnostic woman. Some of Tohn’s past credits include “GLOW,” “The Good Place” and “Old Dads.”
Tohn spoke about her different acting jobs, challenges within the industry and how her role as Roklov, a Jewish character, allowed her to connect with her own Jewish identity.
Additionally, Tohn talked about growing up in Oceanside, New York, and her entry into the acting industry as a 9 year old. She said she always knew she wanted to be an actor. And, although she only attended one semester of college at the University of Delaware, she added that she thinks education is very important.
The event was organized by NU Hillel Programming co-Chairs Weinberg junior Callie Berthold and Weinberg sophomore Harper Klibanoff.
Communication sophomore and Hillel Speaker Event committee member Seth Black-Diamond said Hillel had been preparing for the event since September.
Berthold said they chose Tohn because season two of “Nobody Wants This” had just come out, and they were really excited about having a “current Jewish actress, who plays a really relevant Jewish character.”
Tohn was lighthearted and easy to talk to, Berthold said.
“Hillel having this opportunity for students is so cool,” Berthold said. “It’s an awesome way to bring in new students and faces, and highlight different aspects of what Jewish life can look like.”
Attendee Leora Kelsey said she appreciated Tohn’s humor and charisma.
Another attendee, DePaul University graduate student Marnie Coresh, was invited to attend by Berthold.
“It was very fun and engaging,” Coresh said. “I wanted to support my friends and family, but I also thought it would be interesting and actually makes me want to watch ‘Nobody Wants This.’”
Tohn also spoke about her life outside of acting. She opened up about having a preventative double mastectomy after finding out she had the BRCA1 gene mutation, which increases the risk of breast cancer. Individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent are more likely to carry the gene, according to the Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine.
Because of this, Tohn hopes to spread awareness about genetic testing. In May, she became a spokesperson for MyRisk by Myriad Genetics, a hereditary cancer screening panel.
In an Instagram post on her personal account, Tohn wrote, “If it helps someone else out there, it will have been more than worth it.”
Black-Diamond, who said he is a fan of “Nobody Wants This,” said he was excited to meet Tohn at the reception hosted after the speaking event.
“Jackie is really open about Jewish artists,” he said. “I hope students get out the fact that you can be proud of your identity and still pursue what you love.”
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