Who knew? Jamie-Lynn Sigler, best known for her role as Tony’s daughter Meadow on “The Sopranos,” is Jewish–and recently visited Israel with the Birthright Israel program, which runs free tours of Israel for Jewish college students and young adults. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports:

“Everyone assumes I’m Italian,” says Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 26, with a sigh, pausing over her hummus lunch at the open-air market in Jaffa, one of the stops on her birthright israel tour. “Even kids on the trip keep asking, ‘Are you Jewish?’
Sigler, who played the daughter of Mafia kingpin Tony Soprano on the acclaimed HBO show “The Sopranos,” grew up in a Jewish home in Jericho, N.Y., going to Hebrew school and having a bat mitzvah.
Her father’s family immigrated to America from Greece and Poland. Her mother, who is Puerto Rican, converted to Judaism.
But it was only touring in Israel, during her recent visit to the country, that she said she felt a true spiritual and emotional connection to her roots.
“It’s one of the most beautiful, inspiring places I’ve ever been to,” Sigler said. “I now have a greater understanding and motivation about preserving my Jewishness.”

Hesch would be proud.