Find out who Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s next mayor, was before he became a political powerhouse.
Born: November 29, 1959 in Chicago.
Parents: Pediatrician Benjamin M. Emanuel and Marsha Smulevitz, a psychiatric social worker.
Siblings: Rahm has an older brother Ezekiel J. Emanuel who is an oncologist and bioethicist, and Ari Emanuel, a Hollywood agent. The character Ari Gold, played by Jeremy Piven, in the hit HBO series Entourage is said to be based on Ari Emanuel. Rahm also has an adopted sister Shoshanna.
Heritage: Jewish. Both of Emanuel’s parents are Jewish.
Schools Attended: While living in Chicago, Rahm attended the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and then these schools when his parents moved to Wilmette, Illinois, a wealthy Chicago suburb on the shores of Lake Michigan, north of the city: Romona School, Locust Junior High School, and New Trier West High School.
Ballet: Rahm took ballet lessons as a child and graduated from the Evanston School of Ballet and also won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet. He turned it down to attend college.
College: Rahm graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts. He received an M.A. in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985.
