This January, Jewish model Sofia Richie Grainge revealed that she was pregnant with her first child, a girl, with her husband, the Jewish record producer Elliot Grainge. Well, a hearty mazel tov is in order, because Richie Grainge delivered her daughter on May 20, and used a very Jewish tradition to pick out her middle name.
On Instagram, Richie Grainge shared an image of her daughter’s feet and announced her name is Eloise Samantha Grainge. While we don’t know what made the couple choose the adorable name Eloise (maybe the “Eloise” book series?), we do know that Samantha was the name of Elliot’s mother, who died in 2007 after falling into a coma on the day of Elliot’s birth in 1993, after suffering from an amniotic fluid embolism. It’s traditional for Ashkenazi Jews to name their children after a deceased loved one, and in this case, it’s an incredibly moving tribute.
After Samantha fell into a coma, Grainge’s father, Jewish British CEO of Universal Music Group Lucian Grainge, raised Elliot by himself for four years before meeting and later marrying his stepmother, Caroline. Elliot said that his relationship with his father was very much shaped by that early loss.
“I’ve yet to meet someone in my life who’s had a similar experience with their childhood, so it’s difficult to self-analyze,” he told the LA Times. “But I can tell you that we have a very unique relationship.” His father told the publication that “considering what we’ve been through together personally, in some ways he’s like the twin brother I never had.”
Grainge also reaped some benefits from having a father so connected in the music scene: “Take That played at my bar mitzvah! They were No. 1 in the UK at the time. The party was great fun and gave me a real taste of how to create an exciting party,” Grainge, whose independent pop and rap record label signed Ice Spice, told Jewish Boston back in 2013 (he also credited Jewish fraternities with helping his early career in throwing parties in the New England city).
Elliot and Sofia married back in April of 2023 in a Jewish ceremony in the south of France. London’s Rabbi Thomas Salamon led the ceremony, which was held under a gigantic floral chuppah, and Sofia’s Israeli stylist, Liat Baruch, shared some delightful pictures from the wedding party’s hora dance.
Between her father and grandfathers — Lucian and Lionel Richie — we’re sure Eloise Samantha is going to have a life full of wonderful music. Mazel tov to this new Jewish family of three!
