Zelda Rubinstein

Birth Name: Zelda May Rubinstein

Date of Birth: May 28, 1933

Place of Birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Date of Death: January 27, 2010

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Zelda Rubinstein was an American actress and human rights activist. She is known for her role as Tangina Barrons in the Poltergeist films. She also starred in the films Under the Rainbow, Anguish, Teen Witch, Guilty as Charged, National Lampoon’s Last Resort, Little Witches, Wishcraft, Cages, and Southland Tales, on the shows Picket Fences and Poltergeist: The Legacy, and, in voice role, in the “Taste the Rainbow” Skittles ads. She was an activist for short-statured people and against HIV/AIDS. She was 4′3″, because of a deficiency of the anterior pituitary gland, which produces growth hormones.

Zelda was the daughter of Dolores and Gerson/George Rubinstein. Her parents were Polish Jewish immigrants.

Zelda’s paternal grandfather was named Mendel Rubinstein.

Zelda’s paternal grandmother was named Zelda Shliva.

Zelda’s maternal grandfather was surnamed Cohen.

Sources: Zelda’s parents on the 1930 U.S. Census –

Genealogy of Zelda Rubinstein (focusing on her father’s side) –