Dorrit Moussaieff is an Israeli-British jewellery designer, editor, and businesswoman.
Background
Dorrit Moussaieff was born in Jerusalem. Her father, Shlomo Moussaieff, was from a wealthy Bukharian Jewish family from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Dorrit is the great granddaughter of Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff.
Her great grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was a descendant of Yosef Maimon.
Her mother, Aliza is an Austrian Jew of Ashkenazi heritage, but Dorrit identifies more with the Bukharian culture and was raised by her father"s large family.
Career
Ancestors of hers are said to have woven the robe of Genghis Khan. Moussaieff was born and raised in the Bukharan Quarter of Jerusalem. At thirteen, she moved with her family to London.
She suffered from dyslexia and was home-schooled.
In addition to English and Hebrew, she also speaks German, French, and Icelandic. Her first marriage to Neil Zarach, a designer, ended in divorce.
Moussaieff describes herself as "religious in the soul," and continues to observe Jewish rituals, such as lighting Hanukkah candles. As a child, Moussaieff spent a lot of time in her family"s jewellery store on Hilton Park Lane in London, and went on to become a successful jewellery designer.
Other business ventures in which she has been involved are the construction of an office building at Canary Wharf, London and a tourism project in Turkish Cyprus.
Moussaieff is a contributing editor to the British society magazine Tatler. In 2003, Moussaieff married Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, on his 60th birthday. She has helped present Icelandic culture abroad, promoted Icelandic artists and identified foreign markets for Icelandic products.
She is also active in raising money for disabled children.
In May 2006, while visiting Israel, Moussaieff was detained at Ben Gurion International Airport after arguing with security personnel who refused to acknowledge her British passport and told her that she was obliged by Israeli law to enter and exit the country using her Israeli passport. The media related the confrontation as a diplomatic incident.
The Israeli Embassy in Norway, which handles diplomatic relations with Iceland, expressed regret over the incident and restated the law that Israeli citizens must carry Israeli passports when in the country.