Biography
Dorrit Moussaieff was born in Jerusalem. Her father was from a wealthy Bukharian Jewish family from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, part of a long dynasty of jewellers. Dorrit is the great granddaughter of Shlomo Moussaieff. Ancestors of hers are said to have woven the robe of Genghis Khan. Her great grandmother, Esther Gaonoff, was a descendant of Yosef Maimon. Her father, Shlomo Moussaieff, is a Bukharian Jew and 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.
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. In 2003, she married the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, on his birthday, 14 May 2003, following an engagement of three years.
Moussaieff describes herself as "religious in the soul," and continues to observe Jewish rituals, such as lighting Hanukkah candles.
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