Ralph Lauren (Ralph Rueben Lifshitz) is an American fashion designer and business executive; best-known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

Ralph Lauren's Maternal Rabbinical Ancestors ‪Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren‬ By Michael Gross

Family Background

The ancestors of Frieda Kotlar, Lauren’s mother, were from Judaic elites, and were related to the influential Chassidic dynasties. The mother wanted her son to become a rabbi, but the boy was not good at theology. His yeshiva schoolfellows recollected that Ralph was the only boy at school dressed elegantly, not like from a ghetto.

The first prominent Lipschuetzes were rabbis in sixteenth-century Poland -- and their line is unbroken to this day. Descendants of the family used many spelling variations