List of French Americans

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French Americans are U.S. citizens or nationals of French descent and heritage. The majority of Franco-American families did not arrive directly from France, but rather settled French territories in the New World (primarily in the 17th and 18th centuries) before moving to the United States later on (see Quebec diaspora and Great Upheaval). About thirteen million U.S. residents are of French descent, and about 1.5 million of them speak the French language at home. Being isolated, mixed with different cultures, or ignored, the French-Americans developed particular cultures that reflect varying degrees of adaptation of their environments. This gave birth to streams of French-Americans like the Acadians, the Cajuns (literally Acadian pronounced with a southern accent), Louisiana Créoles and many others.

The following is a list of notable French Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are French American or must have references showing they are French American and are notable.


Contents

[edit] List

[edit] Business

[edit] Criminals

[edit] Entertainment

[edit] Actors

[edit] Artists

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Others

[edit] Explorers

[edit] Law and politics

[edit] Congressmen and senators

  • Les AuCoin Former Democratic congressman from Oregon.
  • Daniel Moreau Barringer, Whig U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1843 and 1849
  • James Blanchard, Governor of Michigan, House of Representatives, Ambassador to Canada.
  • Elias Boudinot (1740–1821) early American statesman[46]
  • James Carville (–) French-American)Cajun) from Louisiana. He is an outspoken Democrat and served in the Clinton Administration. He has been a political commentator for many years. See below under "others" for more info
  • Hillary Rodham Clinton (1947 –) United States Secretary of State, former Democratic member of the United States Senate from New York, as the wife of Wiliam Jefferson Clinton, she is a former first lady of the United States.[47]
  • Tom DeLay (1947 –) former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas, the former House Majority Leader, prominent member of the Republican Party[48]
  • Al Gore, environmental activist, author, businessperson, former politician, and former journalist. He served as the forty-fifth Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton and Senator from 1985 to 1993, Gor mother's name is LaFon and can trace back her ancestry in northern France
  • Mike Gravel (1930 –) Alaska former U.S. senator and candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination[49]
  • F. Edward Hebert, former Congressman, Chairman of Armed Services Committee
  • Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (1855–1925) politician who served as a U.S. Congressman, the 20th Governor of Wisconsin from 1901–1906, and Senator from Wisconsin from 1905–1925 as a member of the Republican Party[8][50]
  • Philip La Follette, Governor of Wisconsin two separate terms
  • Gary LeBeau, Senator since 1996.
  • Jay Le Fevre (1893–1970) New York Republican to the Seventy-eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1943 to January 3, 1951
  • John Baptiste Charles Lucas, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
  • Bernard de Marigny, senator of Louisiana
  • Charlie Melancon, US congressman[51]
  • Michael Michaud (1955 –) Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Millinocket, Maine, first elected in 2002.
  • Wilmer Mizell (1930–1999) Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for North Carolina from 1969–1975.
  • Daniel Roberdeau (1727–1795) represented Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1779] in the Continental Congress and served as a Brigadier General in the state militia during the Revolutionary War
  • Joseph Rosier, Senator
  • John Sevier (1745–1815) served four years as the only governor of the State of Franklin and twelve years as governor of Tennessee, and as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1811 until his death[52]

[edit] Governors and presidents

[edit] Mayors

[edit] Others

[edit] Literature

[edit] Authors and writers

[edit] Editors and publishers

[edit] Education

[edit] Journalism

[edit] Military

[edit] Religion

[edit] Science

[edit] Sports

[edit] Baseball

Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau
All Star Jason Marquis

[edit] Basketball

[edit] Football

Brett Favre

[edit] Hockey

Zach Parise

[edit] Nascar

[edit] Soccer

[edit] Other sports

[edit] Other

[edit] Art

[edit] Cuisine

[edit] Fictional characters

[edit] Other

[edit] See also

[edit] References

 This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (June 2008)
  1. ^ Forbes World's Richest People.Gérard Louis-Dreyfus & family
  2. ^ Philippe Kahn and Pegasus Racing, Racing Sailboats Worldwide : Transpac / Pacific Cup / Melges Worlds / Olympic Finn / Offshore / Single Handed "Kahn, French-born, but a US resident since 1982"
  3. ^ Commentary: A Deal That Could Break The House "André Meyer, the French financier who transformed Lazard into a dealmaking powerhouse from the 1950s to the 1970s"
  4. ^ iranian.com: Iranian of the day "World's Richest: #43 Pierre Omidyar, Net Worth: $10.1 billion French émigré"
  5. ^ Amazon.com: Love, Lucy (9780425177310): Lucille Ball: Books Her mother DeDe was French, English and Irish
  6. ^ There Are Worse Things I Could Do, Adrienne Barbeau, Book – Barnes & Noble "Half French-Canadian and half Armenian, she grew up in California during the 1950s."
  7. ^ "I'm mostly Welsh, and then one-quarter Japanese, Irish and French Canadian,"
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Noted as a French American at[dead link]
  9. ^ "Vibe chat". Lacey Chabert.com. 1998. http://lacey-chabert.dayah.com/text/VIBE.html. Retrieved November 24, 2006. 
  10. ^ [1] "From stage performer to singer to painter, the French actor..."
  11. ^ [2] "Half Irish, half French-Canadian, half English."
  12. ^ Movie Reviews, Showtimes and Trailers – Movies – New York Times – The New York Times "Julie Delpy is one of the most popular French actresses..." Julie Delpy is bursting with feeling, full of words – and all that is propelling her beyond the screen "She became a U.S. citizen three years ago, while retaining her French citizenship."
  13. ^ Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres distant cousins with Canadian roots "Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres distant cousins with Canadian roots"
  14. ^ Rock Paper Scissors – Arielle Dombasle, Amor, Amor (Wrasse Records) – Press Release "The story of French actress Arielle Dombasle's life is like something from another era, a time that exists in old movies and Harlequin romances"
  15. ^ In Step WithJosh Duhamel | Parade.com "In Step with ...Josh Duhamel"
  16. ^ Robert Duvall – Biography "His father was of French Hugenot descent"
  17. ^ Jon Favreau – Biography "He is of primarily French and Italian descent."
  18. ^ www.youtube.com
  19. ^ Stated on Maxim magazine radio interview (Alternate link)
  20. ^ [3] "Famous French-Canadian author Robert Goulet…"[dead link]
  21. ^ Nevin, Charles. The glamour of Swindon: Billie Piper, Melinda. The Independent. July 18, 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2007.
  22. ^ Sessums, Kevin. Wild at heart. Allure. November 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2007. Archived May 3, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ a b c Descendants of Zacharie Cloutier – http://www.perche-quebec.com[dead link]
  24. ^ Dargis, Manohla (February 7, 2005). "We're Sorry". The New York Times. http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=40134. 
  25. ^ [4]
  26. ^ [5] "I am only French, Dutch and German. I get my skin color from the French side of my family."[dead link]
  27. ^ , his mother is of French-Canadian descent A View from the Gate: TV's Christopher Meloni gets his Irish up in the Gate Theatre's production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.Feature on TheaterMania.com – 08/16/2005 "Meloni, who is half-Italian and half-French Canadian, says that he was surprised to find similarities between the Carbone family and his own."
  28. ^ [6] "Sanchez, who is half Puerto Rican and half French…"[dead link]
  29. ^ Reni Santoni Biography – Yahoo! Movies
  30. ^ Article: Parade – In Step with Leelee Sobieski "Did Leelee know much about Joan, who was canonized a saint, before portraying her? "Even though I'm half-French, not terribly much""
  31. ^ Grace Glueck – The New York Times "French-born fixture of Andy Warhol's Factory"
  32. ^ "Show Business: Now: Madonna on Madonna". Time. May 27, 1985. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957025,00.html. Retrieved May 8, 2010. 
  33. ^ [7] "A Cajun and Breaux Bridge native, Ali Landry was crowned Miss USA in February 1996 at age twenty-two." Pictures of Ali Landry – Aclasscelebs.com[dead link]
  34. ^ Maria McBane Playboy Playmate – GirlsOfPb.com "Francophiles will be pleasantly surprised to learn that despite the unmistakably Celtic ring to her name, May Playmate Maria McBane is every bit as French as croissants and the cancan. Born in Avignon, in the heart of the French wine region of Provence, our 19-year-old May miss was reared in the traditions of the provincial petite francaise until the age of ten, when her family sold their small vineyard and came to America."
  35. ^ Linda Moon – Linda Moon Playboy – Linda Moon Pics
  36. ^ Martinez, Miriam (2003). "Jaci Velasquez: Chasing Papi star with a blazing trail of album hits – Main Cover – Cover Story". Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PCH/is_4_4/ai_113053490. 
  37. ^ Kurt Cobain – Biography "Was of Irish, English, German, and French ancestry."
  38. ^ [8] "French icon Joe Dassin"[dead link]
  39. ^ Lily Pons (American singer) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia "French-born American coloratura soprano"
  40. ^ "Les Halles Homepage". Brasserie Les Halles. http://www.leshalles.net/. Retrieved June 18, 2007. 
  41. ^ described as "French" at Cleveland | WCities Travel Guide; born in US to French immigrants
  42. ^ Described as "French-Indian" at Alexander McGillivray (Creek chief) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia; maternal grandfather, Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand, was French
  43. ^ Described as "French-Canadian" at Gambit New Orleans News and Entertainment; both parents, Medore Moisant and Josephine Fortier, were French Canadian immigrants to the U.S.
  44. ^ Described as "French American" at Paul Revere – Olga's Gallery His father, Apollos Rivoire, was a French Huguenot refugee from Wallonia who had anglicized his name to Paul Revere. His mother, Deborah Hitchbourn, was of English descent.
  45. ^ Described as "French American" at [9]; His father, Isaac Roberdeau, was a French Huguenot immigrant and his mother Mary Cunningham was Scottish
  46. ^ Manuscript Group 633, Elisha Boudinot (1749–1819) Family Papers, 1775–1953 (Bulk dates: 1802–1817) "The Boudinots were French Huguenots who fled France and then England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes"; both of Boudinot's paternal grandparents were French; his mother was of Welsh and Anglo descent.
  47. ^ Hillary Rodham Clinton is French-Canadian on her mother's side[dead link]
  48. ^ [10] ""I trust that you do know Mr. DeLay is French," she said."[dead link]
  49. ^ Gravel – Interview with Former Sen. Mike Gravel, April 17, 2006 "GRAVEL: God no. Mahoney... or it was an Irish name. I'm French-Canadian; I'm American but my parents are French Canadian."
  50. ^ His great-grandfather was born in France, most of his other ancestry was English and American
  51. ^ News for New Orleans, Louisiana | Lafourche/Terrebonne News | News for New Orleans, Louisiana |wwltv.com[dead link]
  52. ^ Described as "French Hugenot" at A Little History of TN; his paternal grandfather was French, while the rest of his ancestors were of English origin.
  53. ^ Is the 'Cajun Grandma' Getting a Bad Rap? – ABC News "she was nicknamed the "Cajun Grandma" and won the election to become the top elected official in the state." [11] ""So many people in Louisiana actually speak French every day and feel French, and I think they're a little disappointed about the situation," says Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a French Acadian whose maiden name was Babineaux. "We're looking at a 200-year historical time when France was our greatest ally.""[dead link]
  54. ^ CNN Programs – Anchors/Reporters – James Carville "Often referred to as the "Ragin' Cajun" for his animated and colorful debating..."
  55. ^ Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Major, United States Army
  56. ^ Alexander McGillivray (Creek chief) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia "French-Indian who became the principal chief of the Creek Indians in the years following the American Revolution."
  57. ^ The New York Times > Washington > Pierre Salinger, Kennedy Aide, Dies at 79 "He then became a French correspondent and later Paris bureau chief for ABC News." Bonjour Paris – Pierre Salinger, France's American
  58. ^ [12][dead link]
  59. ^ [13][dead link]
  60. ^ Described as "French Catholic" at Kate Chopin – Free Online Library; her maternal grandmother, Athena'ise Charleville, was of French descent; the rest of her ancestry was Irish and English.
  61. ^ From an interview with Dufresne: [14] "Nathan Leslie: John, do you think your French Canadian background has influenced your writing? If so, how? John Dufresne: It is this primal landscape that shapes us as it shapes the characters in our stories. "You write from where you are," William Stafford said. I write from being a French Canadian/American who grew up on what had been called French Hill until the Irish and Italians muscled us out. And then it was Grafton Hill. Novelist David Plante, author of novels about growing up French Canadian not far from my home, says: "Franco-American culture is gone, and perhaps the only way to have written about it was to believe it was over even while it was being written about. Les vrais paradis sont les paradis perdus might have been said by Proust about an entirely different world, but it applies—with the difference that the Franco past was never a paradise." Grafton Hill was in the fifties and sixties as exclusively Catholic and blue collar as neighborhoods get. Jobs ran to the trades, factories, and public service. There were no dancers or brain surgeons, actors, or professors among the French Canadians on the Hill."[dead link]
  62. ^ Will Durant Online: Contributions "Will Durant was French-Canadian and a Roman Catholic who had become skeptical of religion."
  63. ^ Jack Kerouac – bio and links "Jack Kerouac was born Jean-Louis Kerouac, a French-Canadian child on March 12, 1922 in working-class Lowell, Massachusetts."
  64. ^ His French ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century
  65. ^ Amazon.com: Peyton Place (9780736683159): Grace Metalious, Tim O'Connor: Books "When it was released in 1956, PEYTON PLACE, the debut novel by French Canadian Grace Metalious…"
  66. ^ Anaïs Nin "French-born novelist, passionate eroticist and short story writer"
  67. ^ Pierre-Samuel du Pont (French economist) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia "French economist..."
  68. ^ His paternal grandfather was from the Isle of Jersey; his other ancestry was English – American.
  69. ^ SAIL Ser.2, 5.3
  70. ^ JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie
  71. ^ http://nonfictionwise.com/eBooks/CaptainBenjaminLEBonnevilleeBooks.htm
  72. ^ Described as French-Canadian at [15]; parents were French Canadian immigrants to US Rene Arthur Gagnon, Corporal, United States Marine Corps[dead link]
  73. ^ Audubon, John James describes him as French American; both parents were French; he was raised in Nantes, France John James Audubon | National Audubon Society
  74. ^ Rene Dubos (American microbiologist) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia born in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, France
  75. ^ Born in Paris, France to George L'Enfant and Frances Ragond; immigrated to US
  76. ^ Rodrigue and Guidry honored as Outstanding Alums "Just like George, he's a nice, country, Cajun guy, who left Louisiana to follow his dream and continued that dream by returning to his roots. "
  77. ^ [16][dead link]
  78. ^ [17][dead link]
  79. ^ http://genforum.genealogy.com/favre/messages/121.html
  80. ^ Bobby Hebert "The Cajun Cannon" [18][dead link]
  81. ^ Washington Times – Barrow, Morton among likely cuts
  82. ^ [19] "French-American David Regis earned a starter¿s spot on the 1998 U.S. World Cup squad"[dead link]
  83. ^ .:: Yanks Abroad – International Soccer, Made in America ::. "Could you talk a little about what being both French and American has meant for your soccer development?... Actually, I really think that if I'm a professional today, it's because of my development both in France and in the US. I always try to take what's best for me as an athlete and a keeper from both cultures and honestly think that if I hadn't made the choice of playing internationally for the US youth teams, I wouldn't be in my situation today and wouldn't have developed as quickly."
  84. ^ ESPN.com: OLY – French skater Bonaly becomes U.S. citizen "French figure skating champion Surya Bonaly has become a US citizen during a ceremony Friday in Las Vegas."
  85. ^ Innisfree Farm "Detractors of his French born, quotidian jockey said that if Jean Cruguet"
  86. ^ 2002 | 2011 Kentucky Oaks & Derby | May 6 and 7, 2011 | Tickets, Events, News "The California-based Delahoussaye, a Cajun from New Iberia, La., is one of the best riders in Kentucky Derby history."
  87. ^ Publishing Group: Little Brown Books for Young Readers – Hachette Book Group "Eric Guerin, the twenty-eight-year-old Cajun jockey who rode all of Vanderbilt's top horses under a contract arrangement."
  88. ^ The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs: Team: Player Information
  89. ^ Triple H Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body by Triple H – Powell's Books ""the French guy" in World Championship Wrestling"
  90. ^ Library.com "The Story of Frank W. Abagnale Jr. from www.Crime Library.com."
  91. ^ [^ "New Beauty Queen Ideal". New York Times. 1922-09-10.] "The Ideal Beauty Queen."
  92. ^ She is French-Canadian on her mother's side[dead link]
  93. ^ Fashion: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 1 to July 29, 2001 noted that she was proud of her French ancestry, which was distant.
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