List of Russian Americans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of notable Russian 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 Russian American or must have references showing they are Russian American and are notable.
Contents |
[edit] List
[edit] Entertainment
- Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American actress, sex symbol, activist known for her roles on the television series Baywatch, mother is of Russian ancestry
- René Auberjonois, Tony Award-winning character actor (and grandson of the painter), best known for his early 1980s role as Clayton Endicott III on the television show Benson and his role as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Olga Baclanova, actress[1]
- Eric Balfour, actor, portraying Milo Pressman in 24, is of Russian, French and Native American ancestry
- Sasha Barrese, actress of Irish, Dutch, American Indian, and Russian descent
- Mikhail Baryshnikov, dancer and actor[2]
- Agnes Bruckner, actress, mother is Russian background
- Michael Bolton, singer
- Yul Brynner, Russian-born American actor, won Academy Award
- Cheryl Burke, professional dancer is well-known for starring on the television series Dancing with the Stars, father is Russian and Irish descent
- Amanda Bynes, actress
- Eddie Cantor, actor and dancer
- Michael Chekhov, actor and dancer
- Jennifer Connelly, actress, mother is of Russian/Polish Jewish descent
- David Copperfield, illusionist and stage magician
- Gavin DeGraw, musician of Russian and Irish ancestry.[3]
- Alexis Denisof, actor
- Leonardo DiCaprio, actor, Golden Globe and a Silver Bear Award winner, mother is of half-Russian descent
- Kirk Douglas, actor, born to Russian Jewish parents
- Michael Douglas, actor, his father Kirk (also an actor) is of Russian Jewish decent
- Robert Downey Jr, actor
- Robert Downey Sr, director
- Michael Dudikoff, actor
- Val Emmich, singer-songwriter and actor of Italian, Russian, and German ancestry
- Peter Falk, born to a Polish father and a Russian mother.[4]
- Harrison Ford, actor, mother was of Russian Jewish descent
- James Franco, actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent
- Drew Fuller, actor of Russian, Scottish and English heritage
- Edward Furlong, actor, the star of such film as Terminator 2 and American History X, his father[citation needed] is of Russian origin
- Galen Gering, actor of Russian Jewish and Spanish descent
- Samuel Goldwyn, director and producer
- Tony Goldwyn, actor
- Katerina Graham, actress, singer, record producer, dancer, and model, mother of Russian Jewish ancestry
- Seth Green, actor, part Russian Jewish ancestry
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, her mother Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal is of Russian Jewish descent[5]
- Jake Gyllenhaal, his mother Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal is of Russian Jewish descent[5]
- Ben Harper, singer-songwriter
- David Homyk, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, and commercial model, is of Egyptian, Ukrainian, Russian, English, Welsh, Scottish-Irish ancestry.
- Zola Jesus, singer-songwriter
- Kidada Jones, actress, model, and fashion designer, daughter of actress Peggy Lipton and musician Quincy Jones
- Rashida Jones, actress, model, and musician, sister of Kidada Jones
- Jon Bon Jovi, musician, mother is of part Russian descent
- Milla Jovovich, actress and model, born in Kiev to a Russian mother and a Serbian father
- Stacy Kamano, actress of German, Russian, Polish and Japanese descent
- Lila Kedrova, Russian-born French-American actress, won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
- Justin Kirk, stage and film actor of Danish, English, and Russian Jewish descent
- Charles Klapow, American choreographer and dance instructor, Emmy Award winner, father of Russian origin
- Joe Lando, film actor
- Maria Lark, Russian-born television actress
- Margarita Levieva, Russian-born American actress. Born in the Soviet Union, she was a professional gymnast before going on to star in the films The Invisible, Adventureland and Spread
- Karina Lombard, actress and singer of Lakota Sioux, Russian, Italian and Swiss
- Walter Matthau, actor and comedian
- Wentworth Miller, actor, played Michael Scofield in the television series Prison Break. Mother is part Russian
- Sarah Natochenny, actress
- Larisa Oleynik, actress (Mad Men, 3rd Rock from the Sun), Russian father
- Mandy Patinkin, actor and singer
- Sean Penn, two-time Academy Award winning actor, paternal grandparents Jewish immigrants from Russia and Lithuania
- Michael Perretta, American hip hop musician, better known as Evidence, Russian mother
- Joaquin Phoenix, actor
- River Phoenix (1970–1993), actor
- Bronson Pinchot, actor
- Natalie Portman, actor
- Sam Raimi, Jewish American film, producer, actor and writer, whose parents came from Russia and Hungary
- Ted Raimi, actor and brother of San Raimi
- Raven, drag queen and reality-television star
- Don Rickles, actor and comedian
- Olesya Rulin, actress and singer
- Melanie Safka-Schekeryk Folk Singer
- Nicole Scherzinger, American singer, actress and dancer, lead of the group The Pussycat Dolls
- Regina Spektor, Jewish-Russian born American singer-songwriter and pianist, born in Moscow
- Princess Superstar, musician, father is of Russian Jewish descent
- Michelle Trachtenberg, television and film actress
- Liv Tyler, actress of part-Russian descent[6]
- Lana Wood, actress
- Natalie Wood (1938–1981), Academy Award-nominated actress, won a Golden Globe
- Anton Yelchin, actor
- Elena Zoubareva, opera singer
[edit] Literature
- Isaac Asimov, science fiction writer[7]
- Reginald Bretnor, science fiction and fantasy writer
- Joseph Brodsky, Nobel Prize in Literature 1987
- Michael Dorfman, writer
- Sergei Dovlatov, short story writer and novelist
- Vladimir Nabokov, writer[8]
- Ayn Rand, philosopher and novelist[9]
- Michael Rostovtzeff, writer[10]
- Maxim D. Shrayer, Moscow-born author, literary scholar and translator
- David Shrayer-Petrov (Russian: Шраер-Петров, Давид), author of the first novel about refuseniks, poet, memoirist
- Gary Shteyngart, Russian-born writer[11]
- Michelle Izmaylov, Russian-American science fiction and fantasy writer
[edit] Medicine
[edit] Science
- Alexei A. Abrikosov, theoretical physicist
- George Gamow, astrophysicist
- Lera Boroditsky, cognitive scientist[12]
- Vladimir Nikolayevich Ipatieff, chemist
- Sergei Khrushchev, professor & son of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
- Wassily Leontief, economist, Nobel Prize 1973
- Abraham Maslow, psychologist
- Alexander Shulgin, pharmacologist, chemist and drug developer
- Igor Sikorsky, helicopter designer[13]
- Otto Struve, astrophysicist
- Leon Theremin, physicist, inventor of Theremin
- Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, one of the inventors of television[14][15]
[edit] Sports
- Benjamin Agosto, ice dancer.[16]
- Jack Babashoff, Olympic Swimmer - Silver medalist[17]
- Shirley Babashoff, Olympic Swimmer - Gold/Silver medalist[18]
- Mohini Bhardwaj, gymnast.[19]
- Fred Biletnikoff, football wide receiver and coach.
- Sue Bird, professional women's basketball player.[20]
- Alex Bogomolov, Jr., professional tennis player.
- Nathan Bor, boxer.
- Maxim Dlugy, grandmaster of chess.
- Rod Dyachenko, footballer.[21]
- Bill Goldberg, former professional wrestler.[22]
- Red Holzman, basketball player and coach.[23]
- Irving Jaffee, speed skater.
- Anna Kotchneva, gymnast.
- Vladimir Kozlov, professional wrestler.
- Andrei Kirilenko, Basketball player.
- Varvara Lepchenko, professional tennis player.[24]
- Valeri Liukin, artistic gymnast.
- Nastia Liukin, gymnast.[25]
- Frank Mir, American mixed martial artist.[26]
- Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks' former Goalie.
- Patrick O'Neal (sportscaster), studio host and reporter.[27]
- Denis Petukhov, figure skater.[28]
- Sergei Raad, soccer player.
- Andy Seminick, professional baseball player.[29]
- Kerri Strug, gymnast.
- Nikolai Volkoff, professional wrestler.
- Ted Williams, American Major League Baseball left fielder.[30]
- Johnny Weir, figure skater
[edit] Models
- Anya Monzikova, model and actress born in Vologda
- Michele Merkin, model and television host, also of Swedish and Russian Jewish descent
- Josie Maran, model of Russian descent
- Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, mother is Native-American, African-American and Russian descent.*
- Angelika Kallio, model born in Riga
- Irina Pantaeva, model and actress born in Ulan-Ude
- Sasha Pivovarova, model born in Moscow
- Natasha Poly, model born in Perm
- Vlada Roslyakova, model born in Omsk
- Tatiana Sorokko, model and fashion writer born in Arzamas-16
- Valentina Zelyaeva, model born in Moscow
- Eugenia Volodina, model born in Kazan
- Tatiana Kovylina, model born in Kazan
- Daria Strokous, model born in Moscow
- Ariel X, fetish model, pornographic actress, of Russian, Irish, and Polish descent.[31]
[edit] Military
- Igor Sikorsky, helicopter designer and inventor[32]
- John Basil Turchin, Union army general in the American Civil War[33]
[edit] Business
- Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, founder of Bloomberg business empire
- Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google
- Boris Chaikovsky, founder of Tele-King International
- Alexander Poniatoff, founder of Ampex Corporation
- Alexander P. de Seversky, founder of the Seversky Aircraft Corporation, founder and trustee of the New York Institute of Technology
- Igor Sikorsky, founder of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a leading US helicopter manufacturer
- Serge Sorokko, art dealer, publisher and patron
- Michael Stroukoff, President of the Chase Aircraft Company, founder of the Stroukoff Aircraft Corporation
[edit] Other
- Antuan Bronshtein, convicted murderer and Russian immigrant
- Peter Demens, is one of the founders of the U.S. city of Saint Petersburg, Florida.
- Anatoli Efimoff, artist
- Betty Freeman, art philanthropist, father was a Russian immigrant
- John A. Gotti, leader of the Gambino Crime Family of the Cosa Nostra. Mother is of Russian descent
- Oleg Kalugin, former head of KGB operations in the United States
- Pitirim Sorokin, founded Harvard Sociology Dept 1930
- Jim Talent, former U.S. Senator, paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia
[edit] References
- ^ [1] "They called her the Russian Tigress. Olga Baclanova (pronounced bahk-LAH-no-vah), sultry Russian actress of stage and film..."
- ^ [2] "One night in June 1974, the Russian dancer stepped from a stage in Toronto where he was appearing as a guest star with the Bolshoi Ballet concert group and literally ran to freedom. He stepped outside, followed by a crowd of confused fans, and sprinted to a waiting car that spirited him away from Soviet agents into a life of independence in the United States."
- ^ http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6909458/ns/today-entertainment/
- ^ Marx, Arthur (November/December1997). "Talk with Falk". Cigar Aficionado. http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,48,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ a b http://www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/jake-gyllenhaal/biography/161?page=2
- ^ "I've Got a Crush on Steven Tyler's Grandfather". Huffington Post. January 11, 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/ive-got-a-crush-on-steven_b_797988.html.
- ^ [3] "Although now an American national, Isaac Asimov was Russian by birth..."
- ^ Vladimir Nabokov - The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition - HighBeam Research
- ^ Amazon.com: Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical: Books: Chris Matthew Sciabarra
- ^ E. R. Bevan: The House of Ptolemy • Preface
- ^ Shteyngart - [4] "Jewish Russian American writer"
- ^ Lera Boroditsky
- ^ Sikorsky Archives News
- ^ Vladimir Zworykin - Electronic Television System
- ^ Adventures in CyberSound: Zworykin, Vladimir Kosma
- ^ "Interview with Ice Dancers Benjamin Agosto and Tanith Belbin". goldenskate.com. April 28, 2003. http://www.goldenskate.com/articles/2002/042803.shtml. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- ^ Babashoff, Shirley
- ^ Babashoff, Shirley
- ^ "Her Party Life Over, She Returned to Bars" Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2001
- ^ [5] "Some background - my father's name is Herschel Bird and his family is originally from Russia. In fact, our last name is really "Boorda." My great grandfather brought his family through Ellis Island in the early 1900's and we were soon known simply as Bird. This makes me half-Russian (not Czech!). So in my dad's eyes, this gave him a false sense of belonging. Every time I'd say "Dad, stop acting like an American" he would come back with "No one can tell I am not from here" and then attempt to say one of the three Russian words he remembers from his college days. He truly believed that no one would notice, which makes this story even better."
- ^ Thunder sign Dyachenko, Costanzo
- ^ Paul Farhi, "Goldberg: A David in Goliath's Shoes", Washington Post, December 9, 1999.
- ^ Othello Harris, George Kirsch; Claire Nolte (2000). Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 222. ISBN 0313299110.
- ^ Lepchenko Adjusts Well to Life in the U.S. Retrieved September 19, 2007
- ^ Barron, David (August 9, 2008). "Nastia Liukin a gymnast by birth". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5933516.html. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ "No fear for Mir". Torontosun.com. 2010-04-11. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/othersports/2010/04/11/13542391.html. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ^ O'Neal, Tatum (14 Oct. 2004). "Excerpt from 'A Paper Life'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/excerpts/2004-10-14-paper-life_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ USA Today, December 22, 2005: "U.S. Ice Dancers Keep it in the Family"
- ^ Berger, Ralph. "Andy Seminick Biography at The Baseball Biography Project". Society for American Baseball Research. http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=1065&pid=12803. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ Bill Nowlin, "The Kid: Ted Williams in San Diego", p. 324
- ^ http://www.iafd.com/person.rme/perfid=ArielX/gender=f/ariel-x..htm/
- ^ Sikorsky Archives News
- ^ http://www.rach-c.org/pages/72.htm
