Lists of Italian Americans

This is a list of notable Italian Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants. The list also includes fictional characters.

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List

Anarchists

• Arturo Giovannitti (1884–1959) union leader and poet
• Sacco and Vanzetti (1891–1927; 1888–1927)
• Carlo Tresca (1879–1943)
• Luigi Galleani (1861–1931)

Architects

• Vito Acconci
• Pietro Belluschi
• Giorgio Cavaglieri
• Mario J. Ciampi
• Neil Denari
• Romaldo Giurgola
• Michael Manfredi[1]
• Giovanni Pasanella[2][3] [4][5]
• Rosaria PiomelliM.
• George Ranalli[6]
• Michael Rotondi, Morphosis
• Mario Salvadori
• Lawrence Scarpa
• Ricardo Scofidio
• Paolo Soleri
• Robert Venturi

Artists

• For composers and conductors, see List of Italian American entertainers

Comic artists, cartoonists, illustrators

• Brian Azzarello - comic book writer
• Joseph Barbera (1911–2006) animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, producer, and co-founder, together with William Hanna, of Hanna-Barbera
• Ivan Brunetti (born 1967) cartoonist and comics-author
• John Buscema (1927–2002) comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate
• Greg Capullo (born 1962) comic book artist
• Anthony Flamini (born 1978) comic book writer
• Frank Frazetta (born 1928) one of the world's most influential fantasy and science fiction artists
• Bill Gallo (born 1922) famed cartoonist and newspaperman
• Dick Giordano (born 1932) comic book artist and editor
• Frank Giacoia (1925–1989) comic book artist
• Carmine Infantino (born 1925) comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books
• Walter Lantz (1900–1994) cartoonist and animator, known for founding the Walter Lantz Studio and creating Woody Woodpecker
• Bob Montana (1920–1975) comic strip artist who created the characters that launched Archie Comics
• Joe Orlando (1927–1998) illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist
• Jimmy Palmiotti - writer and artist of various comics, games and film
• Leo Politi (1908–1996) artist and author who wrote and illustrated some 20 children's books
• John Romita, Sr. (born 1930) comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man
• Don Rosa (born 1951) comic book artist for Disney Comics.
• Eric Stefani (born 1967) pop musician, former Simpsons animator, and Grammy-nominated composer and writer
• Jim Valentino (born 1952) writer, penciler and editor of comic books
• Gerard Way (born 1977) comic book writer, also notable for being the frontman of the American rock band My Chemical Romance.

Digital artists/illustrators

• Rich DiSilvio (born 1957) illustrator, photographer, fine artist, digital artist, web designer, new media developer, architectural designer and writer
• Fred Marcellino (1939–2001) illustrator

Painters

• Ettore DeGrazia
• Robert De Niro, Sr. (1922–1993) abstract expressionist, father of actor Robert De Niro, Jr.
• Robert Longo
• Frank Stella (born 1936) painter and printmaker
• Joseph Stella (1877–1946) futurist painter known for his depictions of industrial America

Photographers

• Severo Antonelli (1907–1995) legendary figure in Philadelphia Italian American history and the subject of one of the largest ever one-man shows at the Smithsonian Institution
• Justin Guariglia (1974-) photographer and contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler, and a regular contributor to Smithsonian Magazine
• Luis Marden (1913–2003) photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist who worked for National Geographic Magazine
• Francesco Scavullo (1921–2004) fashion photographer known for his work on the covers of Cosmopolitan Magazine and his celebrity portraits
• Mario Sorrenti (born 1971) fashion photographer

Sculptors

• Vincent Cavallaro
• Jasper D'Ambrosi
• John DeAndrea
• Mark di Suvero
• Virginio Ferrari
• Corrado Parducci
• Piccirilli Brothers
• Italo Scanga, Neo-Dadaist

Business

• See List of Italian American business people

Criminals

• See List of Italian American mobsters

Entertainers

• See List of Italian American entertainers

Actors

• See List of Italian American actors

Inventors

• Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
• Enea Bossi
• Gerard J. Foschini
• Domingo Ghirardelli
• The Jacuzzi family developed the deep well water pump that led to the famous whirlpool bath.
• Antonio Meucci (born 1808) credited by the Congress of the United States with the invention of the telephone.
• Lorenzo Ponza
• Francis Rogallo, engineer at NASA, designed the Rogallo wing, which found its greatest success in hang gliders and kites.
• Andrew Toti
• Dr. Andrew Viterbi (born 1935), billionaire, cofounder of Qualcomm, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm
• Frank Zamboni

Jurists

• Samuel Alito (born 1950), Supreme Court Associate Justice.
• Vincent Bugliosi (born 1934), successfully prosecuted Charles Manson and is also an expert on the John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy assassinations.
• Ann Marie Calabria, judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
• Frank Caprio, Chief Judge of the Providence Municipal Court.
• William J. Castagna, Judge on the United States District Court.
• Antonin Scalia (born 1936), Supreme Court Associate Justice.
• John Sirica, judge most famous for presiding over the Watergate hearings.

Law enforcement figures

• Joseph Arpaio (born 1932 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is a law enforcement officer, most notably as the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. Arpaio was the child of immigrants from Naples, Italy.
• Joseph D. Pistone, undercover FBI agent who went undercover as Donnie Brasco and infiltrated the Bonanno crime family.
• Louis Freeh (born 1950 in Jersey City, New Jersey), Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1993 to 2001.
• Rudolph Giuliani Early career was a US Attorney in S.D.N.Y., prosecuting high-profile cases, including Cosa Nostra cases
• Frank Rizzo
• Frank Serpico
• Joe Petrosino, NYCPD Lieutenant in charge of the Italian Squad, an elite corps of Italian-American detectives formed to fight the Mafia.
• Charles Joseph Bonaparte, member of Theodore Roosevelt's Cabinet and founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Journalism (print and multimedia)

• Melissa Anelli, resident of Staten Island, journalist at Staten Island Advance and webmaster of The Leaky Cauldron.
• Maria Bartiromo, financial reporter.
• Joe Benigno, WFAN sports radio personality
• David Brancaccio, journalist.
• Harry Caray (1914–1998), born Harry Christopher Carabina, sports broadcaster, did play-by-play for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and (most famously) the Chicago Cubs. Cubs win! Cubs win!
• Matt Casamassina, video game journalist working for IGN.
• Danny Casolaro, freelance journalist
• Igor Cassini, journalist.
• Anthony Cumia, Anthony of the Opie and Anthony show.
• Rick Francona, NBC military analyst.
• Ann Nocenti is a journalist, writer and editor known for her work on comic books and magazines.
• Generoso Pope Jr. (1927–1988) was the founder of The National Enquirer.
• Tony Rizzo, sports anchor WJW-TV, the Fox affiliate in Cleveland
• Elaine Sciolino, Paris bureau chief of The New York Times

Military

See also: List of Italian American Medal of Honor recipients

• Sgt. John Basilone, USMC, a Medal of Honor recipient of World War II.
• Major John Belli, the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army from 1792 to 1794
• Lieutenant General Peter W. Chiarelli
• Lt Col Rick Francona, U S Air Force officer
• Major Don Gentile, Dominic Salvatore Gentile (1920–1951) was a U S Air Force officer.
• Edmund P. Giambastiani, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Lieutenant General Raymond T. Odierno-responsible for capturing Saddam Hussein 13 December 2003.
• Peter Pace, USMC, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Antonio Pierro, who lived to be one of the oldest surviving veterans of World War I.
• Joseph L. Romano
• Humbert Roque Versace, United States Army officer and POW, Vietnam.
• Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC, former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
• Col. Luigi Palma di Cesnola, Civil War Union Cavalry officer, and Medal of Honor recipient.
• Trumpeter Giovanni Martini, only member of Custer's forces to leave the site of the Battle of the Little Big Horn alive.

Politicians

• See List of Italian American politicians by state

Diplomats

• Richard F. Celeste, U.S. Ambassador to India, 1997-2001.
• Paul Cellucci, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, 2001-2005.
• Peter Cianchette, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, 2008-.
• Luigi R. Einaudi, Acting Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), 2004-2005
• Thomas M. Foglietta, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, 1997-2001.
• John J. Muccio [7], U.S. Vice Consul, 1926 and then in Consul, 1927-29 in Hong Kong; Consul in Shanghai, 1932; Consul in La Paz, 1938; U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, 1949–1952; Minister, 1954, then Ambassador, 1955, to Iceland; and Ambassador to Guatemala, 1959-1961.
• Joseph A. Mussomeli, U.S. Ambassador to The Philippines; Ambassador to Cambodia, 2005–2008; and Assistant Chief of Mission to Afghanistan, 2008?-.
• Lawrence Pezzulo, U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay, 1977–1979 and to Nicaragua [8], 1979–81; Special Envoy to Haiti [9][10].
• Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to The Philippines and Republic of Palau, 2002–2005; Ambassador to Egypt, 2005–2008; and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2008-.
• Peter F. Secchia, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, 1989-1993.
• Ronald P. Spogli, U.S. Ambassador to Italy and first U.S. Ambassador to San Marino, 2005–2009
• Ernest V. Siracusa , U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia [11], 1969–1973, and to Uruguay, 1973-1977.

Governors and former governors

• John Baldacci, governor of Maine
• Donald Carcieri, governor of Rhode Island
• Argeo Paul Cellucci (born 1948), former governor of Massachusetts
• Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York
• Edward D. DiPrete, former governor of Rhode Island
• James Florio, former governor of New Jersey (1990–1994)
• Foster Furcolo, former governor of Massachusetts (1957–1961)
• Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981) first woman to be elected governor without following a husband
• Andrew H. Longino, former governor of Mississippi
• Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona
• John Orlando Pastore, former governor of Rhode Island
• William Paca, signer of the American Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, governor of Maryland, Federal District Judge
• George Pataki, former governor of New York, maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Italy

• Al Smith, former governor of New York (1919–1921; 1923–1929), born Alfred Emanuele Ferrara
• John A. Volpe, governor of Massachusetts (1961–1963; 1965–1969)

Mayors and former mayors

• Hugh Addonizio (1914–1981), mayor of Newark, New Jersey, 1962-1970.
• Joseph Alioto (1916–1998), mayor of San Francisco, 1968-1976.
• Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro, Jr. (1903–1987), mayor of Baltimore, 1947–1959.
• Richard Caliguiri (1931–1988), mayor of Pittsburgh, 1978–1988.
• Anthony Celebrezze (1910–1998), mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, 1953-1962.
• Vincent Cianci, Jr (1941 - ), mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, 1975–1984 and 1991-2002.
• David Cicilline (1961-),(Jewish mother), mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, 2003-
• John DeStefano, Jr. (1955 - ), mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, since 1993.
• Frank Fasi (1920 - ), Mayor of Honolulu, 1969–1981 and 1984-1994.
• Rudolph Giuliani (1944 - ), Mayor of New York, 1994-2001.
• Dick A. Greco (1933 - ), mayor of Tampa, 1967–1974 and 1995–2003.
• Pam Iorio (1959 - ), Mayor of Tampa, Florida, since 2003.
• Vincent R. Impellitteri (1900–1987), Mayor of New York, 1950–1953.
• Fiorello La Guardia (1882–1947), Mayor of New York , 1934-1945. (Both parents Italian-born - father lapsed Catholic; mother Jewish.)
• Anthony M. Masiello (1947 - ), mayor of Buffalo, New York, 1994-2005.
• Thomas Menino (1942 - ), mayor of Boston, since 1993.
• Robert Maestri (1899–1974), mayor of New Orleans, 1936–1946.
• George Moscone (1929–1978), mayor of San Francisco, 1976-1978.
• Frank Rizzo (1920–1991), mayor of Philadelphia, 1972-1980.
• Angelo Rossi (1878–1948), mayor of San Francisco, 1931-1944.
• Victor Schiro (1904–1992), mayor of New Orleans, 1961–1970.

Thomas Menino, Boston, MA

Prelates

• Msgr. Geno Baroni (1930–1984), the Catholic Coordinator for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Francis X. DiLorenzo (born 1942) the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia
• John Clement Favalora - Archbishop of the Latin Rite Archdiocese of Miami
• Fr. Stan Fortuna, Roman Catholic priest
• James Groppi Roman Catholic priest and noted civil rights activist
• Francis Mugavero, first Italian-American Bishop of Brooklyn (1968–1990)
• Anthony M. Pilla, bishop of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese 1979-2006.
• Joseph Rosati the first Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis

Cardinals

• Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua served as Bishop of Pittsburgh and Archbishop of Philadelphia
• Justin Francis Rigali Archbishop of Philadelphia

Scientists

• Eugenio Calabi, mathematician
• Charles DeLisi
• Renato Dulbecco
• Federico Faggin
• Robert Fano (born 1917), computer scientist
• Ugo Fano (1912–2001), physicist
• Anthony Fauci, immunologist contributing to research in the areas of AIDS and other immunodeficiencies
• Enrico Fermi (1901–1954), physicist
• Robert Gallo
• Albert Ghiorso nuclear scientist who helped discover several chemical elements on the periodic table
• Riccardo Giacconi
• Louis Ignarro
• Robert Lanza
• Paul J. Lioy, exposure science
• Salvador Luria
• Fulvio Melia physicist, astrophysicist, and author
• Antonio Meucci telephone inventor
• Rita Levi-Montalcini
• Franco Modigliani
• Lisa Marie Nowak Born Lisa Marie Caputo Astronaut
• William Daniel Phillips
• Gian-Carlo Rota
• Jack Sarfatti
• Piero Scaruffi (born 1955) cognitive scientist
• Emilio Segrè Nobel-winning physicist and academic
• Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (born 1922) geneticist
• Andrew Viterbi
• Philip Zimbardo

Academics

• Mario Capecchi at the University of Utah
• Frank A. Cipriani
• Thomas A. DeFanti
• John J. DeGioia President of Georgetown University
• A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938–1989), President of Yale University, later Major League Baseball commissioner (Italian father)
• Robert Gallucci Dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University
• Lino Graglia at the University of Texas in Austin
• Paul J. Lioy, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Robert Magliola Academic specialist in hermeneutics, philosophy, and religious studies; was full professor at Purdue U., then Distinguished chair professor at National Taiwan U. and professor of philosophy and religion at Abac Assumption U. of Thailand; pioneered, in postmodern philosophy and in Buddhist Studies, the mutual relevance of Derridean thought and Madhyamikan Buddhism
• Fulvio Melia Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Arizona in Tucson
• Franco Modigliani MIT economics professor and winner of the 1985 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
• L. Jay Oliva former President of New York University (NYU) and author of many books on European and Russian history
• P. M. Pasinetti professor of comparative literature and Italian UCLA
• Camille Paglia

Sports

• See List of Italian Americans in sports

Writers

• Ken Auletta, writer/journalist and media critic for The New Yorker
• David Baldacci (1960-), best selling novelist; a distant cousin of John Baldacci, current governor of Maine
• Andrew Berardini, art critic and fiction writer
• Greg Berlanti, television writer and producer
• Giannina Braschi, poet and novelist
• Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998), Author and motivational speaker
• Duane Capizzi, screenwriter
• Lorenzo Carcaterra, novelist and screenwriter
• John Ciardi, poet and etymologist
• Gregory Corso, poet
• John Corvino, philosopher
• William L. DeAndrea, mystery writer
• Keith R. A. DeCandido
• Don DeLillo (1936-), author
• Pietro Di Donato, writer
• Rich DiSilvio, writer, author of The Winds of Time
• John Fante, novelist and screenwriter
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet, essayist and painter
• David Franzoni, screenwriter of Gladiator and King Arthur.
• Paul Gallico (Italian father)
• Arturo Giovannitti poet, political activist
• Barbara Grizzuti Harrison (1934–2002), writer
• Evan Hunter aka Ed MacBain born Salvatore Lombino
• Philip Lamantia
• Teresa de Lauretis
• Luis Marden, born Annibale Luis Paragallo, writer for National Geographic
• Fulvio Melia, author of several popular science books, including The Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy
• Charles Messina, writer/director of the play Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, the film Merging, and co-author the book My Father, My Don
• Diana Ossana, Academy Award-winning screenwriter
• Camille Paglia, post-feminist literary and cultural critic
• Christopher Paolini
• Michael Parenti
• P.M. Pasinetti, novelist, playwright, journalist, professor
• Mario Pei
• Joseph D. Pistone
• Diane di Prima, poet of the Beat generation
• Mario Puzo (1920–1999), The Godfather author
• Terry Rossio, screenwriter
• Shane Salerno, screenwriter
• R.A. Salvatore (born 1959), born Robert Anthony Salvatore science fiction and fantasy author, best known for his Forgotten Realms and Star Wars novels
• Leslie Scalapino, poet
• Piero Scaruffi, poet, historian, scientist
• Dom (Domenico) Serafini, T.V. trade magazine editor
• Michelangelo Signorile, journalist, columnist, talk radio host and gay activist
• Gay Talese
• Tom Verducci, sportswriter

Italian Americans who were first in their field of achievement

• Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, designer of the first monoplane in the United States with an enclosed cabin
• Frank Borzage, first person to win the Academy Award for Directing, for Seventh Heaven
• Enea Bossi, designer of the first stainless steel aircraft and designer of the disputed first fully human-powered plane
• Anthony Celebrezze (1910–1998), the first non-native to be appointed to the U.S. Cabinet
• Geraldine Ferraro, (born August 26, 1935), the first woman in U.S. history to be nominated for the Vice-Presidency of the United States from a major political party
• Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981), born Ella Rose Tambussi Grasso, first woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state without succeeding her husband
• Giuseppina Morlacchi (1846–1886), ballerina and dancer, who introduced the can-can to the American stage
• Nancy Pelosi, the first woman in U.S. history to hold the office of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• Dennis Tito, the world's first space tourist
• Joe Valachi (1904–1971), the first member of the Mafia to testify to the senate about organized crime

Italian Americans not otherwise categorized

• Marella Agnelli, furniture designer
• Caesar Cardini, creator of the Caesar salad
• Oleg Cassini, Russian-Italian-American fashion designer
• Michael Chiarello, American celebrity chef specializing in Italian-influenced California cuisine
• Andrew Cunanan, spree killer, mother was Italian-American.
• Giada De Laurentiis, host of the Food Network program Everyday Italian
• Angelo Dundee, trainer of several boxing champions
• Elizabeth Edwards, née Anania, wife of John Edwards, a former U.S. Senator from North Carolina
• Kitty Genovese, stalked and stabbed to death near her home in Queens, New York. The apparent inaction of her neighbors prompted investigation into the psychological phenomenon that became known as the bystander effect or "Genovese syndrome".
• Stacy London, entertainer (Sicilian mother, Jewish father )
• Charles Ponzi (1882–1949), one of the greatest swindlers in American history. Inventor of the Ponzi scheme technique.
• Rachael Ray, Food Network chef and Emmy-winning television personality
• John Scarne, born Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia, gambling expert and sleight-of-hand card performer
• Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General of the United States Department of Transportation
• Michael Schiavo, ex-husband of Terri Schiavo, the woman whose comatose state and subsequent court case garnered much media attention
• Milton Sirotta, at age nine coined the term googol
• Jack Valenti, of Sicilian heritage, president of the Motion Picture Association of America from 1966 to 2007
• Michael Viscardi, mathematician

Fictional Italian Americans

See also: List of Italian/Italian-American superheroes and villains

• Danny Amatullo (on Fame)
• Charles "Chachi" Arcola
• Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr.
• Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino
• Detective Anthony Vincenzo "Tony" Baretta
• Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero
• Frank Castle (born Francis Castiglione), Marvel Comics vigilante/superhero The Punisher
• Lieutenant Frank Columbo
• Vito Andolini Corleone
• Michael Corleone
• Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico
• Silvio Dante
• Laverne De Fazio
• Alfred "Al" Delvecchio
• Arthur Fonzarelli (also Fonzie, The Fonz, or Fonz)
• Paulie Gualtieri
• Luigi
• Mario (according to the TV series)
• Tony Manero
• Bruno Martelli (on Fame)
• Christopher Moltisanti
• Milhouse Van Houten
• Ernie "Coach" Pantusso
• Luigi Risotto
• Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr.
• Carla Tortelli
• Joey Tribbiani

See also

• List of Sicilian Americans
• List of Italian Britons

External links

• List of famous Italian-Americans