Most Famous Hyphenated Americans by Country – Europe

Just this past 4th of July, it dawned on me just how diverse this country actually is. Pretty much all of us are hyphenated somehow – Irish-American, Italian-American, African-American, Chinese-American …

It got me thinking … Who, would you say, is the most famous Mexican-American? Swedish-American? Liechtensteiner-American?

Well, Wikipedia makes it pretty easy to find out. There are list of famous Americans associated with pretty much every country out there.

So, all I really did was make a judgement call on who I thought was the most famous. Extra points if you’re someone who made a real contribution – i.e., a political leader or scientist, rather than an actor or athlete. I also leaned more toward people with a real connection to the homeland – whether from being born there, having parents born there, or even just having a distinctively native surname.

While I was doing this research, I couldn’t help but note some real surprises – people who you would never have guessed in a million years had any connection. I’m including those as well, just for fun.

One final note … There are a lot of countries in the world. For this post, I’m limiting it solely to Europe. Tune in later for some of the other continents. 

Okay, let’s see what we’ve got. I'll be listing them from biggest (country) to smallest.

Russia

• Most notable:  Ayn Rand, author & philosopher (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, in St. Petersburg)
• Least likely:  Natalie Wood, actress (born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko, of Russian immigrant parents) 

Natalie, in Orthodox marriage to producer Richard Gregson

Germany

• Most notable:  Albert Einstein, physicist (immigrated at 54)
• Least likely:  Babe Ruth, baseball great (spoke German as a child)

Anti-Nazi ad

France

• Most notable:  Henry David Thoreau, author (ancestors were actually from the Isle of Jersey)
• Least likely:  Davy Crockett, pioneer (descendant of Antoine de Saussure Peronette de Crocketagne)

Davy, Davy Crockett, l'homme qui n'a jamais fui.

Italy

• Most notable:  Enrico Fermi, physicist (immigrated at 38)
• Least likely:  Jill Biden, First Lady (grandfather Domenico Giacoppo, born in Sicily, changed family name to Jacobs)

England

• Most notable:  George Washington, Revolutionary War general & 1st president
• Least likely:  Elizabeth Taylor, actress (born in London to American parents)

Coming to America

Spain

• Most notable:  St. Junipero Serra, religious figure (came to Americas at 36)
• Least likely:  Rita Hayworth, actress (born Margarita Carmen Cansino to a Spanish immigrant father; took her mother’s maiden name for her stage name)

Rita with father

Ukraine

• Most notable:  Igor Sikorsky, aviation pioneer (immigrated at 44)
• Least likely:  Bob Dylan, musician (paternal grandparents were from Odessa)

Poland

• Most notable:  Tadeusz Kosciuszko, military leader in Revolutionary War (born and buried in Poland though)
• Least likely:  Martha Stewart, business woman & TV personality (born Martha Kostyra; Stewart was her married name)

Martha’s paternal grandparents

Romania

• Most notable:  Bud Selig, baseball commissioner (father was immigrant)
• Least likely:  John DeLorean, automobile executive (father was immigrant)

Netherlands

• Most notable:  FDR, longest-serving president
• Least likely:  Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’s agent (born Andreas Cornelis Dries van Kuijk, in Breda; came to the US illegally)

Belgium

• Most notable:  Father Damien, saint (came to Hawaii at 24)
• Least likely:  Henry Ford, automotive pioneer (mother’s parents were immigrants) 

Greece

• Most notable:  Mike Dukakis, governor & presidential candidate (father was immigrant)
• Least likely:  Andrews Sisters, singers (original last name was Andreas)

Czechia

• Most notable:  Madeline Albright, diplomat (born in Prague)
• Least likely:  Sissy Spacek, actress (one of almost 200,000 Czech-Americans who live in Texas)

Sweden

• Most notable:  Charles Lindbergh, aviator (father was immigrant)
• Least likely:  Ray Bradbury, science-fiction author (mother was immigrant)

Portugal

• Most notable:  John Phillip Sousa, composer (father João António de Sousa was born in Spain to Portuguese parents)
• Least likely:  Tom Hanks, actor (mother’s family name was originally Fraga)

Can you see it now?

Hungary

• Most notable:  Joseph Pulitzer, publisher (immigrated at 17)
• Least likely:  Tommy Ramone, drummer (born Tamás Erdélyi, in Budapest)

Belarus

• Most notable:  Irving Berlin, composer (born Israel Beilin, immigrated at age 5)
• Least likely:  Ralph Lauren, fashion designer (nee Lifshitz; parents immigrated from Pinsk)

Austria

• Most notable:  Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court justice (born in Vienna, immigrated at age 12)
• Least likely:  Teri Garr, actress (maternal grandparents, named Schmotzer, were immigrants)

Teri, as Inga, in Young Frankenstein

Switzerland

• Most notable:  Dwight Eisenhower, led US in WWII, president (original family name was Eisenhauer)
• Least likely:  Minnesota Fats, billiards player (born Rudolf Wanderone; parents were immigrants)

Bulgaria

• Most notable:  Christo, artist (born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff; immigrated at 29)
• Least likely:  Andre the Giant, wrestler (born André René Roussimoff, in France; father was from Bulgaria)

Andre and friends

Serbia

• Most notable:  Nikola Tesla, inventor (immigrated at 28)
• Least likely:  Divine, actor (maternal grandparents were from Zagreb)

Denmark

• Most notable:  Gutzon Borglum, Mt Rushmore sculptor (parents were immigrants)
• Least likely:  Jeff Bezos, businessman (original name Jorgensen; birth father’s parents were immigrants)

Hair! Blonde hair!

Finland

• Most notable:  Eero Saarinen, architect (immigrated at age 13)
• Least likely:  Gus Hall, perennial presidential candidate for Communist Party (born Arvo Kustaa Halberg, to immigrant parents)

Scotland

• Most notable:  Andrew Carnegie, steel magnate & philanthropist (immigrated at 12)
• Least likely:  David Byrne, musician (immigrated at age 2)

Not a Byrne tartan, BTW

Slovakia

• Most notable:  Andy Warhol, artist (original name Warhola; parents were immigrants)
• Least likely:  John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (mother’s maiden name was Podrasky)

Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art, Medzilaborce

Norway

• Most notable:  Walter Mondale, politician (original family name was Mundal; paternal grandparents were immigrants)
• Least likely:  Earl Warren, Supreme Court justice (original family name was Varren; father was from Stavanger)

Fritz, fjord

Ireland

• Most notable:  JFK, politician (all four grandparents were immigrants)
• Least likely:  Henry Ford, automotive pioneer (father was immigrant)

Croatia

• Most notable:  Rudy Perpich, longest-serving Minnesota governor (original name was Prpić; spoke Croatian until 1st grade)
• Least likely:  Vanna White, game show hostess (nee Rosich)

Bosnia

• Most notable:  Karl Malden, actor (born Mladen George Sekulovich, spoke Serbian until kindergarten)
• Least likely:  Karl Malden (sorry, he’s the only “famous” Bosnian-American I’d actually heard of)

Monument to Karl in Belgrade

Wales

• Most notable:  JP Morgan, financier (descendant of Bledri ap Cydifor, 12th Century Welsh chieftain)
• Least likely:  Quincy Jones, musician (paternal grandfather was of Welsh descent)

JP’s family’s ancestral home (undergoing a little renovation)

Albania

• Most notable:  Richard Caliguiri, mayor of Pittsburgh
• Least likely:  John Belushi, comedian (father and maternal grandparents were immigrants)

Shqiperia is Albanian for "Albania"

Lithuania

• Most notable:  Johnny Unitas, NFL Hall of Famer (original family name was Jonaitis)
• Least likely:  Charles Bronson, actor (born Buchinsky, with original family name being Bučinskis; father and maternal grandparents were immigrants)

Moldova

• Most notable:  Diane Von Furstenberg, fashion designer (original name Halfin; father was from Chişinău)
• Least likely:  Henry Waxman, politician

North Macedonia

• Most notable:  Mike Ilitch, Little Caesar’s founder & owner of Detroit Tigers & Red Wings (parents, Sotir and Sultana, were immigrants)
• Least likely:  Mike Vrabel, NFL player & coach

Slovenia

• Most notable:  Melania Trump, former First Lady (born Melanija Knavs, immigrated at 26)
• Least likely:  Charles Kuralt, journalist

Melania statue, Sevnica (her birthplace)

Latvia

• Most notable:  Mikhail Baryshnikov, ballet dancer (born Mihails Barišņikovs in Riga, defected when 26)
• Least likely:  Buddy Ebsen, actor (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen)

A young Jed Clampett

Estonia

• Most notable:  Louis Kahn, architect (immigrated at age 5)
• Least likely:  Mena Suvari, actress (father born in Parnu)

Cyprus

• Most notable:  Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida (family name was originally Christodoulos)
• Least likely:  Garo Yepremian, NFL kicker (of Armenian descent, but born in Larnaca)

Charlie was also a football player (QB at Wake Forest)

Luxembourg

• Most notable:  Edward Steichen, photographer (immigrated as a teenager)
• Least likely:  Chris Evert, tennis great

Montenegro

• Most notable:  Gregg Popovich, basketball coach (parents were immigrants)
• Least likely:  Nero Wolf, literary character (detective in a series of mysteries by Rex Stout)

Malta

• Most notable:  Pete Buttigieg, politician (father was immigrant)
• Least likely:  Britney Spears, singer (maternal great-great-grandfather)

Pete’s dad was a professor at Notre Dame

Iceland

• Most notable:  Gunnar Hansen, actor, famous for role of Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (immigrated at age 5)
• Least likely:  Gunnar Hansen (sorry, just not that many Icelandic-Americans out there)

Love the inscription!

Monaco

• Most notable:  Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, singer (illegitimate daughter of the current prince; born in the US to a US citizen) 
• Least likely:  Jazmin Grace Grimaldi (sorry – not many famous Monegasques, let alone Monegasque-Americans)

Jazmin and dad

Liechtenstein

• Most notable:  John Latenser, architect (born Johann Laternser, in the small village of Nendeln)
• Least likely:  John Latenser (sorry – he’s the only Liechtensteiner-American I could find)

Andorra and Kosovo? Sorry – I couldn’t find anything on those two.