The Most Notable Italian Americans
Showing 565 of 565 verified entries
NBC Today Show co-host
Yankees broadcaster for 40 years
The Sopranos (Little Carmine Lupertazzi Jr.)
Milwaukee Braves 1B
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing
M*A*S*H
Supreme Court justice whose opinions have shaped major constitutional rulings in the 21st century.
Pioneer of compiler optimization
IBM pioneer of compiler optimization
WWII general
Baltimore Orioles manager
Herkimer Hurricane
The Herkimer Hurricane
Cocoon
Hyperrealist sculptor
Only driver to win F1 World Championship, Indy 500, Daytona 500, and Pike's Peak
IndyCar champion 1991
2x lightweight champion
First Italian-born American cardinal
ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) leader
IBF middleweight champion 1979-80
The Master
Developed Ascoli's test for anthrax
Original Houston Colt .45s 3B (1962)
Cleveland Indians manager
Chicago Bears DE
Venus; Why; Beach Party film series; born Francis Thomas Avallone
Hip-hop artist from Brooklyn
The Graduate
Oakland A's dynasty 3B
Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers guard
Social learning theory
The Good Fight
Executive at major New York retail companies
Umbertina (novel)
The Money Honey
Onion Farmer from Canastota
Welterweight and middleweight champion
Medal of Honor and Navy Cross
Restaurant entrepreneur
Restaurateur, cookbook author, and PBS television host who became the most recognized ambassador of Italian cooking in the United States.
New York Giants TE
1960 Heisman Trophy winner at Navy
Duke Ellington's drummer
National Medal of Arts recipient whose modernist buildings and tenure as Dean of MIT Architecture shaped the American built environment.
Heartbreaker
American Beauty
I Left My Heart in San Francisco; 20 Grammy Awards; 90-year recording career
Supergirl
Archbishop of Chicago
Yogi Berra
Yankees catcher
Notre Dame QB
One Day at a Time
Medal of Honor in Alsace, France 1945
Most decorated NYC police officer
Houston Astros 2B/C
Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher
NYC Mayor 2014-2021
American fashion legend
Pittsburgh Steelers RB
Blind tenor
New York Times science journalist
Rock musician and philanthropist of Italian American (Bongiovi) heritage who sold over 130 million records worldwide.
White Sox 1B
Marty
Cleveland Indians player-manager
Goodfellas
Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher
Cardinals pitcher
The Michelangelo of the Capitol
Modern crooner
Miami Dolphins LB
Miami Dolphins LB
Marvel Comics' Michelangelo
Marvel Comics artist
Boardwalk Empire
Louis Prima's essential saxophonist and bandleader; Just a Gigolo; Las Vegas showroom legend
First American citizen canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church, and founder of institutions serving Italian immigrant communities across the United States.
First American saint (canonized 1946)
Leaving Las Vegas
LBJ's chief domestic affairs adviser
Brooklyn Dodgers 1B
Pittsburgh Pirates ace
Boardwalk Empire
Wild 'N Out
Three-weight world champion (featherweight, lightweight, junior welterweight) 1920s-30s
Developed gene targeting technology (knockout mice)
LPGA star of the 1960s-70s
Boston Patriots WR/K
1973 Heisman Trophy (Penn State)
The Long Island Medium
MMA fighter turned actress
The Office (Michael Scott)
Locanda Verde
The Ambling Alp
First Venezuelan MLB star
Ace Ventura
Julia (first Black woman to star in her own non-domestic TV role)
Received Medal of Honor (delayed 39 years) for Guadalcanal action where he continued fighting with multiple wounds
Top 10 middleweight of the 1950s
Clemenza in The Godfather (Leave the gun, take the cannoli)
Teacher who led 1968 East LA school walkouts (Chicano Blowouts)
Brooklyn Italian-American jazz pianist
Long Island Italian-American utility player
Philadelphia sports radio institution
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Founding member of The Young Rascals; Groovin; Good Lovin; blue-eyed soul pioneer
Poet of the Piano; played for The Eddy Duchin Story; elegant cocktail piano
Chicago Cubs 1B/OF
5-term Cleveland Mayor
New Haven Mayor 1945-53
Discovered the role of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in diabetes complications
War Machine in Iron Man
Medal of Honor (posthumous) for leading bombing mission after plane was disabled
Junior Soprano in The Sopranos
Lightnin' Strikes (#1, 1966)
Poet
White Sox pitcher
The Deer Hunter (5 Oscars)
Pittsburgh Pirates OF
American Idol winner
12 Angry Men
New Jersey Governor (acting) 2004-2006
Built Phoenix Suns and Diamondbacks
Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers slugger
Top Chef head judge
Founded Italian American Civil Rights League (1970)
Italian-born explorer who reached the Americas in 1492 for Spain
Calabrian immigrant who built Mediacom into a leading U.S. cable provider and purchased Italian football club Fiorentina.
Beloved crooner and TV host; sold 100M+ records; born Pierino Ronald Como
Scarpetta restaurant
Cincinnati Reds SS
Youngest AL home run champion at 20
America's Favorite Accordion Player; teen sensation of the late 1940s
Italian-American comedy and novelty recordings
Director of The Godfather trilogy — the defining Italian American cinematic saga — and winner of five Academy Awards.
Lost in Translation
Soundgarden lead singer; Black Hole Sun; Audioslave; mother of Italian-American heritage
Hold My Hand (1954
Shadow box assemblages
Kay Scarpetta crime novels
Beat poet
Pioneer of L-DOPA treatment for Parkinson's disease
Florida Governor
Time in a Bottle; Bad Bad Leroy Brown; died in plane crash at age 30
See Dean Martin entry #2 — Dino Paul Crocetti was Dean Martin's birth name
Big band leader
Yankees SS and coach
All I Wanna Do
3B for Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves
NY Governor 2011-2021
CNN Primetime anchor
Three-term New York governor and defining late-20th-century voice of Italian American civic leadership.
Some Like It Hot
Senator Pothole
Revolutionized basketball with Seven Seconds or Less offense with Phoenix Suns
Full Metal Jacket
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Korean War Medal of Honor for repelling Chinese assault
Best pipes in the business (per Sinatra); born Vito Rocco Farinola
Italian film star who moved to Hollywood
Taxi
Mack the Knife; Splish Splash; born Walden Robert Cassotto; died at 37
Goodbye Cruel World; Gidget film series; born James William Ercolani
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day
Pioneered coronary bypass surgery and aortic surgery
Arizona Senator 1977-1995
Oregon Congressman 1987-2023
Sports Illustrated senior writer
Greatest bebop clarinetist; born Boniface Ferdinand Leonardo DeFranco
Buffalo Bills offensive guard
Long-serving member of Congress and House Appropriations leader with decades of influence over federal spending priorities.
Underworld
Subway co-founder who transformed a single Connecticut sandwich shop into one of the largest restaurant chains in the world.
Cannonball Run
Lightweight champion
Welterweight champion
Florida Governor
NCI Director
Taxi
The Fast and the Furious franchise
Roman Catholic Bishop of Richmond, Virginia
The Little Professor
New York Yankees centerfielder whose 56-game hitting streak remains one of the most celebrated records in American sports.
4th DiMaggio brother (lesser known)
Eldest DiMaggio brother
Runaround Sue; The Wanderer; pioneered doo-wop and early rock and roll
New York State Comptroller 2007-present
Cardinal Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
Vanderbilt and LSU football coach
Edgy Italian-American standup comedian
Da Coach
Co-developed methadone maintenance treatment for heroin addiction
Longest-serving Senator from New Mexico
Christ in Concrete (1939)
Greatest trainer in boxing history
First junior lightweight champion
The Schnozzola; Inka Dinka Doo; Goodnight Mrs. Calabash; beloved vaudeville-to-television entertainer
Nobel Prize in Physics (1973)
Gus Fring in Breaking Bad
Italian-Canadian hockey legend
Tony O
IWW organizer
Turn Me Loose; Tiger; teen idol at 15; born Fabiano Anthony Forte
Twilight Saga (Carlisle Cullen)
Designed Intel 4004 — world's first microprocessor (1971)
Lead designer of the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor, and co-founder of Zilog.
Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos
6 Major golf championships
Ask the Dust
Dynasty
Folk/labor artist
Physician-scientist whose 38 years as NIAID Director shaped U.S. responses to HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19.
E Street Band keyboardist and accordionist
One of the most feared names on Madison Avenue
Beat poet
Nobel laureate and central architect of the nuclear age in the United States, including the first artificial nuclear chain reaction.
Los Angeles Rams QB
Congresswoman and the first woman nominated for vice president by a major U.S. party.
The Incredible Hulk TV series
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Founded Boys Town Nebraska
Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent Creative Director
Chicago Bears LB
Medal of Honor
San Diego Chargers QB
Tenor beloved by Italian-American audiences; Non Dimenticar; Ed Sullivan Show regular
Forbidden Planet
Who's Sorry Now; best-selling female artist of late 1950s-60s; born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero
New York Mets closer
Former Colombo crime family capo turned Christian speaker
The Czar of the Telestrator
FBI Director under Clinton
Fubini's theorem in calculus
Walt Disney's favorite Mouseketeer
Medal of Honor for heroism at Pearl Harbor (USS Arizona)
The Reading Rifle
Value investing pioneer
Grammy-winning pop artist and actress of Italian American heritage (Germanotta) who became one of the most commercially successful musicians of the 21st century.
The O.C.
Virologist central to identifying HIV as the cause of AIDS and developing the first HIV blood test.
Philadelphia Italian-American indie rock musician
Tony Soprano in The Sopranos
MLB catcher turned NBC broadcaster
Moonstruck
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Thunder
Anatomy of a Murder
1920 Olympic gold medalist
WWII fighter ace
Immigrant confectioner whose Ghirardelli Chocolate Company became one of America's most enduring brands and a San Francisco landmark.
Father of X-ray astronomy
Just Shoot Me
MLB Commissioner
Yale President
Oakland A's and Yankees slugger
Buffalo middleweight contender
Founder of Bank of America and pioneer of branch banking that made financial services accessible to ordinary Americans.
Middleweight champion 1963-65
Trauma surgeon who operated on Ronald Reagan after 1981 assassination attempt
IWW poet and organizer
As US Attorney SDNY prosecuted the Five Families under RICO (1985-89)
NYC Mayor 1994-2001
Thank U, Next; 7 Rings; record-breaking streaming artist; born Ariana Grande-Butera
First woman elected U.S. governor in her own right and a landmark Italian American woman officeholder.
Middleweight champion
The Lady Is a Tramp; jazz-influenced pop vocalist and pianist; born Armando Greco
Jersey Shore reality TV star
NJ Congressman
Immaculate Reception
Stanford President
Old Reliable
Bantamweight champion
The Band's keyboardist
West Virginia, Cincinnati basketball coach
Auto executive who helped create the Ford Mustang and led Chrysler's historic comeback, becoming one of the most recognized Italian American business leaders.
Brooklyn-born Wall Street executive and Italian-American business community leader
Nobel laureate whose discovery that nitric oxide is a signaling molecule changed cardiovascular medicine and enabled treatments including Viagra.
NYC Mayor 1950-1953
Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos
Texas Rangers slugger
South Philly Italian-American stand-up comedian
Michigan State head basketball coach
Piano Man
The Microwave
Fear of Flying
Actor son of Danny Aiello
Son of John Gotti Sr.
Sleeping bag coat
World lightweight champion 1925-26
Jimmy Kimmel Live (2003-present)
Transformative New York City mayor whose reformist administration became a model of municipal modernization.
Bam!
NYC Mayor 1934-1945
Rawhide; I Believe; That Lucky Old Sun; born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; 250M+ records sold
The Mad Bomber
The Raging Bull
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
Dracula
Co-founder of The Home Depot and major philanthropist whose $200 million gift anchored the NYU Langone Medical Center.
Pioneer of controlled drug release technology
The Great Caruso film
Led the Original Dixieland Jass Band; first jazz recording session in history (1917)
Dodger Blue personified
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Everyday Italian
Prominent New York real estate developer
Broke up Bill Bevens' no-hitter with a walk-off double in 1947 World Series Game 4
Murderers Row Yankees 2B
Editor and publishing executive
The Tonight Show host 1992-2009, 2010-2014
Duke University literary critic
Dean Martin's partner
Flamboyant pianist and showman; highest-paid entertainer in the world (1950s-60s); born Wladziu Valentino Liberace
Goodfellas
Columbia University coach
Big
The Schnozz
The definitive NFL coach, whose Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls and whose name is synonymous with excellence in American football.
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
NHL goaltender
First Latin star in the NL
Pioneer of molecular biology
Coal Miner's Daughter
Sam Wilson / Captain America in MCU
Queen of Pop; Material Girl; Like a Prayer; born Madonna Louise Ciccone
The Barber
Long-serving NY Congresswoman
Red Sox 3B
Moon River; Pink Panther theme; Days of Wine and Roses; born Enrico Nicola Mancini
President and CFO of Apple
Mount Allegro (memoir of Sicilian-American life in Rochester)
I Write the Songs
Champion of Italian-American culture
Groundbreaking and controversial photographer
2-time Academy Award winner
Baltimore Colts DE
Heavyweight boxing champion and the only heavyweight in history to retire undefeated, with a perfect 49–0 record.
1971 Heisman Trophy runner-up (Cornell)
Miami Dolphins QB
President and CEO of First Fidelity Bancorporation
Created Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Yankees manager
Singer, actor, and Rat Pack member (born Dino Paul Crocetti) whose smooth style defined mid-century American entertainment.
There's No Tomorrow; film and radio star; born Alvin Morris; husband of Cyd Charisse
Yankees 1B
Here in My Heart; first #1 on UK Singles Chart; played Johnny Fontane in The Godfather; born Alfred Cini
NASA astronaut who serviced the Hubble Space Telescope and became a prominent public science communicator.
Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos
Yankees 1B
Bronx Italian-American heavyweight contender
Light heavyweight champion
Directed Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Neighbor and friend of Thomas Jefferson
NY Mets CF/1B
OCAW labor leader
Return to Forever; Mediterranean Sundance; world music fusion pioneer
USMNT goalkeeper
Medal of Honor at Battle of the Siegfried Line
6 Stanley Cups
Loggins and Messina
Italian-born cancer biologist
Italian immigrant inventor recognized by the U.S. Congress as the true inventor of the telephone, preceding Bell's patent.
Who's the Boss
Rebel Without a Cause
Directed Gigi and An American in Paris (both Oscar winners)
Soprano at Metropolitan Opera and La Scala; beloved TV opera star of the 1960s
Identified genes for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and dyslexia
Founded Domino's Pizza
Four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback often ranked the greatest in NFL history, known for his composure under pressure.
Pepino the Italian Mouse (#5 Billboard, 1963); Italian novelty and pop recordings
Dave Brubeck Quartet drummer; Take Five; pioneer of odd-meter drumming
Prominent boxing trainer in New York
Combat! TV series
Catherine Scorsese née Cappa
Most recorded studio guitarist of the 1950s-60s; Perry Como's musical director
US Attorney General under George W. Bush (2007-2009)
Houston Oilers offensive guard
New Jersey Governor 2018-2026
Orioles and Yankees pitcher
NFL quarterback whose guaranteed Super Bowl III victory created one of the most famous moments in American sports history.
NJ Superior Court judge
Homeland Security Secretary
18 Grand Slam singles titles
The Italian Errol Flynn
Velvet Underground vocalist
The Godfather Part II
Immigrant founder of Planters Nut Company whose brand helped shape packaged-snack marketing in America.
16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2005-2007)
First Marine to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Godfather; Scarface; Dog Day Afternoon; Serpico; Scent of a Woman
Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers OF
Shane
New Orleans Sicilian-American drummer
NJ Congressman since 1988
Scarface
A Bronx Tale (one-man show and film)
Former CIA director, Secretary of Defense, and White House Chief of Staff — one of the broadest federal executive careers in modern Italian American history.
Ralph Cifaretto in The Sopranos
Boston Patriots AFL QB
Novelist, biographer, and poet
Film editor who won Academy Award
NJ Congressman 1997-2024
Virtuoso jazz guitarist; solo guitar innovations; born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua
U.S. senator and first Italian American to serve as a state governor, remembered for pioneering public broadcasting legislation.
Big Pussy in The Sopranos
NY Governor 1995-2006
Penn State coach for 46 years
Founded Chun King (largest US Chinese food company)
The Pazmanian Devil
Congressional leader and former Speaker of the House — the first woman to hold the office — and daughter of Italian American mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.
Will o' the Wisp
Yankees 1B/OF
Cincinnati Reds 1B
Blue Suede Shoes
Goodfellas
Metropolitan Opera soprano for 35 years
See Rico Petrocelli (id 150) — same person
Red Sox SS/3B
The Fargo Express
Greatest hitting catcher in baseball history
Red Sox CF
Detroit Lions fullback
Sweet Lou
Metropolitan Opera bass for 22 years
7-string jazz guitar pioneer; recorded with Sinatra, Benny Goodman, and Stephane Grappelli
Jazz guitarist-vocalist; son of Bucky Pizzarelli; jazz ambassador and radio host
Oakland Raiders QB
Bitcoin/crypto investor and influencer
Character actor in NYC Italian-American tradition
Major Beat poet
Just a Gigolo; voiced King Louie in The Jungle Book; New Orleans swing king
The Godfather
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief
Wrote Police Academy 3, 4, 5
Governor of Rhode Island and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, central to recent U.S. semiconductor and industrial policy.
Felix Unger in The Odd Couple
Original Mark Cohen in Rent on Broadway (1996)
The Springfield Rifle
30 Minute Meals
Walk on the Wild Side
Philadelphia Mayor
Mr. Warmth
Yankees pitcher
Showtime Lakers coach
The Sopranos (Jackie Aprile)
Yankees shortstop
New York Giants DE
Chair of the House Judiciary Committee during the Nixon impeachment inquiry — one of the most consequential moments in U.S. constitutional history.
Everybody Loves Raymond
The Joker (Batman TV series 1966)
Eh Cumpari; discovered by Arthur Godfrey; beloved 1950s Italian-American crooner
SCTV cast member
Beloved Neapolitan song interpreter; cult following in Italian-American communities; born Gennaro Roselli
Manager of the A's, Cardinals, and White Sox
CEO of Alcatel-Lucent
Cleveland Browns head coach 1978-84
Wild One; Volare; South Philly teen idol; born Robert Louis Ridarelli; Rydell High named for him
Greatest college football coach in history
Developed oral polio vaccine (Sabin vaccine)
Viennese court composer
9 PBA titles over 5 decades
The Living Legend
Cubs 3B
Pennsylvania Senator
They Shoot Horses Don't They?
True Love
Associate Justice whose originalist and textualist jurisprudence reshaped modern U.S. constitutional interpretation.
House Majority Leader
NBA featherweight champion
SkyBridge Capital founder
WNBC anchor for 50 years
Directed Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar
Mercury Seven astronaut and the only person to fly in Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
Yale University President 1986-1992
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Dodgers catcher
CNN national security correspondent
Oscar-winning director whose work defines the canon of American cinema and whose Italian American background permeates many of his most celebrated films.
Lyric soprano at the Metropolitan Opera
Italian-American mystery novelist
Kansas Governor
Co-discovered the antiproton
NYPD whistleblower whose exposure of systemic police corruption led to the Knapp Commission reforms and changed public understanding of police accountability.
Baseball Hall of Fame SS
The Idolmaker
Apocalypse Now
The Godfather
1930s Hollywood star
Bubbles
The defining voice of American popular music in the 20th century, known internationally as "The Chairman of the Board."
Baltimore Ravens DT
Maximum John
Paulie Walnuts in The Sopranos
Arcosanti commune/city in Arizona
Mulligan Stew
Mighty Aphrodite (Oscar)
Goodfellas
Archbishop of New York 1939-1967
Rock musician of Italian American (maternal Zerilli line) and Irish American heritage whose work chronicled working-class American life.
Actor-filmmaker who created Rocky — one of the great Italian American stories in cinema — and Rambo, two of the most successful film franchises in Hollywood history.
No Doubt lead singer; Hollaback Girl; father Dennis Stefani is Italian-American
Minimalist and maximalist painter
PBS cooking show Cucina Amore
Hawaiian Eye TV series
ABC 20/20 correspondent
Revenge (TV)
Father of New Journalism
Pulp Fiction
Mel's Diner in Alice (TV series)
Oakland A's catcher
The Judy Show
Coloratura soprano who became American star
Washington Redskins QB
Make Room for Daddy
NBC Sports lead anchor
My Cousin Vinny (Oscar)
Father of Louisiana
Milwaukee Braves 1B
Yankees manager for dynasty run
New Jersey Senator 1997-2003
NHL coach
Legendary conductor who shaped the NBC Symphony Orchestra and raised the standard of orchestral performance in the United States.
Dean Martin biography Dino
Saturday Night Fever
Machete
Italian-American anarchist labor organizer
The Devil Wears Prada
The Book of Forms (poetry handbook)
Barton Fink (Cannes)
NYPD Blue
Lead vocalist of Aerosmith; Dream On; born Steven Victor Tallarico
Spenser: For Hire
Two dozen Columbia Records albums; born Genaro Luigi Vitaliano
NY Mets manager
First male sex symbol of the cinema
Lead singer of Beau Brummels
First crooner superstar
Four Seasons lead singer; Can't Take My Eyes Off You; Big Girls Don't Cry; born Francesco Castelluccio
1964 Olympic swimming gold medalist
1964 US Open champion despite severe heat exhaustion
First European explorer of the Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Newfoundland
Explorer who realized Columbus reached a new continent
Oakland Raiders LB
Phil Leotardo in The Sopranos
Founded Virtu Financial (electronic trading)
ESPN basketball voice for 40+ years
ESPN basketball analyst
Co-founder of Qualcomm and inventor of the Viterbi algorithm, which is central to modern digital communications and GPS.
Italian-American knitwear fashion designer
3-term Massachusetts Governor
Fashion designer whose Italian lineage (Halfin family) and U.S. career reshaped American women's fashion through the wrap dress.
32nd Army Chief of Staff 1987-1991
Most successful non-performing pop songwriter in history
That's Amore; Chattanooga Choo Choo; Lullaby of Broadway; born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; greatest Hollywood songwriter
NY Congressman 1999-2011
Pretty Poison
Zorro (1957-59 Disney TV series)
Placeholder entry — real Italian-American actor from Brooklyn
Inventor of the ice resurfacing machine that became standard worldwide infrastructure for ice sports.
Silvio Dante in The Sopranos
Popeye
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