Lists of Italian Americans

This is a list of famous Italian Americans.

Activists

• Chastity Bono (Italian father)
• James Groppi, born James Edmund Groppi, 1930-1985) was a Roman Catholic priest and noted civil rights activist. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Italian immigrant parents.
• Mario Savio rose to prominence as a leader of Berkeley's Free Speech Movement.
• Michelangelo Signorile, gay activist.

Anarchists

• Nicola Sacco (1891-1927)
• Carlo Tresca
• Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888-1927)

Artists

Composers and conductors

• Angelo Badalamenti (b.1937), music composer. Best known for his movie soundtrack work for surrealist movie director David Lynch.
• Suzanne Ciani
• Bill Conti
• John Corigliano
• David Del Tredici
• Michael Giacchino
• Vittorio Giannini
• Gian-Carlo Menotti
• Henry Mancini, (1924-1994), Four-time Academy-Award and 20-time Grammy and Gold Record winner. He is remembered for his classic Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's. He also wrote the scores for 80 other movies, including the Pink Panther series.
• Alan Silvestri (b.1950), film composer. Known for his numerous collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis.
• Tommy Tallarico,(born February 18, 1968) is an accomplished American video game music composer.
• Harry Warren

Painters

• Robert De Niro, (b.1922, Syracuse, New York-May 3, 1993, New York City) was an abstract expressionist painter. He is perhaps best known as the father of actor Robert De Niro, Jr. Only his paternal grandfather was Italian but DeNiro identifies with the culture
• Dondi
• Georgia O'Keeffe, artist (1887-1986). Her Mother was Ida Totto and the artist was named for her maternal grandfather, Giorgio Totto, who was born in Italy.
• Frank Stella

Comics artists and cartoonists

• Ivan Brunetti (b.1967), cartoonist and comics-author.
• Frank Frazetta, (born February 9,1928) is one of the world's most influential fantasy and science fiction artists. He is one of the most emulated artists of these genres in the world. Frazetta was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of eight, at the insistence of his school teachers, Frazetta's parents enrolled him in the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts. He attended the academy for eight years under the tutelage of Michele Falanga, an award winning Italian fine artist. Falanga was struck by Frazetta's significant talent. Frazetta's abilities flourished under Falanga, who dreamed of sending Frazetta to Europe, at his own expense, to further his studies. Unfortunately, Falanga died suddenly in 1944 and with him, his dream. As the school closed about a year after Falanga's passing, Frazetta was forced to find work to earn a living.
• Bill Gallo (b.1922), famed cartoonist and newspaperman for the New York Daily News.
• Dick Giordano, born Richard Joseph Giordano (July 20, 1932 - ) is acomic book artist and editor. He was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Giordano is probably best-known as an inker, particularly over the pencils of Neal Adams, on an influential late 1960s and early 1970s run at DC Comics that redefined the characters of Batman, Green Lantern and Green Arrow, although he has also pencilled.
• Frank Giacoia, (1925-1989) was a comic book artist who sometimes worked under the name Frank Ray and to a lesser extent Phil Zupa and the single moniker Espoia. During the 1960s Silver Age of comic books, Giacoia became best known as Marvel Comics inker, particularly of Captain America stories penciled by the character's co-creator, industry legend Jack Kirby. Giacoia was one of the preeminent inkers for the company, working on virtually every title at one time or another.
• Carmine Infantino, (May 24, 1925-) is a comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
• Walter Lantz, (1900-1994), born Walter Lanza, created one of the world's most famous cartoon characters - Woody Woodpecker.
• Bob Montana,(October 23, 1920 - January 4, 1975) was a cartoonist who fashioned the characters that launched Archie Comics. Born in Stockton, California, Montana was the son of ex-Ziegfeld girl Roberta Pandolfini Montana and Ray Montana, a top banjo player on the Keith vaudeville circuit. Traveling all 48 states before the age of nine, Montana received his childhood schooling backstage in theater dressing rooms. During his early teen years, he lived in Boston's theater district.
• Joe Orlando, (1927-1998), born in Bari, Apulia.
• Jimmy Palmiotti, born James Palmiotti, is a writer and artist of various comics. He has extensive inking credits, and is widely regarded as one of the industry's best; he has often inked the work of his friend and collaborator Joe Quesada, notably on Ash (which they co-created, along with Painkiller Jane) and Daredevil (esp. the 'Guardian Devil' arc penned by Kevin Smith). His most recent inking credit was on the current series of Manhunter.
• Leo Politi, (1908-1996) born in Fresno but grew up in a village near Milan, Lombardia.
• Jim Valentino, aka Valentino (born October 28, 1952 in the Bronx, New York City, New York) is an American writer, penciler and editor of comic books. He started his career in the late 1970s creating small press comics. In the late 1980s he began to work for Marvel Comics on their super-hero titles. His most notable work for the company was as writer and artist on the future-set super-hero series Guardians of the Galaxy. He left Marvel in 1992 to co-found Image Comics with Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane and Marc Silvestri. Valentino originated several projects at Image, which he published through his own "Shadowline" imprint. Unlike at Marvel, where Valentino worked on characters owned by that company, at Image the original "Shadowline" titles were all owned personally by him. Of these the titles the most notable was the super-hero series ShadowHawk, which initially he wrote and drew himself.

Business

Chairmen

• Richard Belluzzo, former president and Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft
• Greg D'Alba, executive vice president and chief operating officer of CNN Advertising Sales and Marketing for Turner Broadcasting Sales, Inc
• Carly Fiorina, former chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HP
• Richard Grasso, former chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange
• Lee Iacocca, former chairman of the Chrysler Corporation
• Paul Otellini (born October 12, 1950) is Intel Corporation's fifth Chief Executive Officer
• Sam Palmisano, chairman and CEO of IBM

Entrepreneurs

• Jerry Colangelo
• Pat Croce (b.1954), born Pasquale Croce, entrepreneur, once owner of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.
• Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. (b.1946), billionaire, former owner of the five-time Superbowl champion San Francisco 49ers.
• Fred De Luca, founder of Subway Sandwich.
• Tom Golisano (b.1942), billionaire founder of Paychex, owner of the Buffalo Sabres. He ran for Governor of New York in 1994, 1998 and 2002.
• Lelio "Les" Marino (1935?-2004), entrepreneur
• Robert Mondavi, born Robert Gerald Mondavi (born June 18, 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, is a leading vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. Robert Mondavi's parents emigrated from the Marche region of Italy and established a wine making business in the United States. Mondavi grew up in the Minnesota city of Virginia, where he attended Hibbing High School. Mondavi graduated from Stanford University in 1937 with a degree in economics and business administration. He worked with his father after the latter had acquired the Charles Krug Winery, established in 1861 in the Napa Valley.Robert Mondavi's autobiography Harvests of Joy was published in 1998. On December 22, 2004, Constellation Brands acquired the Mondavi vinery for nearly US$1.36 billion.
• Tommy Mottola former head of Sony Music Entertainment until 2003.
• Amedeo Obici
• Anthony T. Rossi, (1900-1993), was born as Antonio Talamo Rossi in Messina, Sicily. He had the equivalent of a high school education. He emigrated to the United States when he was 21 years old and educated himself to the point that he became an expert mathematician and mechanical engineer. He founded Tropicana Products, a producer of orange juice founded in 1947 in Bradenton, Florida in the United States which grew from 50 employees to over 8,000 in 2004, expanding into multiple product lines and became one of the world's largest producers and marketers of citrus juice.
• Jay Sarno

Finance

• Amedeo Giannini, founder in 1904 of Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States.

Publishing

• Bob Guccione founder and former publisher of Penthouse Magazine
• Leonard Riggio is owner of Barnes & Noble, the largest book retailer in the world. As of January 31 2004, the company operated 840 stores in 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
• Louis Rossetto (b.1949), founder and former publisher of Wired Magazine.

Criminals

Mobsters

• See List of Italian-American mobsters

Swindlers

• Tino De Angelis, a New York-based commodities trader who cornered the soybean oil market in 1963. The result was a massive crash of the futures market.
• Charles Ponzi, (1882-1949), one of the greatest swindlers in American history. Inventor of the Ponzi scheme technique.

Entertainers

Movie directors and producers

• Joseph Barbera, director, producer, and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Movie Studios
• Frank Borzage, famed for his mystical romanticism. For his 1927 film, Seventh Heaven he became the first person ever to win the Academy Award for Directing.
• Albert R. Broccoli, (1909-1996), the producer of all but one of the first 17 James Bond movies. His ancestors developed and named the popular vegetable in Italy in the 19th century.
• Barbara Broccoli
• Frank Capra (1897-1991), great American fimmaker - It's A Wonderful Life
• David Chase (b. 1945), born David DeCesare, creator of The Sopranos
• Michael Cimino (b.1939), film director - The Deer Hunter
• Danny DeVito
• Francis Ford Coppola (b. 1939), movie director
• Sofia Coppola (b. 1971), movie director and actress, daughter of Italian American director Francis Ford Coppola and English American Eleanor Coppola
• Gerard Damiano, director of Deep Throat.
• Brian De Palma (born 1940), movie director
• Robert Evans, born Robert J. Shapera ,(born June 29, 1930, New York, New York). Evans' career as an actor was short lived. Rather than continue working in front of the camera, he focused his talents behind the scenes. Evans was determined to become a successful producer. He was hired by Charles Bluhdorn, head of the Gulf + Western conglomerate, as part of a shakeup at Paramount Pictures. At the time Paramount was the ninth largest studio in Hollywood. Under Evans' direction as Head of Production and with the success of his films Rosemary's Baby (1968), Love Story (1970), The Godfather (1972) and Chinatown (1974), it became the largest.
• Vincent Gallo
• Gregory La Cava
• Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986), film director, father of Liza Minnelli.
• Martin Scorsese, movie director
• Tina Sinatra
• Quentin Tarantino, (b.1963), screenwriter, film director and actor - Pulp Fiction (Italian on his father's side)
• Stanley Tucci

Television

• Ivan Brunetti
• Adam Carolla (Italian on his father's side)
• Neil Cavuto
• Gary Dell'Abate
• Jimmy Kimmel (Italian on his mother's side)
• Jay Leno (b. 1950), stand-up comedian and host of The Tonight Show (Italian on his father's side)

Musicians

• Madonna Ciccone, singer (Italian on her father's side)
• John Petrucci, guitar player
• Ruggiero Ricci (b.1918), violin virtuoso
• John Serry, Sr. (1915 - 2003), born Giovanni Serrapica, concert accordionist, composer, arranger, educator & father of John Serry.
• Joseph Tarsia

Jazz musicians

• See also List of American jazz musicians of Sicilian origin
• Eddie Lang, (October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was a jazz guitarist, considered by many the finest of his era. Lang was born Salvatore Massaro, the son of an Italian-American instrument maker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At first, he took violin lessons for 11 years. In school he became friends with Joe Venuti, with whom he would work for much of his career.
• Chieli Minucci, smooth jazz guitarist
• Art Pepper, jazz musician
• Louis Prima (1910-1978), musician & entertainer
• Frank Rosolino
• John Serry (b. 1954) noted jazz pianist, composer, arranger and music educator.

Rock stars and musicians

• Steve Albini (b.1962), indie rock musician, producer.
• Freddy Cannon, (b.1940), born Frederick Anthony Picariello, was an American rock and roll singer. He had three top ten hits.
• Gary Cherone, former lead singer of Extreme and Van Halen.
• Bobby Darin (1936-1973), born Walden Robert Cassotto, was one of the most popular rock and roll teen idols of the late 1950s.
• Alan Dale, born Aldo Sigismondi,(July 9, 1926-April 20, 2002) was a singer of traditional popular and rock'n'roll music.
• Joey DeMaio, bassist, main songwriter and one of the founding members of the heavy metal band Manowar.
• Jon Bon Jovi (b. 1962), born John Frank Bongiovi, rock star, actor (Italian paternal grandfather)
• Felix Pappalardi, rock and roll bassist and producer
• Johnny Rivers, born John Ramistella, early Rock'N Roll singer of many hit records.
• Bobby Rydell, born Robert Louis Ridarelli in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (April 26, 1942) was a "teen idol" in the early days of Rock and Roll.
• Bruce Springsteen, rock star, songwriter (Italian on his mother's side)
• Johnny Thunders, born John A. Genzale, rock musician.
• Steven Tyler (b. 1951), born Steven Tolerico, rock star, songwriter (Italian on his father's side)
• Tony Visconti, rock music producer (based in Britain)
• Frank Zappa, (1940-1993), rock/jazz fusion musician, composer and satirist, of mixed Sicilian, Greek and Arab ancestry, father born in Alcamo, Sicily.

Songwriters

• James V. Monaco early American songwriter "You Made Me Love You".
• Laura Nyro songwriter (Italian father)
• Harry Warren (1893-1981), born Salvatore Guaragna, wrote more hit songs than anyone in early 20th century America
• Frank Zappa, (1940-1993), rock/jazz fusion musician, composer and satirist, of mixed Sicilian, Greek and Arab ancestry, father born in Alcamo, Sicily.

Singers

• Tony Bennett, born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, singer.
• Sonny Bono (1935-1998), born Salvatore Phillip Bono, singer, actor, and politician
• Lou Christie, born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco on February 19, 1943 in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania) .Already, Christie was frequently, if unfairly, written off by critics as an imitator of Frankie Valli as both men possessed similar falsetto vocals, and the ability to change almost effortlessly between it and their normal registers.
• Russ Columbo, born Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolpho Colombo (January 14,1908–September 1, 1934), was a singer, violinist and actor, most famous for his signature tune, "Some Call It Madness, But I Call It Love," and the legend surrounding his early death.
• Perry Como (1912-2001), musician
• Don Cornell (1919-2004), born Luigi Francisco Varlaro, a popular singer of the 1940s and 1950s.
• Jim Croce (1943-1973), singer/songwriter
• Rivers Cuomo
• Tommy DeVito, (born June 19, 1936) is a musician and singer, most well-known as a member and the lead guitarist of the pop group The Four Seasons. He was born in Belleville, New Jersey.
• Ani DiFranco (Italian American on her father's side)
• Ronnie James Dio (b. 1942) heavy metal singer
• Dion (b. 1939), singer
• Jimmy Durante (1893-1980)
• Connie Francis (b. 1936), born Concetta Rosemarie Franconero, singer.
• Bob Gaudio, (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He shot to musical fame at the age of 15 as a member of the Royal Teens when he co-wrote the hit "Short Shorts". For years afterward he seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder until he met Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi, all from Newark, New Jersey, forming the group that became the Four Seasons.
• Francesca Gregorini, (born Countess Francesca McKnight Donatella Romana Gregorini di Savingniano di Romagnia in 1968) is a singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of Jewish/Irish American model Barbara Bach and Italian businessman Augusto Gregorini, and stepdaughter of Ringo Starr. Until 2004, she was engaged to actress Portia de Rossi.
• Frankie Laine (b. 1913), born Frank Paul LoVecchio, one of the most successful singers in history.
• Mario Lanza, (1921-1959), operatic tenor and Hollywood movie star.
• Cyndi Lauper, (b. 1953), singer (of Sicilian heritage on her mother's side) whose melodic voice and wild costumes have come to epitomize the 1980s.
• Lindsay Lohan (Italian grandmother)
• Madonna (b. 1958), born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, singer (Italian American on her father's side)
• Dean Martin (1917-1995), born Dino Paul Crocceti singer & actor
• Al Martino (b. 1927), singer
• Nick Massi, (born Nicholas Macioci, September 19, 1935 - December 24, 2000) was the bass singer for the Four Seasons, born in Newark, New Jersey.
• Tim McGraw (b. 1967), country music singer and actor, Italian American on his mother's side
• Liza Minnelli (b. 1946), actress and singer, daughter of Irish American Judy Garland and Italian American Vincente Minnelli
• Lou Monte, (1917-1989)
• Stacie Orrico
• Jack Scott, born Giovanni Sacfone Jr.. Taught to play the guitar by his father, after serving in the U.S. Army he pursued a singing career and recording as "Jack Scott", in 1958 had a hit with "My True Love". In 1960, Scott recorded two Billboard Hot 100 hits. Both "What In the World's Come Over You" and "Burning Bridges" made it to the Top Five.
• Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)
• Gwen Stefani, singer/musician, best known as lead singer of pop/ska band No Doubt (Italian father)
• Frankie Valli, (born May 3, 1937 in the Italian First Ward of Newark, New Jersey as Francis Stephen Castelluccio) is best known as lead singer of The Four Seasons, one of the biggest music acts of the 1960s, which continued from then to the 1970s disco scene to the present day.
• Marc Terenzi (b. 1978), pop star, songwriter

Stand-up comedians

• Jeanine Garofalo (Italian on her father's side)
• Jay Leno(b. 1950), host of The Tonight Show (Italian on his father's side)

Entertainers who can't be categorized

• Toni Basil (b.1943), born Antonia Christina Basilotta, dancer, actress, singer
• Judy Canova, born Juliette Canova, (November 20, 1913 - died August 5, 1983) was a comedienne, actress, singer, and radio personality.
• Fabian (entertainer), (born February 6, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was ateen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Born Fabiano Anthony Bonaparte, he adopted the stage name Fabian Forte but has always been known by his first name only.
• Frank Lentini, born Francesco A. Lentini (1889 - 1966) was born in Siracusa, Sicily into a large family. He was born with three longer legs, two sets of genitals and one rudimentary foot on his third leg. His primary legs also grew into different lengths. At the age of nine, Lentini moved to the United States and entered the sideshow business.

Inventors

• Gerard J. Foschini
• Domingo Ghirardelli
• The Jacuzzi family. This family of seven sons and six daughters came to America in 1907. In 1915, they formed the Jacuzzi Brothers Incorporated, which supplied the American military with propellers. In 1926, they developed the deep well water pump that led to the famous whirlpool bath.
• Antonio Meucci, (b.1808), in june 2002, credited by the Congress of the United States with the invention of the telephone, instead of Alexander Graham Bell.
• Nick LaRocca (1889-1961), self-proclaimed "inventor of jazz"
• Lorenzo Ponza
• Charles Ponzi, (1882-1949), one of the greatest swindlers in American history. Inventor of the Ponzi scheme technique.
• Francis Rogallo, engineer at NASA, designed the Rogallo wing, which found its greatest success in hang gliders and kites.
• Andrew Toti
• Dr. Andrew Viterbi (b.1935), billionaire, cofounder of Qualcomm, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm. Was born in Bergamo, Italy to Sephardic Jewish parents and immigrated with them in 1939 to the United States as a refugee
• Frank Zamboni

Jurists

• Samuel Alito (b. 1950), Supreme Court nominee.
• Vincent Bugliosi (b.1934), succesfully prosecuted Charles Manson and is also an expert on theJohn F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy assassinations.
• Antonin Scalia (b. 1936), Supreme Court justice.
• John Sirica, judge most famous for presiding over the Watergate hearings.

Law enforces

• Joe Arpaio, born Joseph M. Arpaio (born June 14, 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.
• Donnie Brasco, undercover FBI agent
• Louis Freeh, (born January 6, 1950 in Jersey City, New Jersey) was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton to be the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The United States Senate confirmed him on August 6, 1993 and he served as FBI Director from September 1, 1993 until he resigned on June 25, 2001 just short of the official end of his 10-year term.
• Frank Serpico

Mathematicians

• Milton Sirotta, He is known for coining the word googol in 1920 when he was nine years old.
• Michael Viscardi, a senior from San Diego, won a $100,000 college scholarship, the top individual prize in the 2005–2006 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Media

Anchors & Reporters

• Rob Marciano, news and weather anchor for the CNN News Group and is based in CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. He joined CNN in May 2003

Sports broadcasters

• 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!

Journalists

• David Brancaccio, journalist.
• Mark Ronchetti is a newscaster on Portland, Oregon's KOIN TV station, which is an affiliate of CBS. Ronchetti is Italian American of Sicilian descent.

Military

• Major Don Gentile, Dominic Salvatore Gentile (December 6, 1920 - January 28, 1951) was a U S Air Force officer.
• Edmund P. Giambastiani, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Raymond T. Odierno, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former commander of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division
• Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Anthony Zinni

Politicians

• See List of Italian-American politicians by state

Governors and former governors

• John Baldacci, governor of Maine
• Donald Carcieri, governor of Rhode Island
• Argeo Paul Cellucci (b. 1948), former governor of Massachusetts
• Jon Corzine, governor of New Jersey.
• Mario Cuomo (b. 1932), former governor of New York
• Edward D. DiPrete, former governor of Rhode Island
• James Florio,former governor of New Jersey(1990-1994)
• Foster Furcolo, governor of Massachusetts (1957-1961)
• Ella T. Grasso (1919-1981), born Ella Rose Tambussi Grasso, first woman to be elected governor of a state Connecticut without succeeding her husband.
• Andrew H. Longino, former governor of Mississippi.
• Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona
• John Orlando Pastore, governor of Rhode Island
• George Pataki, governor of New York (Italian maternal grandparent)
• John A. Volpe, governor of Massachusetts (1961-1963;1965-1969)

Mayors and former mayors

• Joseph Alioto, mayor of San Francisco.
• Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro, Jr., mayor of Baltimore (1947-1959)
• Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro, III, mayor of Baltimore (1967-1971)
• Anthony Celebrezze mayor of Cleveland, Ohio born in Anzi,PZ (Italy)
• Vincent Cianci, Jr, former mayor of Providence, Rhode Island
• John DeStefano, Jr. mayor of New Haven,CT
• Frank Fasi, born Frank Francis Fasi (August 27, 1920) is a politician best known as the former Mayor of the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Rudolph Giuliani (b. 1944), Mayor of New York during 9/11
• Pam Iorio mayor of Tampa
• Vincent R. Impellitteri, (1900-1987) Mayor of New York (1950-1953), born in Isnello,Sicily.
• Fiorello LaGuardia (1882-1947), congressman and Mayor of New York
• Anthony M. Masiello mayor of Buffalo
• Thomas Menino (b.1942), former mayor of Boston
• George Moscone, former mayor of San Francisco
• Frank Rizzo, mayor of Philadelphia
• Angelo Rossi, former mayor of San Francisco
• Victor Schiro, former mayor of New Orleans (1961-69)

Prelates

• Francis X. DiLorenzo, (born April 15, 1942) is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu in Hawaii. He is currently the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia.
• Msgr. Joseph Anthony Ferrario, (March 3, 1926-December 12, 2003) was the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and served from 1982 to 1993.
• James Groppi, born James Edmund Groppi, 1930-1985) was a Roman Catholic priest and noted civil rights activist. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Italian immigrant parents.
• Joseph Rosati, (1789 - 1843) was a U.S. (Italian-born) Catholic bishop. He served as the first Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843.

Cardinals

• Justin Rigali, (born April 19, 1935), is an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He currently serves as Archbishop of Philadelphia overseeing the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania (Italian father)
• Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua, (b. June 17, 1923 at Brooklyn, New York) is an American priest who became an archbishop and cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was one of eleven children born to immigrant parents in Brooklyn.

Scientists

• Eugenio Calabi
• Renato Dulbecco
• Federico Faggin
• Robert Fano (b. 1917), computer scientist
• Anthony Fauci is a native of Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Fauci has made seminal contributions to the understanding of how the AIDS virus destroys the body's defenses leading to its susceptibility to deadly infections. In 2003, an Institute for Scientific Information study indicated that in the twenty year period from 1983 to 2002, Dr. Fauci was the 13th most-cited scientist among the 2.5 to 3 million authors in all disciplines throughout the world who published articles in scientific journals during that time frame. Dr. Fauci was the ninth most-cited scientist in the field of immunology in the period from January 1993 to June 30, 2003. He serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals; as an editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine; and as author, coauthor, or editor of more than 1,000 scientific publications, including several textbooks.

• Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), physicist
• Albert Ghiorso nuclear scientist who helped discover several chemical elements on the periodic table
• Riccardo Giacconi
• Salvador Luria
• Rita Levi-Montalcini (Italian Sephardic Jewish)
• Franco Modigliani (Italian Sephardic Jewish)
• Gian-Carlo Rota
• Emilio Segre, Nobel-winning physicist and academic
• Andrew Viterbi (Italian Sephardic Jewish)
• Philip Zimbardo

Academics

• A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938-1989), academic, Major League Baseball commissioner (Italian father)
• Lino Graglia at the University of Texas in Austin

Sports

• See also List of members of the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

Athletes

• Luis Monti, athlete
• Mary Lou Retton (b. 1968), Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics (original family name was Rotunda; changed by her grandfather)

Baseball

• Yogi Berra (b.1925), born Lawrence Peter Berra. Former catche and manager in Major League Baseball. The Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yogi Bear was named after him.
• Bobby Bonilla
• Dom DiMaggio {b. 1917), baseball player
• Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999), Baseball Hall of Famer
• Vince DiMaggio (1912-1986), baseball player
• Carl Furillo, baseball player
• Joe Garagiola He grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis known as The Hill. He was a talented athlete, as was his childhood friend and competitor, Yogi Berra. When they were teenagers Garagiola was considered the better baseball prospect by pro scouts, although in his writing Garagiola is always complimentary about Berra's ability.
• Jason Giambi
• Tommy Lasorda
• Tony Lazzeri
• Ernie Lombardi
• Lee Mazzilli
• Leo Mazzone
• Sal Maglie, baseball player
• Mike Mussina
• Sam Perlozzo
• Mike Piazza (b. 1968), baseball star
• Vic Raschi
• Phil Rizzuto (b.1917), born Philip Francis Rizzuto, baseball player
• Mike Scioscia
• Joe Torre

Basketball

• Tom Izzo (b. 1955), basketball coach
• Rick Pitino (b. 1952), basketball coach
• Jim Valvano (1946-1993), basketball coach and sportscaster
• Dick Vitale (b. 1939), basketball coach and sportscaster

Boxers

• Lou Ambers (1913-1995), born Luigi d'Ambrosio, boxer.
• Carmen Basilio
• Battling Battalino
• Tony Canzoneri (1908-1959)
• Cus D'Amato
• Angelo Dundee (b.1923), born Angelo Merena, boxing trainer.
• Lou Duva (b.1922), boxing trainer.
• Tony Galento
• Frankie Genaro
• Joey Giardello (b.1930), born Carmine Orlando Tilelli, boxing star during the 1950s and 1960s.
• Rocky Graziano
• Pete Herman (1896-1973), born Peter Gulotta, was one of the all time great bantamweight world champions.
• Harry Jeffra (b. 1914), born Ignacio Guiffo
• Rocky Kansas (1895-1954), born Rocco Tozzo, former lightweight champion of the world.
• Fidel La Barba
• Jake LaMotta, (b.1921), a former boxer whose life is portrayed in the 1980s movie Raging Bull. The "Bronx Bull" was played by Robert DeNiro.
• Ray Mancini
• Rocky Marciano (1924-1969), boxer, only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated
• Joey Maxim (1922-2001), born Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli, boxer, world light heavyweight champion.
• Willie Pastrano
• Willie Pep (b.1922), born Gugliemo Papaleo
• Mike Rossman (Italian father)
• Johnny Wilson (1893-1985), born Giovanni Panica, boxer.
• Young Corbett III,born Raffaele Capabianca Giordano (May 27, 1905 in Potenza, Campania, Italy, d. 1993) was the world welterweight boxing champion.

Figure skaters

• Brian Boitano

Football

• Alan Ameche
• Mark Bavaro
• Joe Bellino
• Angelo Bertelli
• Nick Buoniconti
• Gino Cappelletti
• John Cappelletti
• Franco Harris (Italian mother)
• Lou Little
• Vince Lombardi, (1913-1970), legendary football coach.
• Dan Marino (b.1961), Hall of Fame quarterback for the Miami Dolphins widely regarded to be the "greatest passer in NFL history"
• Joe Montana (b.1956), widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.
• Leo Nomellini
• Bill Parcells, football coach
• Joe Paterno, legendary football coach for Penn State.
• Brian Piccolo
• Vinny Testaverde
• Dick Vermeil, football coach

Golfers

• Mark Calcavecchia
• Chris DiMarco
• Gene Sarazen
• Ken Venturi

Horse racers

• Eddie Arcaro, (February 19, 1916–November 4, 1997) was athoroughbred horse-racing jockey. He was born George Edward Arcaro in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ice hockey players

• Tony Amonte
• Tom Barrasso
• Mike Eruzione
• Cammi Granato
• Tony Granato
• Mike Modano
• Todd Bertuzzi

Race car drivers

• Mario Andretti (b. 1940), auto racing legend
• Ralph DePalma (January 23, 1884 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion. Born in Troia, Foggia, Apulia, Italy, DePalma's family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old. In 1911, DePalma won what today is referred to as the first IndyCar championship racing series that began with the Milwaukee Mile Championship Car Race over a dirt oval in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1912 and again in 1914, DePalma won the Elgin National Trophy at Elgin, Illinois and in 1914 he scored what he called his greatest victory when he beat Barney Oldfield to capture the Vanderbilt Cup in Santa Monica, California.Things got even better that year when he again won his second U.S. national driving championship. The following year he drove to victory at the 1915 Indianapolis 500.

Swimmers

• Matt Bondi, born Matthew Nicholas Biondi (October 8, 1965 in Palo Alto) is an Olympic swimmer. He swam in the 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and won seven medals in the 1988 Summer Olympics alone (5 were gold medals). In total he has won eleven Olympics medals (eight gold, two silver and a bronze medal) in three Olympics.

Tennis players

• Jennifer Capriati, (b. 1976), professional tennisplayer

Wrestlers

• John Cena, the current WWE Champion, 3-time U.S. Champion. Also a rapper and an actor.
• Gorilla Monsoon, born Robert Otto Marella
• Lisa Moretti, female professional wrestling champion known as Ivory with WWF-WWE
• Bruno Sammartino, born Bruno Laopardo Franceso Sammartino (October 6, 1936 in Abruzzo, Italy), is a former professional wrestler. As a child he and his family hid in caves from German soldiers during the latter stages of World War II; around 1951 he came to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "The Italian Strongman" has often been called the "Living Legend" of professional wrestling and is considered one of the greatest performers professional wrestling has ever known.
• Peter Senerca former professional wrestler also known as Tazz.
• Nunzio Professional wrestler 2-time cruiserweight champion with WWE.
• Johnny Stamboli

Writers

• David Baldacci, brother of John Baldacci, current governor of Maine
• John Ciardi, poet and etymologist
• Gregory Corso, poet
• Don DeLillo, (b.1936), author best known for his novels.
• Pietro Di Donato, writer
• John Fante, novelist and screenwriter
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet
• 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
• Camille Paglia, post-feminist literary and cultural critic
• Michael Parenti
• Mario Pei
• Joseph D. Pistone
• Mario Puzo (1920-1999), The Godfather author
• R.A. Salvatore,(1959), born Robert Anthony Salvatore is a science-fiction and fantasy author best known for his Forgotten Realms and Star Wars novels. Has sold over 10.000.000 books.
• Gay Talese

Italian Americans who were the first in achieving something

• Frank Borzage, for his 1927 film, Seventh Heaven he became the first person ever to win the Academy Award for Directing.
• Anthony Celebrezze, (1910-1998), born in Anzi, Potenza, Italy and the first non-native to be appointed to the U.S.Cabinet as Secretary of the Departement of Health, Education and Welfare under the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations.
• Ella T. Grasso (1919-1981), born Ella Rose Tambussi Grasso, first woman to be elected governor of a state Connecticut without succeeding her husband.
• Dennis Tito (b.1940), the world's first space tourist. Growing up in Queens, New York, with immigrant parents who truly believed in the American Dream. After his space trip, Tito reflected: "The experience taught me that I could achieve anything if I set my mind to it."
• Joe Valachi (1904-1971), the first wiseguy to squeal to the senate about organized crime.
• Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), born Rodolfo Alfonso Rafaello Piero Filiberto Gugliemi di Valentina d'Antoguolla, Hollywood's first sex symbol and the first "Latin Lover"

Italian Americans who can't be categorized

• Giada De Laurentiis, (born August 22, 1970) is a chef and hostess of the Food Network program Everyday Italian. Giada De Laurentiis was born in Rome, the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis and Silvana Mangano, who was a noted Italian actress of her day.
• Annette Funicello (born October 22, 1942) was one of Walt Disney's most popular Mouseketeers. Born in Utica, New York, USA to an Italian-American family, she took dancing and music lessons as a child and was discovered by Disney while performing in Swan Lake. Her family moved to southern California when she was an adolescent. She was cast as one of the original "Mouseketeers", and went on to television roles in Zorro and Elfego Baca, and Disney-produced movies such as The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Monkey's Uncle.
• Mike Raspino
• Kitty Genovese, born Catherine Genovese (1935 - March 13, 1964) was a New York City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York. The circumstances of her murder and the apparent action (or inaction) of her neighbors were sensationalized by a newspaper article published two weeks later and prompted investigation into the psychological phenomenon that became known as the bystander effect or Genovese syndrome.
• William Paca, signer of the American Declaration of Independence (distant Italian ancestry)
• Peter Rizzo
• John Scarne, (1903-1985), born Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia, a world famous gambling expert and one of the best sleight-of-hand card performers in history.
• Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General of the United States Department of Transportation
• Michael Schiavo, husband of Terri Schiavo, the woman whose medical condition and subsequent court case garnered much media attention
• Jack Valenti, (b.1921), of Sicilian heritage, longtime president of the Motion Picture Association of America (1966-2004).

External links

• List of famous Italian-Americans
• List of Italian Ancestry