List of Italian-American entertainers

This is a list of Italian American entertainers.

Composers and conductors

Fashion models

Theater directors

Movie directors and producers

Television personalities

Musicians
See also List of Sicilian-American jazz musicians.

Songwriters
  • Francesca Battistelli (born 1985), gospel music songwriter and performer
  • Michael Bradley, songwriter, singer, artist, former lead singer for the rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders; 3/4 Italian
  • Peter Cincotti (born 1983), singer-pianists and songwriter
  • Rivers Cuomo (born 1970), member of Weezer
  • Bob DiPiero, songwriter, Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame and 1998 Nashville Music Award Songwriter of the Year (has written numerous hits, including "American Made" and "The Girl's Gone Wild")
  • Bob Gaudio, songwriter principally for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
  • Christina Grimmie, singer and songwriter, known for her participation in the NBC singing competition The Voice
  • James V. Monaco, early American songwriter "You Made Me Love You"
  • Laura Nyro, songwriter, Italian father, Northern Irish mother
  • Tony Romeo, songwriter, known for work on The Partridge Family
  • Patti Scialfa, father of Sicilian ancestry
  • Harry Warren (1893–1981), born Salvatore Guaragna, wrote more hit songs than anyone else in early 20th-century America

Singers
  • Al Alberts, born Al Albertini, singer and musician known for work with The Four Aces
  • Romina Arena, pop classical crossover singer
  • Frankie Avalon (born 1940), born Francis Avallone, singer, popular in the late 50s and 60s; actor in beach party movies
  • Kelsea Ballerini (born 1993), country music singer
  • Sara Bareilles (born 1979), singer and songwriter
  • Kaci Battaglia, singer
  • Antonia Bennett, singer, daughter of Tony Bennett and Sandra Grant
  • Tony Bennett, born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, singer
  • Lory Bianco (born 1963), singer and actress
  • Sonny Bono (1935–1998), born Salvatore Phillip Bono, singer, actor, and politician
  • Eddie Brigati (born 1945), singer, composer for the 60s rock band The Young Rascals
  • Gioia Bruno, born Carmen Gioia Bruno, singer
  • Freddy Cannon (born 1940), born Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr., rock and roll singer popular in the 50s and early 60s
  • Keith Caputo, vocalist for Life of Agony, as well as a solo artist
  • Harry Wayne Casey (born 1940), leader of K.C. and the Sunshine Band; Italian mother
  • Micheal Castaldo, singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur
  • Felix Cavaliere (born 1942), singer-songwriter for 60s rock band The Young Rascals
  • Lou Christie (born 1943), born Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania
  • Perry Como (1912–2001), born Pierino Ronald Como
  • Don Cornell (1919–2004), born Luigi Francesco Varlaro, a popular singer of the 1940s and 1950s
  • Chrissy Costanza (born 1995), singer-songwriter for the rock band Against The Current
  • Jim Croce (1943–1973), born James Joseph Croce
  • Rivers Cuomo (born 1970), Weezer
  • Victor Damiani
  • Vic Damone (born 1928), born Vito Rocco Farinola, singer
  • James Darren (born 1936), born James Ercolani, actor, singer, teen idol
  • Jimmy Durante (1893–1980), singer, pianist, comedian, and actor
  • Diana DeGarmo (born 1987), runner-up on American Idol (Season 3); half Italian[11]
  • Johnny Desmond (1920–1985), born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone, popular singer
  • Tommy DeVito (born 1936), musician and singer, best known as a member and the lead guitarist of the rock band The Four Seasons
  • Ani DiFranco (born 1970), Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, songwriter (Italian American on her father's side)
  • Dion DiMucci (born 1939), better known as Dion
  • Kara Dioguardi, singer of Italian and Albanian heritage
  • Eamon, Italian mother (née Zizzo), Irish father
  • Lita Ford, also guitarist, born in England; Italian mother
  • Fabian Forte (born 1942), singer, teen idol, actor popular in the late 50s and 60s
  • Sergio Franchi (1926–1990), born Sergio Franci Galli, singer, actor, television performer, Broadway musicals, Las Vegas performer
  • Connie Francis (born 1936), born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, singer
  • Frankee, born Nicole Francine Aiello, singer
  • Annette Funicello (1942–2013), singer, actress, Mickey Mouse Club and beach party movies in the 60s
  • Frank Gari (born 1942), late 1950s singer; founder of Gari Communications, a news music company that created the CBS Enforcer Collection and the "Eyewitness News Theme" for ABC O&O and affiliated local newscasts
  • Bob Gaudio (born 1942), singer, songwriter, and record producer from the Bronx, New York; shot to 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, forming the band that became The Four Seasons
  • Sonny Geraci (born 1947), singer, from Cleveland, Ohio, lead vocalist of the Outsiders and Climax; had two gold records, Time Won't Let Me, 1966, and Precious & Few, 1972, Number One Top Forty Hit, Cashbox Magazine
  • Selena Gomez, Italian on mother's side
  • Mikalah Gordon (born 1988), singer and eleventh-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol[12]
  • Eydie Gorme (1928–2013), father was from Sicily
  • Lou Gramm (born 1950), born Louis Andrew Grammatico, rock vocalist for Foreigner
  • Ariana Grande
  • Mitch Grassi, member of Grammy Award-winning a cappella group Pentatonix
  • Buddy Greco (born 1926), born Armando Greco, singer
  • Francesca Gregorini (born 1968), born Countess Francesca McKnight Donatella Romana Gregorini di Savingnano di Romagna, singer and songwriter; daughter of Jewish/Irish American model Barbara Bach and Italian businessman Augusto Gregorini, and stepdaughter of Ringo Starr
  • Frank Guarrera (1923–2007), opera baritone
  • Halsey (born 1994), born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, singer-songwriter
  • Phyllis Hyman (1949–1995), jazz and R&B singer; father is Cuban/Italian and mother was African American
  • Jessicka, born Jessica Fodera in Brooklyn
  • Alicia Keys
  • Morgana King (born 1930), born Maria Grazia Morgana Messina, jazz singer
  • Julius La Rosa (born 1930), singer popular in the 1950s; was fired on the air by Arthur Godfrey on his live television show
  • Rudy La Scala – singer and composer
  • Lady Gaga (born 1986), born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, singer and songwriter
  • Frankie Laine (1913–2007), born Frank Paul LoVecchio, one of the most successful singers in history
  • Mario Lanza (1921–1959), born Alfred Arnold Cocozza, RCA Victor recording star, operatic tenor, and Hollywood movie star
  • Cyndi Lauper, part Italian[13]
  • Demi Lovato, singer, also has Mexican ancestry
  • Madonna, born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Michigan, singer, songwriter, record producer and film director, daughter of Italian father and French-Canadian mother
  • Sanjaya Malakar, American Idol season six finalist; half-Italian through his mother
  • Pablo Manavello – Italian-born Venezuelan composer, guitarist, singer and songwriter
  • Guy Marks (1923-1987) (Mario Scarpa) actor, comedian, singer and impressionist
  • Dean Martin (1917–1995), born Dino Crocetti, singer and film actor, one of the most famous music artists of the 1950s[8]
  • Deana Martin, singer, actress, and author; daughter of Dean Martin
  • Al Martino (born 1927), born Alfred Cini in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Nick Massi (1935–2000), born Nicholas Macioci, bass singer for the Four Seasons, born in Newark, New Jersey
  • Don Mclean (born 1945), singer-songwriter popular in the 1970s, known for "American Pie"; Italian mother
  • Tim McGraw (born 1967), country music singer and actor, mother is of Italian descent
  • Liza Minnelli (born 1946), singer, actress; Italian father
  • Anna Moffo (1932–2006), lyric-coloratura soprano
  • Lou Monte (1917–1989)
  • Stacie Orrico (born 1986), contemporary Christian music/pop singer[14]
  • Nicola Paone (1915–2003), singer-songwriter
  • Gretchen Parlato (born 1976), jazz singer
  • Johnny Rivers (born 1942), born John Ramistella, popular rock singer, songwriter and guitarist popular in the 1960s and 1970s
  • Jimmy Roselli (1925–2011), singer
  • Bobby Rydell (born 1942), born Robert Ridarelli, singer, popular in the 50s and 60s
  • Haley Scarnato
  • Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), born in Hoboken, became one of the most popular singers of the 20th century
  • Frank Sinatra, Jr., son of Frank Sinatra
  • Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank Sinatra
  • Britney Spears, born Britney Jean Spears, is an American recording artist and entertainer. Her grandmother Lilian Irene Portelli was a Sicilian immigrant.
  • Bruce Springsteen, (born 1949) His mother, Adele Ann (Zerilli), was of Italian ancestry
  • Gwen Stefani, singer and musician, best known as lead singer of pop/ska band No Doubt; Italian father
  • Connie Stevens (born 1938), born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia, singer and actress
  • Susan Tedeschi (born 1970), blues and soul singer and songwriter
  • John Tartaglia (born 1978), singer, actor, dancer and puppeteer who began performing part-time with Sesame Street's puppetry team at age 16
  • Marc Terenzi (born 1978), pop star, songwriter
  • Pia Toscano (born 1988), contestant on the tenth season of American Idol
  • Steven Tyler (born 1948), born Steven Tallarico - Italian Grandfather - Rock Vocalist for Aerosmith
  • Jerry Vale (1930–2014), born Genaro Louis Vitaliano, singer
  • Frankie Valli (born 1937), born Francis Stephen Castelluccio in the Italian First Ward of Newark, New Jersey; 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
  • Franco Ventriglia (1922–2012), born Francesco Ventriglia, opera singer, sang bass in every major European opera house in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s
  • Timi Yuro (1940–2004), born Rosemarie Timotea Aurro
  • Frank Zappa (1940–1993), rock singer, guitarist

Stand-up comedians

Adult movie stars

Adult models

Professional wrestlers

Entertainers who cannot be categorized

References
  1. Bulgari Names Lily Aldridge Ambassador for Latest Campaign hollywoodreporter.com
  2. Jersey Shore (27 January 2019). "Snooki & JWoww's DNA Test Results Will Shock You 💉Moms with Attitude - MTV" – via YouTube.
  3. "CNN Transcript". CNN.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 5, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Archived May 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine"Suzette Charles, born Suzette De Gaetano, was the first Italian American to win the Miss America title as the second runner up and replaced Vanessa Williams in the 1984 contest."
  6. Noted as one of several Italian Americans at "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 8, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link); "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 20, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Russ Columbo was born January 14, 1908, in Camden, New Jersey, the twelfth child of Italian immigrants Nicola and Giulia"
  7. Archived May 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine"ITALIAN AMERICANS IN POPULAR MUSIC...Born Alfred Cucozza in Philadelphia in 1921, Mario Lanza, took his mother's name as his stage name and became the first vocalist to sell 2.5 million albums and the first singer to receive a gold disc for his recording of "Be My Love.""
  8. http://www.italiansrus.com/articles/subs/crooners.htm
  9. Perry - "The 54-year-old rock guitarist grew up in Hopedale in an Italian-Portuguese family and said a passion for food is "in my blood.'’"
  10. Van Zandt - "I am Italian. Springsteen's mostly Italian, too. We're both Italians with Dutch names, one of the many things we have in common. My mother remarried when I was young, and my stepfather adopted me."
  11. "Nationality: Mexican/Italian"
  12. "TVG: So you're ready to become a Mafia princess? Mikalah: I am. I'm a good Italian girl!"
  13. Lauper, Cyndi (August 2001). "Cyndi Lauper and Lou Reed" (Interview). Interviewed by Lou Reed. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  14. Orrico - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "The Italian-American songstress..."
  15. "Kendra Lust biography – IMDb". IMDb.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  16. "12 Things you probably didn't know about the WWE divas Nikki and Brie Bella". E! Online. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  17. "Roman Reigns Reveals The Real Reason Minorities Struggle In The WWE". Inquisitr. February 22, 2018.
  18. "The week in wrestling: Mandy Rose takes unconventional path to WWE stardom". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  19. Wein, Gary. "New Jersey Stage". New Jersey Stage.
  20. Peterson, Chris. "Onstage Blog". www.onstageblog.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014.
  21. The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia edited by Salvatore J. LaGumina, Frank J. Cavaioli, Salvatore Primeggia, Joseph A. Varacalli
  22. Kelley, Kitty (1986). His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra. Bantam Books Trade Paperbacks. pp. 362–3. ISBN 978-0-553-38618-9.
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