List of Hungarian Americans

This is a list of notable Hungarian Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

Many Hungarians went to the United States during the Second World War and after the Soviet invasion in 1956 during Operation Safe Haven.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

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

List

Actors

• Don Adams – Get Smart; father was a Hungarian Jew[1]
• Vilma Bánky[2][3]
• Drew Barrymore – mother is a Hungarian immigrant.[4][5]
• Judith Barsi – daughter of Hungarian parents
• Mayim Bialik
• Adrien Brody – mother is Hungarian
• Agnes Bruckner
• Dove Cameron
• Stephanie Courtney
• Jamie Lee Curtis – paternal grandparents were Hungarian Jews[6]
• Tony Curtis – parents were Hungarian Jews[7][8]
• Matthew Daddario – actor
• Bill Dana[9]
• Rodney Dangerfield[10]
• Kim Darby
• Peter Falk – Columbo
• Sherilyn Fenn
• Eva Gabor[11][12]
• Zsa Zsa Gabor[13]
• Olga Grey – silent film actress
• Mariska Hargitay – father, former bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, is of Hungarian descent
• Shawn Hatosy
• Goldie Hawn – maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jews
• Harry Houdini – born Erik Weisz, Hungary, March 24, 1874
• Kate Hudson – two maternal great-grandparents were Hungarian Jews
• Elizabeth Kaitan
• Robert Karvelas – cousin of Don Adams and Dick Yarney
• Natalie Kingston
• Ernie Kovacs – actor, entertainer, father is a Hungarian immigrant
• David Krumholtz – mother is a Hungarian Jewish immigrant
• Peter Lorre
• Jon Lovitz
• Bela Lugosi – most notably remembered for portraying Count Dracula in 1931 for Universal
• Paul Lukas
• Ali MacGraw – maternal grandparents were of Hungarian Jewish descent
• Ilona Massey (née Harmassy)
• Paul Newman – father was of Hungarian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent, maternal grandparents were Slovaks from Hungary
• Marisol Nichols
• Michael Pataki
• Joe Penner
• Joaquin Phoenix – maternal grandmother was of Hungarian Jewish descent
• River Phoenix – maternal grandmother was of Hungarian Jewish descent
• John Paul Pitoc – father is an immigrant of Hungarian descent
• Freddie Prinze – Jewish father immigrated to U.S. in 1934 from Hungary
• Freddie Prinze Jr.
• Ted Raimi – Jewish American actor, Xena, Warrior Princess; ancestors came from Russia and Hungary
• Jerry Seinfeld – father was of Hungarian Jewish descent
• William Shatner – Canadian-American actor, of Hungarian Jewish descent
• Shaun Sipos
• Bobbi Starr
• Jessica Szohr – paternal grandfather was of Hungarian descent
• Michael Vartan – paternal grandmother was from Hungary
• Cornel Wilde – parents were Hungarian Jews

Filmmakers

• Nimród Antal (born 1973) film director[14]
• László Benedek – film director
• Gabor Csupo – animator of Rugrats and early Simpsons
• George Cukor – film director[15][16]
• Michael Curtiz (née Kertesz) – director of Casablanca; Academy Award winner
• Frank Darabont – producer and director[17]
• William S. Darling – designer, winner of three Oscar awards
• André de Toth – film director
• Jules Engel – animator, filmmaker and teacher
• Joe Eszterhas – screenwriter (Basic Instinct, Flashdance)[18][19]
• William Fox – founder of 20th Century Fox
• Alexander Korda – director
• László Kovács – cinematographer (Easy Rider)
• Andrew Laszlo – cinematographer
• László Marton – theatre director[20]
• Peter Medak – director
• Ferenc Molnár – dramatist and novelist
• George Pal – director, producer, cinematographer
• Gabriel Pascal – movie producer
• Joe Pasternak – producer of Universal Studios
• Sam Raimi – film director, producer; brother of Ted Raimi
• Steven Spielberg – has Jewish Hungarian ancestors
• Andrew G. Vajna – movie producer, co-founder of Carolco Pictures (Rambo, Terminator, Basic Instinct, Total Recall, Evita)
• King Wallis Vidor – film producer, screenwriter and film director; grandfather was Charles Vidor refugee of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution
• Jules White – producer
• Vilmos Zsigmond – cinematographer, Academy Award winner (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
• Adolph Zukor – founder of Paramount Pictures

Fine artists

• Robert Capa – photographer
• Lajos (Louis) Jambor – post-impressionism painter, illustrator, muralist
• Steven Kemenyffy – ceramic artist, known for his raku work.
• Csaba Markus – artist, publisher
• Albert Nemethy – painter, noted for being one of the Hudson Valley's most legendary art figures.[21]
• Tamás Révész – photographer
• Frank Varga, sculptor
• Ferenc Varga, sculptor

Sports people

• Howard Komives – professional basketball player.
• Julius Boros – professional golfer; two-time U.S. Open winner and oldest person ever to win a major tournament (PGA Championship, 1968)
• Ralph Branca – professional baseball player; mother was of Hungarian Jewish descent[22]
• Greg Camarillo (born 1982) – football player
• Larry Csonka – football player[23]
• Ed Doheny – baseball player
• Bertalan de Nemethy – show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team (1955–1980)
• Nick Fazekas – basketball player[24]
• Kirk Ferentz – American football coach (currently with University of Iowa)[25]
• Susan Francia – Olympic and world champion rower
• Jim Furyk – PGA golfer; father is of partial Hungarian descent
• Billy Gabor – basketball player
• Charlie Gogolak – football player
• Pete Gogolak – football player; invented "soccer style" kicking
• Lou Groza – football player
• Katherine Hadford – figure skater; Hungarian mother
• Mickey Hargitay – bodybuilder, father of Mariska Hargitay[26][27]
• Charles Horváth – Hungarian-American soccer player.
• Les Horvath – 1944 Heisman Trophy winner
• Tim Howard – soccer player[28][29]
• Al Hrabosky – baseball player[30]
• Béla Károlyi – born in Kolozsvár, Hungary (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania); coached Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci; trained gymnasts alongside his wife Marta in the USA at the National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas until the center's closing in 2018
• Karch Kiraly – volleyball player and coach[31][32]
• Doug Kotar – pro football player
• Frank Kovacs – tennis player
• Joe Kovacs – world champion shot putter; paternal grandfather is Hungarian
• Jack Lengyel – football coach
• Ted Ligety – Olympic and world champion alpine ski racer
• Joe Medwick – baseball player, inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968
• Zoltan Mesko – football punter
• Charles Nagy – baseball player
• Matt Nagy – pro football quarterback and coach
• Joe Namath – football player[33][34]
• Nick Nemeth – professional wrestler better known by his WWE ring name of Dolph Ziggler
• Tom Orosz – pro football player
• Matthew Polinsky – professional wrestler and commentator better known by his WWE ring name of Corey Graves
• Allie Quigley – basketball player
• Jack Rudnay – pro football player
• Monica Seles – tennis player[35]
• Dave Shula – football WR/PR, football coach
• Don Shula – football coach[36][37]
• Dan Sileo – football player
• Mike Shula – football quarterback, football coach
• Rebecca Soni – Olympic and world champion backstroke swimmer
• Joe Theismann – former NFL / CFL football player turned broadcaster
• Jim Tomsula – former NFL Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers
• Courtney Vandersloot – basketball player
• Scott Zolak – former pro football quarterback, announcer
• Teddy Atlas – boxing trainer and fight commentator
• Kevin Toth – former shot putter

Scientists

• Réka Albert
• Béla H. Bánáthy – linguist, systems scientist, and professor
• Albert-László Barabási
• Zoltán Bay
• László Bíró – inventor of the ballpoint pen
• Dorothy Blum - computer scientist
• Arpad Elo
• Paul Erdős – mathematician
• Milton Friedman – economist, Nobel Prize (1976)
• József Galamb – mechanical engineer, designer of the Ford Model T
• Peter Carl Goldmark – engineer (LP record, color television)
• Sidney Gottlieb
• Paul Halmos – mathematician
• Stevan Harnad – scientist
• John Harsanyi – economist, game theory in economics, Nobel Prize (1994)
• Csaba Horváth
• Imre Izsak
• John George Kemeny – scientist (BASIC programming language)
• Nicholas Kurti – physicist
• Cornelius Lanczos – physicist
• Erno Laszlo – dermatologist and cosmetic businessman
• Peter Lax – mathematician
• Gabor Matt - neurologist, spiritual leader
• George Andrew Olah – chemist, Nobel Prize (1994)
• Ivan Raimi – Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
• Julius Rebek – chemist
• Hans Selye – physician, theory of psychological stress
• Charles Simonyi – computer developer (Microsoft Office, Hungarian notation)
• Thomas Szasz – psychiatrist and academic
• Victor Szebehely – scientist,[38][39] a key figure in the development and success of NASA's Apollo program
• Gábor Szegő – mathematician
• Albert Szent-Györgyi – biologist and polymath, discovered Vitamin C; Nobel Prize (1937)
• Andor Szentivanyi – originator of the beta adrenergic theory of asthma
• Leó Szilárd – physicist, hypothesized the nuclear chain reaction, patented the idea of the nuclear reactor, invented the electron microscope[40]
• Edward Teller – father of the hydrogen bomb[41]
• Mária Telkes
• Georg von Békésy – biophysicist
• Theodore von Kármán – scientist, "the father of supersonic flight"
• John von Neumann – computer scientist, a key figure of developing the digital computer and game theory[42]
• Thomas Vietorisz – researcher and teacher in economics
• Eugene Wigner – quantum physicist, Nobel Prize (1963)
• Daniel Carleton Gajdusek – Nobel Prize winner for discovery of viruses with prolonged incubation periods

Writers, editors, and journalists

• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - writer and psychologist
• Csaba Csere – technical director and editor of Car and Driver magazine
• Lawrence Dorr – short story author
• Ladislas Farago – journalist[43][44]
• Zoltan Grad – newspaper editor
• Peter Hargitai – writer, poet, translator
• Chris Jansing (born Christine Kapostasy) – correspondent for NBC News, contributing reporter for the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and contributing anchor on MSNBC
• Peter W. Klein – journalist, documentary filmmaker, director of Global Reporting Centre
• Michael Korda—editor-in-chief emeritus Simon & Schuster
• Tony Laszlo - freelance journalist
• John Lukacs – historian, writer, professor
• Kati Marton – author[17][45]
• Nicholas Nagy-Talavera – dissident, historian, writer and professor
• Joseph Pulitzer – publisher,[46][47] Pulitzer Prize was named after him.
• John Simon – author; literary, theater, and film critic[48]
• Dan Sileo – radio host
• Michael Smerconish – journalist
• Patrick Vlaskovits – New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Entrepreneur
• Elie Wiesel – author, 1986 Peace Prize Nobelist

Musicians and composers

• Bob Babbitt – Motown bassist and member of the Funk Brothers, born to Hungarian parents[49]
• Béla Bartók
• Zoltan Bathory – guitarist and founder of metal band Five Finger Death Punch
• Julia Cafritz
• Peter Cetera – singer, bassist, composer, and producer, formerly of the band Chicago; has stated his Hungarian heritage in interviews and on his website, but has not revealed his mother's birth/maiden name
• Jon Deak – bassist, New York Philharmonic
• Ernö Dohnanyi
• Flea – bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Endre Granat violin virtuoso concertmaster
• Halsey – singer
• Keith Jarrett – jazz and classical pianist and composer[50]
• Kesha – pop musician; grandmother is Hungarian
• Rachael Lampa
• Margaret Matzenauer
• Alanis Morissette
• John Németh – soul and blues singer/songwriter and harmonicist; father is from Hungary
• Eugene Ormandy – conductor[51]
• John Popper – singer/harmonicist of Blues Traveler
• Suzi Quatro – American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress; Hungarian mother
• Tommy Ramone – member of the Ramones[52][53]
• Miklós Rózsa – film score composer[54]
• Hunt Sales – rock drummer for Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine; son of Soupy Sales
• Tony Sales – rock bassist for Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine; son of Soupy Sales
• Mike Shinoda – member of Linkin Park; mother is of Hungarian descent
• Gene Simmons – singer, bassist of rock band KISS; Jewish Hungarian mother; still speaking Hungarian
• Paul Simon – singer/songwriter; Jewish Hungarian parents
• Gábor Szabó – jazz guitarist
• Gábor Szakácsi – rock musician, member of Sledgeback
• Zoltan Teglas – bands Ignite and Pennywise
• Tommy Vig – jazz vibraphonist, born in Budapest
• André Watts - Pianist, Hungarian mother

Politicians

• Jeff Klein – New York State Senator or Representative of the Bronx, NY (1994–2019)
• Chris Gabrielli – Massachusetts candidate for governor
• Joseph Gaydos – former Pennsylvania congressman (1968–1993)
• Ernest Istook – former Congressman from Oklahoma (1993–2007)
• John Kerry – United States Secretary of State (2013–2017); of Hungarian and Moravian ancestry; his family's original name was "Kohcn"
• Fiorello H. LaGuardia – former mayor of New York City (1934–1945); Hungarian mother
• Tom Lantos – former Congressman from California (1981–2008)[55]
• George Pataki – former Governor of New York (1995–2006); father was Hungarian[56][57]
• Mark Singel – former Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania (1987–1995)
• Sebastian Gorka – Deputy Assistant to the President (2017)
• Julie Kirchner – Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

Other

• Steven Brust – writer
• Edward L. Doheny – oil tycoon
• Magda Gabor – socialite and television entertainer
• Karoly Grosz – film poster artist
• Andy Grove – businessman and CEO of Intel Corporation
• Agoston Haraszthy – pioneer winemaker in Wisconsin and California
• John D. Hertz – businessman, founder of The Hertz Corporation
• Karoly Hokky – former Czechoslovak senator
• Chris Jansing – newscaster
• Calvin Klein – fashion designer
• Alex Koroknay-Palicz – executive director of National Youth Rights Association[58]
• Michael Kovats – founder of the U.S. Cavalry
• Eugene Lang – philanthropist[59]
• Paul László – architect, interior designer
• Estée Lauder – co-founder of Estée Lauder cosmetics company
• George Pal – animator
• Christina Pazsitzky – comedian
• Thomas Peterffy – entrepreneur, founder of Interactive Brokers Group
• Laszlo Rabel – United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient
• Emery Roth - architect
• Helena Rubinstein – co-founder of makeup label Helena Rubinstein
• Soupy Sales – comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host; Hungarian parents
• George Soros – speculator, investor, philanthropist, and political activist
• Thomas Szasz – psychiatry professor
• Louis Szathmary – chef, writer, and public personality
• Steven F. Udvar-Házy – business mogul in the aviation industry, philanthropist
• Ferenc A. Váli – lawyer, author, and political analyst
• Roland Wank – architect
• Harry Houdini – stage magician and stunt performer
• Jolie Gabor – socialite
• summit1g – Twitch streamer and former professional CS:GO player
• Louis C.K. – Comedian

See also

• Hungarian Canadians
• List of Hungarians
• Manhattan Hungarian network

References

1. "Don Adams : Biography". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
2. "Vilma Banky – Starpulse.com". Starpulse.
3. "Remember Vilma Banky!? Biography, Part I". Vilmabanky.freehomepage.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2005. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2006-06-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Drew's Biography". Simplydrew.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2006-10-10.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
6. Rebecca Murray. "Jamie Lee Curtis Talks Christmas with the Kranks and Aging in Hollywood". About.com Entertainment.
7. "Ananova – Tony Curtis to promote Hungarian tourism". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 30 April 2007. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
8. "TonyCurtisPress". Americancinematheque.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
9. "TV ACRES: Ethnic Groups > Hispanic / Latino – "A-C"". Tvacres.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
10. It's Not Easy Bein' Me. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
11. "TV ACRES: Ethnic Groups > Hungarian". Tvacres.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
12. "Eva Gabor was born in Budapest, Hungary on February 11, 1926..." Archived from the original on March 25, 2006. Retrieved May 15, 2006.
13. "Error – Filmography – Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
14. Walter Chaw. "The Thinking Man's Nimrod: Film Freak Central Interviews Filmmaker Nimrod Antal". Filmfreakcentral.net. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
15. "The Man in The Glass Closet". The New York Times. 15 December 1991.
16. "The Man in The Glass Closet". Query.nytimes.comaccessdate=2016-07-24. 15 December 1991.
17. "The Hungary Page – More Famous Hungarians". Webenetics.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
18. "Error – Filmography – Movies – New York Times". Movies2.nytimes.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
19. "The best bits of Hollywood Animal". Slate Magazine.
20. "Theatre Director". Laszlomarton.net. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
21. Albert Nemethy biography Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Albertnemethy.com
22. Prager, Joshua (August 14, 2011). "For Branca, an Asterisk of a Different Kind". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
23. "The Hungary Page – More Famous Hungarians". Hipcat.hungary.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2006. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
24. Sneddon, Steve. "NBA a realistic goal for Fazekas". Rgj.com.
25. Reno Gazette-Journal, 2005-02-08, accessdate 2007-06-29 "Nick's grandfather, Albert Fazekas, who lives in the Denver area, has that fire in his heart. He was a freedom fighter in the Hungarian Revolution in 1956."
26. "Mickey Hargitay". Movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
27. "Mickey Hargitay at Brian's Drive-In Theater". Briansdriveintheater.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
28. "'Tourette's is a hurdle, but it's not a brick wall' – Telegraph". 3 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
29. "404 Error". 8 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
30. "Al Hrabosky – The Mad Hungarian". Alhrabosky.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
31. "Corvinus Library – Hungarian History". 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
32. "Karch Kiraly Speaker – Book Motivational Celebrity Speaker Karch Kiraly and Other Corporate Entertainment". 15 May 2006. Archived from the original on 15 May 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
33. "Bill O'Reilly: Book Club". Billoreilly.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
34. Carlo Rovelli. "Used, New, and Out of Print Books – We Buy and Sell – Powell's Books". Powells.com. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
35. "News from Serbia: The American Hungarian Federation, founded 1906". Ahf.cc. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
36. "Hungarian American travel, Hungary tourism guides, Hungarian culture". Gotohungary.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
37. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2006-05-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
38. "The Hungary Page – More Famous Hungarians". Webenetics.comPowells.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
39. "Office of the General Faculty Home Page". Utexas.edu. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
40. Winkler, Allan. Life Under a Cloud, Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999, p.11
41. Winkler, Allan. Life Under a Cloud, Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999, p.68
42. "John von Neumann". Ei.cs.vt.edu. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
44. Jessica Knoll. "Used, New, and Out of Print Books – We Buy and Sell – Powell's Books". Powells.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
45. "Kati Marton". Ideastations.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
46. "Joseph Pulitzer Biography – life, name, story, school, son, information, born, tall, time, year, achievements, scandal". Notablebiographies.com. 1911-10-29. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
47. Liukkonen, Petri. "Joseph Pulitzer". Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 10 July 2006.
48. Stefanova-Peteva, K. (1993). Who Calls the Shots on the New York Stages?. p. 26.
49. "Fender Artist:Bob Babbitt". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
50. Ian Carr. "Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music". Books.google.com. p. 6. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
51. "32¢ Eugene Ormandy". Unicover.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
52. "The Ramones – Exclusive Interview With Tommy Ramone : Feature". Onewaymagazine.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
53. "Tommy's Pure Punk Hole". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
54. "The Miklós Rózsa Society Website". Members.iinet.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
55. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-06-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
56. "The Hungarian Legacy in America, Museum of the American Hungarian Foundation, New Brunswick, NJ – February 26 – March 26, 2006". Gimagine.com. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
57. "博愛と猫". Nycivic.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
58. "One and Four » Blog Archive » A Nation of Immigrants – My Great-Grandmother". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
59. "MODERN AMERICAN PATRIOT: EUGENE LANG". Cdi.org. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 2016-07-24.

External links

Media related to Hungarian Americans at Wikimedia Commons