List of Greek Americans

The following is a list of notable Greek Americans, including both original immigrants of full or partial Greek descent who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

Famous Greek Americans


Spiro AgnewOlympia SnoweGeorge StephanopoulosJennifer AnistonAlexander FreyTina FeyPete SamprasOlympia DukakisMichael DukakisZach Galifianakis



List

ARCHITECTURE

BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT

AUTOMOBILES

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

CHEMICALS & PETROLEUM

Computer software & hardware

Consumer products

Education

Entertainment and media

Finance and venture capital

Game design

Inventor

Medical devices and pharmaceuticals

  • Peter M. Nicholas - cofounder of Boston Scientific Corporation
  • P. Roy Vagelos - M.D. and former chairman and CEO of Merck

Retail

Real estate

Social media

Sports

  • Peter Angelos - MLB owner of the Baltimore Orioles and former basketball player. Successful product-liability case lawyer.
  • Alex Anthopoulos - (May 25, 1977) Canadian-born baseball executive. Currently GM and EVP of Atlanta Braves. Formerly GM and SVP of Toronto Blue Jays.
  • Alex Spanos - Deceased. Was owner of NFL's San Diego Chargers.
  • Dean Spanos - President and CEO of San Diego Chargers. Son of Alex Spanos.
  • A. G. Spanos - President of Business Operations of San Diego Chargers. Grandson of Alex Spanos.
  • Peter Karmanos, Jr. - founder, president & CEO of Compuware and owner of the NHL team Carolina Hurricanes
  • Ted Phillips - president and CEO of the NFL team the Chicago Bears
  • Ted Leonsis - founder, majority owner, chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NHL's Washington Capitals, NBA's Washington Wizards, NBA G League's Capital City Go-Go, WNBA's Washington Mystics, and the AFL's Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade. Monumental Sports additionally owns the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. and manages the Kettler Capitals Iceplex and George Mason University's EagleBank Arena.

Unfiled

EPICUREAN, FASHION & STYLE

Cuisine

Fashion

Modeling

Style

EXPLORATION & PIONEERING

  • Pete Athans - mountaineer
  • Yiorgos Caralambo - one of the eight men hired by US Army in 1856 to lead the camel driver experiment in the Southwest.
  • John Cocoris - introduced the technique of sponge diving in 1995 to Tarpon Springs by recruiting divers and crew members from Greece. The first divers came from the Saronic Gulf islands of Aegina and Hydra, but they were soon outnumbered by those from the Dodecanese islands of Kalymnos, Symi and Halki.
  • Philip Tedro, or Hadji Ali - hired by US Army in 1856 to lead the camel driver experiment in the Southwest.
  • Gracia Dura Bin - early settler, wife of Dr. Andrew Turnbull

FAITH & SPIRITUALITY

LAW & LAW ENFORCEMENT

JOURNALISM

Fiction & Literature

Nonfiction

JOURNALISM-TV & RADIO

Television

Radio

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Comedy

Dance

Choreography
Pop
Tango

Film and theater

Actors
Jason Mantzoukas in 2015
Actresses
Art direction, costume design, set design
Choreography
Cinematography
Directors
Makeup and special effects
  • Crist Ballas - Emmy Award-winning make-up artist for film and television
  • Karen Goulekas - visual effects artist
  • Jack Pierce - designer of makeup and costumes for all of Universal Studios's iconic movie monsters, including: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, et al.
  • Patrick Tatopoulos - special effects and creature designer[51]
  • Petro Vlahos - Oscar-awarded Hollywood special effects pioneer
Producers
Props
Sound

Magicians

MUSIC

Composer

Conductor

Producers

Classical

Country & Western

Disco


New age

  • Chris Spheeris - new age multi-instrumentalist, composer, recording artist, collaborated on several albums with Paul Voudouris[55]
  • Paul Avgerinos - composer, performer and producer of new-age music
  • Yanni - new-age musician[56]

Opera

Pop

Rock & Metal Music

Rock and roll

Visual arts

Comics, cartoons
Graffiti
  • Alex Martinez - graffiti artist, illustrator, muralist (Greek mother)
  • Taki 183
Illustrators
Painters

Performance artists

  • Mary Ashley - video artist, performance artist, and painter

Photography

Sculptors
Unfiled

Writing

Fiction

MILITARY

POLITICS

Federal

State

Local

Science and Academia

Academic Administration

Anthropology

  • Dorothy D. Lee - anthropologist, author and philosopher of cultural anthropology

Biology - Genetics

Chemistry

Computer Science

Economics-Management

Engineering

  • Constantine A. Balanis - electrical engineer
  • John Baras - electrical engineer
  • George Doundoulakis - physicist and soldier who worked under British Intelligence during World War II and then served with the OSS in Thessaly, Greece. He is known by his twenty-six US patents in the fields of radar, electronics, and narrowband television.
  • Helias Doundoulakis - civil engineer who was employed at Grumman Aerospace Corporation for over thirty five years and group leader on many USAF and NASA projects. These included the Apollo space missions and the Lunar Excursion Module, the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and the Space Shuttle. His design of the oxygen tanks on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission was instrumental in the return of the Apollo 13 crew, for which Doundoulakis was given a plaque by Captain James Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert. Served in the United States Army and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) — as a spy during the Battle of Crete in WWII.
  • Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos - chemical engineer
  • Peter Karter - nuclear engineer and one of the pioneers of the modern recycling industry
  • Ares J. Rosakis - engineer
  • George Tchobanoglous - civil and environmental engineer, professor at University of California, Davis
  • Michael Tsapatsis - chemical engineer and materials scientist

English, Debate, Speech

  • Helena Zachos (March 5, 1856–February 28, 1951) - American college professor and elocutionist, who was on the faculty at Cooper Union from 1897 to 1939. Daughter of educator and abolitionist Professor John C. Zachos.
HelenaZachos
  • John C. Zachos (1820–March 20, 1898) - worked as Library Curator and Professor of English Language at Cooper Union from 1872 until his death in 1898. In 1861 was named the first superintendent of the Port Royal Experiment where freed slaves were educated on the liberated islands off of Charleston, SC.

Law

Mathematics

Medicine

Philosophy

Physics

Psychology

Sociology

Various

Sports

Aquatics

Baseball

Basketball

Body building and fitness training

  • John Sitaras - fitness professional, creator of the Sitaras method and founder of Sitaras Fitness in New York City
  • Craig Titus - American bodybuilder
  • Christos Nikitas Poulis - athletic trainer

Boxing

Football

Chris Maragos NFL safety for the Seattle Seahawks
  • Archie Matsos (Archimidis Matsos) - All-American linebacker at Michigan State in 1950s. Played in the AFL (pre-merger) for the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.
  • Joe Panos - NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills 19942000 (birth name Zois Panagiotopoulos)
  • Petros Papadakis - host of various sports shows on radio, former college football tailback and team captain at USC 19962000.
  • Tony Pashos - former NFL offensive lineman for six teams, including with the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars.
  • Lonnie Paxton - NFL New England Patriots long-snapper 20012003
  • Peter Philipakos - Soccer player, formerly of Olympiacos F.C.
  • Pete Pihos - NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles (Pro Football Hall of Fame). Is the only NFL player to have been named All-Pro on both offense and defense in the same year.
  • Fred Smerlas - NFL player for the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots
  • Alex Spanos - NFL owner of the San Diego Chargers
  • A. G. Spanos - named President of Business Operations for the San Diego Chargers in 2015. Grandson of Alex Spanos.
    A. G. Spanos (left), President of Business Operations for the San Diego Chargers
  • Dean Spanos - President and CEO of San Diego Chargers. Son of Alex Spanos.
  • Frank Stams {Stamoulis} - defensive lineman for University of Notre Dame, including their 1988 National Championship team. He was converted to linebacker in the NFL, where he played for the Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.
  • Matt Stover - NFL player, kicker for Baltimore Ravens
  • Harry Theofiledes - backup QB for Washington Redskins in 1968.
  • Garo Yepremian - NFL player (Greek Cypriot origin)
  • Gust Zarnas - NFL player with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers 19381940

Gambling, Bookmakers, Poker

  • Steve Billirakis - Bracelet winner in the World Series of Poker
  • Nick "the Greek" Dandolos1 - one of the most famous players in the history of poker
  • Sam Mastrogiannis - Bracelet winner in the World Series of Poker
  • Billy Pappas - poker player and world champion foosball player
  • Athanasios Polychronopoulos - Bracelet winner in the World Series of Poker
  • Chris Tsiprailidis - Bracelet winner in the World Series of Poker
  • Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder James George Snyder Sr. (born Dimetrios Georgios Synodinos, September 9, 1918 – April 21, 1996) - American sports commentator and Las Vegas oddsmaker.

Hockey

Mixed martial arts

Motor sports

Soccer / association football

Surfing

Tennis

Track and field

  • Dean Karnazes - ultramarathon champion, writer, businessman
  • Tom Pappas - track & field decathlete, 2003 world decathlon champion and 2-time Olympian.

Winter sports

Wrestling

  • David Batista (Bautista) - former WWE professional wrestler (Greek mother and Filipino father) and actor
    Dave Batista, WWE World Heavyweight Championship
  • Dixie Carter (wrestling) - President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • Trish Stratus - WWE wrestler
    Trish Stratus, WWE wrestler
  • Maria Kanellis - professional wrestler who has worked with WWE, TNA, and ROH. Former contestant on Celebrity Apprentice
  • Jim Londos - champion wrestler during the 1930s
  • Helen Maroulis - freestyle wrestler
  • George Metropoulos - Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestler
  • Tom Packs - professional wrestling promoter - one of the top promoters over the first half of the 20th century
  • Dawn Marie Psaltis (Dawn Marie) - former WWE wrestler
  • George Zaharias - sports promoter and professional wrestler in the 1930s (birth name Theodore Vetoyanis). Husband of Babe Didrikson-Zaharias.

Sports Journalism

Others

  • Michael Katakis - writer, photographer, and manager of Ernest Hemingway's literary estate
  • George Lois - advertising executive (ESPN, USA Today, Xerox, MTV, Wolfschmidt, Tommy Hilfiger), "Fizz Fizz What a Relief it Is", "No Dancing in the (a)Isles" "Crazy People" (Big break hired by Rossides for Javits 1960)

See also

References

  1. http://www.helleniccomserve.com/ellis.html Archived 2016-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Social Diary 4/22/05 - When Too Much of Too Much Is Still Not Enough". Newyorksocialdiary.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  3. "Greek-born couturier James Galanos"
  4. Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine "Greek American, originally from Springfield, Massachusetts"
  5. "To show in Milan is 'the top' according to the Greek American who decided to leave the catwalks of New York and head for those here in Milan."
  6. Archived 2006-10-09 at the Wayback Machine " I’m half Greek and half Venezuelan, and I speak fluent Spanish and Greek."
  7. "American Idol: Interview With Becky O'Donohue". Fansofrealitytv.com. 2006-02-26. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  8. Archived April 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "The Films of Andy Sidaris". Mondo-digital.com. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  10. "Eugenides is himself Greek-American, Detroit-born, suburb-raised--all sources of inspiration for his second novel."
  11. Archived 2008-04-06 at the Wayback Machine "How I was both Spiderman and a tiny unathletic Greek boy..." "As the son of Greek immigrants, he participated in the familiar first generation event of multiple identities"
  12. "Death Notice: MICHAEL GEORGE KALODIMOS". Chicago Tribune. 2008-10-30.
  13. "The son of a Greek Orthodox priest (note: Orthodox priests can marry prior to ordination) and a nutritionist, Martin grew up with his brother and sister in Toms River, New Jersey. His parents co-owned a Greek diner with his grandparents and uncle. Martin, the prototypical "good Greek boy," served as an altar boy at church and bused tables at the restaurant."
  14. "As far as religion goes, we were raised Greek Orthodox..." "My father's mother, our grandmother, lived with us for a while. She didn't speak any English. She was all Greek and she was freaky. She had long hair, which she wore in braids..." Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  15. http://hudsonmod.com/karina-smirnoff-wants-to-dance-with-somebody/
  16. " Born on the island of Crete in Greece, Yanni Anastasakis, aka John Aniston, and his family moved to the United States when he was a child. His father promptly changed the family name to Aniston."
  17. Archived 2006-05-14 at the Wayback Machine "Chiklis got his acting talent from his mother, Kate... his flamboyance from his father, Charlie, a macho second-generation Greek-American who runs a hair salon in the Boston suburb of Lowell, where Chiklis was born."
  18. "Tim's mother, Carmen, was an heiress to the theatre chain founded by her father, Alexander Pantages, who immigrated to the United States from Greece around 1885."
  19. "Andreas Katsulas, whose striking Greek visage..."
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2013-10-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. "Maharis was a Kerouac look-alike, a good looking Greek kid from Queens"
  22. Rami malek's Greek heritage
  23. Jones, Patty (2012-05-10). "The Dictator wields a comic arsenal | Vancouver, Canada". Straight.com. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  24. Papapostolou, Anastasios. "24" Greek-American Star Adoni Maropis Plans Screenplay in Crete!". Hollywood Greek Reporter. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  25. "Constantine Maroulis - NY, New York - Rock / Pop". MySpace.com. 2005-02-25. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  26. "It never occurred to me that Chris Sarandon is Greek (for those that don't know, Tarpon Springs is an ethnic Greek community located just north of St. Petersburg), until I thought about it - he very much looks Greek, later explaining that his father was from a "Greek village in Turkey"."
  27. "Greek-American actor George Savalas"
  28. Archived 2007-05-29 at the Wayback Machine "Born to Greek parents, Savalas served in World War II after he dropped out of Columbia University..." You should not trust yurunalists, Columbia lists him as having graduated in 1950 from their "adult" General Studies school after the army.
  29. Archived 2007-05-29 at the Wayback Machine "Born to Greek parents, Savalas served in World War II after he dropped out of Columbia University..." You should not trust yurunalists, Columbia lists him as having graduated in 1950 from their "adult" General Studies school after the army.
  30. "John is also Greek and part Irish." "John Stamos' original family name is Stamopolous, which was shortened by his grandparents when they came to America from Greece."
  31. "Billy Zane Interview"BloodRayne"Movie: Tim Nasson". Wildaboutmovies.com. 2005-12-27. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  32. "Her father John Aniston was born on the island of Crete in Greece. Her mother Nancy Dow is partly Greek." (1930-present)
  33. "Greek News - Hellenic Times 15th Anniversary Gala". Greeknewsonline.com. 2006-05-13. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  34. "Her father, Ernest J. Carteris, was of Greek descent."
  35. "Nancy Dow is Scottish, Irish, Italian and Greek."
  36. "Olympia Dukakis, Greek-American stage and film actress... will discuss the impact of her Greek-American heritage on her career, as well as past performances, particularly her lead role in the ancient tragedy "Hecuba."" "The daughter of Greek immigrants..."
  37. "Fey's mother is Greek-American and her father is German-Scottish, but she's wary of claiming an ethnic identity. "I’ve said a few things about being Greek, and now every Greek organization wants to adopt me," Fey told me." "Because of the Greek-girl thing, I have, like, boobs and butt."
  38. Archived 2006-08-15 at the Wayback Machine "Angie Harmon: "It would be shaping my eyebrows. Being half Greek and half American Indian, I have the unibrow. So once I started working on them, I really did see a change. You create another kind of beauty.""
  39. "Her (Real) Heritage: "I'm Greek, Italian and Jewish. In TV Guide they wrote that I was French, Greek and Jewish. I am mostly Greek. I don't know where French came from."
  40. Archived 2006-05-10 at the Wayback Machine "My grandfather always told me, "You know you're American first, but you're a Greek-American, which makes you a better American.""
  41. Archived 2006-03-21 at the Wayback Machine "The stunning Maria Menounos had no problem getting her Greek on for our photo shoot, but her heritage hasn’t always been easy for her. "My dad was very strict," she says. "A guy would call the house and he would say, ‘I have a gun, and I will use it!’"... My parents said I had to marry a Greek boy. I dated them, but they weren’t for me. They want slaves. I want someone to be my slave! My mom still puts my dad's socks on him when she wakes him up in the morning."
  42. "Sigler is half-Cuban and half-Greek (Jewish)"
  43. Archived 2006-08-04 at the Wayback Machine "A raven haired beauty who is equal parts Greek passion and English reserve"
  44. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2007-11-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Well we’re both [she and Jennifer Aniston] Greek, which is a shoe-in right there." "Mena, the world traveler: Part Estonian and part Greek, Suvari was named for her godmother, who was born in the Mena House, a hotel at the base of the Pyramids in Egypt." "Brought up in South Carolina, her Estonian father is a retired psychiatrist and her Greek mother a nurse."
  45. Grandfather Nicholas Cachikis was born in Greece.
  46. "...Rita Wilson's parents - her father was Bulgarian, while mother Dorothy was Greek - changed their surname to Wilson after moving to the United States." "My mother is Greek and my father is Bulgarian. I am a first-generation American and native Los Angeleno. I was born and raised in Hollywood. I would go to school and be American and then come home and be Greek." "...her producers include actor Rita Wilson, who is half Greek...".
  47. "...Greek-American entertainer Lisa Zane..."
  48. "Greek-American production designer Dean Tavoularis"
  49. "My father is a Greek from Macedonia. I don’t know his roots exactly."
  50. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-10-23. Retrieved 2006-03-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "The other element that influenced me early on had to do with my Greek Orthodox raising where I used to sit in church and just be enthralled with the choir. So, there are a lot of Gregorian modal ideas in my music that go back to that."
  51. "I'm Greek and my wife and I will cook a Greek dinner for eight for the winner. That is a Greek."
  52. "Greek conductor and composer"
  53. "About Chris". Chrisspheeris.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2011-09-18. Born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin, Chris spent his summers in Greece, the land of his heritage...
  54. Archived 2006-06-28 at the Wayback Machine "his Greek musician's claims to fame" Archived 2006-06-16 at the Wayback Machine "He divides his time between L.A. and the Seattle, WA area, and is now an American citizen."
  55. "renowned Greek opera singer whose personal life enthralled Greece in the 1950s and 1960s"
  56. "This website is dedicated to preserving the musical memory of the late, great, Tatiana Troyanos, Greek-American Mezzo-Soprano"
  57. "Called upon to help support their Greek-Norwegian family when their father's business was wiped out by the Depression"
  58. "I'm Greek, so we have pretty big booties in my family." "I'm Greek and Irish, but I don't know Greek. I just have the booty, that's the only part I got of it, that's the curve of it all."
  59. "Kalomira Sarantis is missing the second semester of her first year in college. She is pursuing her lifetime dream – a career as a professional singer – in a very unorthodox way, as a contestant on the Antenna TV program "Fame Story" in Greece."
  60. Archived 2006-05-12 at the Wayback Machine "the half-Greek, half-Puerto Rican kid"
  61. Trousdale - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-10-16. Retrieved 2006-06-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Half and half? Yeah I think…my dad is full Greek and my mom's Black Irish."
  62. "Jim Verraros: My father was born in Greece, so I am mostly Greek. My mother is German, Irish, French and English."
  63. "Mr. Greg Dulli (he's Greek, ya know...)"
  64. Archived 2006-06-30 at the Wayback Machine "We were baptized Greek Orthodox, so we are Greek Orthodox", Matt says. "If you're baptized Greek Orthodox, you're in for good. That's it."
  65. http://www.hit-channel.com/wayne-kramer-mc5solo/2166
  66. "I am French/Greek"
  67. Archived 2006-07-18 at the Wayback Machine "Are you a fan of anal sex? TL, "Being Greek, you'd think I'd be a big anal sex fan. It's kinda nasty. I'm not really feeling it too much, although I've done it several times -- but it's not my favorite."
  68. "My own band, the Vanity Set, half of whom (including myself) are second-generation Greek-Americans, adore rebetiko music."
  69. Elissa Strauss, “Sarah Aroeste, keeping Ladino music alive,” New York Daily News, November 11, 2008.
  70. Mordechai Shinefield, “Monday Music: The Face of Ladino Dream-Pop,” The Forward, May 21, 2012.
  71. Archived 2006-06-18 at the Wayback Machine "Annette Artani, a native Greek-American New Yorker"
  72. Archived 2006-06-25 at the Wayback Machine "Well, here I am. I'm an Anatolian Greek - a middle eastern Greek - and I'm an American, which is a bloody weird combination."
  73. "Constantine comes from a "massive" Greek American family"
  74. "I’m half Irish and I’m half Greek"
  75. "Born in Berkeley, California, to a Greek immigrant family"
  76. "Greek American bandleader Johnny Otis"
  77. "My own band, the Vanity Set, half of whom (including myself) are second-generation Greek-Americans"
  78. "Word Balloon Comics Podcast". Wordballoon.libsyn.com. 2006-12-17. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  79. http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:SymsEkFOslcJ:www.hellenicnews.com/print.html%3Fnewsid%3D2885%26lang%3DUS+Maria+Stephanos+Greek&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3%5B%5D
  80. "George T. Kalaris, 73, Official Who Changed C.I.A.'s Direction". NY Times. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  81. Lavin, Cheryl (October 19, 1993). "One-woman Show: There Are 16 Cook County Board Members-plus Maria Pappas". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  82. Anastasios Papapostolou (2010-03-13). "Chrysostomos "Max" Nikias Named 11th President of USC". USA.GreekReporter.com. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  83. https://web.archive.org/web/20060624122954/http://obereed.net/hh/wwf.html
  84. Martine Powers (October 11, 2007). "Former prof. dies at 91". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  85. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2006-08-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Markakis, who is half Greek and half German, led the Greek Olympic team..."
  86. It's All Greek "Basketball" To Chris Roupas, Kevin Forsythe, The York Daily Record, May 1, 1983
  87. "Τ.Τζον: "Στόχος μου να καθιερωθώ"". Sport24.gr. 2009-04-19.
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