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List of Italian-American actors

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vivaitalia57 (talk | contribs) at 00:22, 11 June 2006 (Correction to Tony Danza's birth name). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The list is currently organized chronologically, listing people by birth date periods.

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

  • Jimmy Baio
  • Scott Baio
  • Matt Battaglia [28] "I'm half Italian, and half German/Dutch. A little trivia for you all. My birth name is Matteo Battaglia, not Matt."
  • Maria Bello [29] "Do you think that came from your family? MARIA BELLO: I do. You know the whole Italian-Polish Bello clan from Philly, and they're all very passionate."
  • Valerie Bertinelli
  • John Bongiovi (Jon Bon Jovi) (Italian paternal grandfather)
  • Nicolas Cage, (b.1964), born Nicholas Kim Coppola, nephew of Francis Ford Coppola (Italian father)
  • Christy Canyon [30] "This woman has got experience, great looks (she's one-half Italian, one-half Armenian) and everything else that makes up the persona of a true, original adult star."
  • Federico Castelluccio [31] "The Italian-born actor, who grew up in Paterson, was besieged with calls from friends seeking advice on how to land a part on the mob show."
  • Robin Christopher
  • Alicia Coppola (b.1968), no relation to the other famous Coppolas
  • Dan Cortese
  • Ami Dolenz (born 1969. Daughter of Micky Dolenz)
  • Illeana Douglas (Italian mother)
  • Edie Falco [32] ""I get a lot of scripts now for Italian mothers," she adds. "I'm only half-Italian.""
  • Jon Favreau (Italian father)
  • Sherilyn Fenn (Italian maternal grandfather; niece of singer Suzi Quatro)
  • Linda Fiorentino
  • Joely Fisher (Italian maternal grandfather, Peter Ingoglia)
  • Vincent Gallo
  • James Gandolfini
  • Janeane Garofalo (Italian father, Carmine Garofalo)
  • Laura San Giacomo
  • Michael Imperioli
  • Ashley Judd [33] Italian-American father (on Judd's father) "He has credited his Italian Catholic heritage for a personality that includes both extreme sensitivity and a fiery temperament... "Daddy is a real rebel... He's Italian, and he believes in living dangerously."
  • Artie Lange [34] "Working long afternoons with his loving contractor father, Artie developed a comical view of social classes, and his place in life as a barrel chested Italian boy."
  • Matt LeBlanc (Italian mother)
  • Melissa Leo
  • Téa Leoni (Italian paternal grandfather)
  • Ralph Macchio
  • Debi Mazar (Italian mother)
  • Tim McGraw [35] "Country star TIM McGRAW was as surprised as his fans when he was feted by the ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION recently... which was handed to him after the organisation learned his mother is Italian. He says, "With a name like McGraw, you don't think about (getting such an honour) very often. But I do have strong Italian heritage, from my great-grandfather DONATO AUGUSTO D'AGOSTINO, my grandpop GIOVANNI GIUSEPPI D'AGOSTINO - and my mom teaching me to make pasta and spaghetti sauce, which is one of my specialities. I grew up in the South. In a lot of ways the Italian culture and the southern culture go hand in hand, because it's all about family, neighbours and community.""
  • Christopher Meloni [36] ""I'm third-generation Italian, but I still have a strong sense of my heritage. There are certain Italianisms that ring very true in this play - the place of the man in the household, the idea of respect . . . of omerta."
  • Cheri Oteri
  • Lisa Peluso
  • Chris Penn (Italian maternal grandparent; brother of Sean Penn)
  • Sean Penn (Italian maternal grandparent)
  • Natalie Raitano
  • Lisa Rinna, born Lisa Deanna Rinna
  • Mark Ruffalo [37] ""I lived on the edge of a forest. We had a very big Italian family with lots of love." Perhaps his Italian great-grandfather's interest in commedia dell'arte had a genetic influence on Ruffalo's choice of careers, but not at first."
  • Mia Sara, born Mia Sarapocciello
  • Annabella Sciorra, born Annabella Gloria Philomena Sciorra
  • Nick Scotti
  • Mira Sorvino - daughter of Paul Sorvino
  • Gwen Stefani [38] "Stefani was brought up in Anaheim, California, one of four children in a close-knit Irish-Italian, Roman Catholic family."
  • Quentin Tarantino, born Quentin Jerome Tarantino (Italian father, Tony Tarantino)
  • Marisa Tomei
  • Christine Tucci
  • Stanley Tucci
  • Aida Turturro
  • Nicholas Turturro
  • Dean Winters (Italian mother)

1950s

1940s

  • Armand Assante (Italian father)
  • John Aprea
  • Joy Behar [43] "Behar opts for thin but entertaining enough anecdotes about her Italian-American family..." [44] "Baher describes herself as an "Italian Catholic.""
  • Marisa Berenson (Italian mother, Elsa Schiaparelli)
  • Jackie Curtis (Italian mother, Jenevive Uglialoro)
  • Joe Dallesandro, born Joseph Angelo Dallesandro (Italian father)
  • Robert De Niro. Although De Niro is also parts Irish, German, Dutch and French-British), he has stated that he identifies "more with (his) Italian side than with (his) other parts." De Niro, whose paternal great-grandparents emigrated from Italy, was due to be bestowed with honorary Italian citizenship at the Venice Film Festival in September 2004. However, the Order of Sons of Italy in America lodged a protest with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, claiming De Niro had damaged the image of Italians and Italian-Americans by constantly portraying them in criminal roles. Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani dismissed the objections and the ceremony was rescheduled to go forward in Rome in October. Controversy flared once again when De Niro failed to show for two media appearances in Italy that October, fueling speculation that he had snubbed the country over the citizenship imbroglio. De Niro, however, denied this, blaming the non-appearances on "serious communication problems" that weren't "handled properly" on his end, and stating, "The last thing I would want to do is offend anyone. I love Italy." Urbani hopes to confer the honor soon, but no fixed date has yet been set.
  • Danny DeVito, born Daniel Michael DeVito
  • Joyce DeWitt (Italian mother)
  • Micky Dolenz, born George Michael Dolenz Jr. (Father, Jure Dolenc [George Dolenz Sr.] born in Trieste, Italy to an Italian-Slovenian family.)
  • Dennis Farina
  • Annette Funicello, born Annette Joanne Funicello
  • Lois Hamilton, born Lois I. Aurino
  • Bruno Kirby, born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr.
  • Frank Langella
  • Susan Lucci, mother of Liza Huber (Italian father)
  • Joe Mantegna, born Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr.
  • Penny Marshall, born Carole Penelope Masciarelli (Italian father, Anthony Wallace Marsciarelli)
  • Liza Minnelli (Italian paternal grandfather, Vincent Charles Minnelli)
  • Don Novello
  • Al Pacino
  • Vincent Pastore
  • Joe Pesci, born Walter Joseph Pesci
  • Bernadette Peters, born Bernadette Lazarra
  • Victoria Principal, born Concettina Ree Principale (Italian father, Victor Principale)
  • Susan Sarandon (Italian mother, Lenora Marie Criscione)
  • Talia Shire, born Talia Rose Coppola
  • Nancy Sinatra, born Nancy Sandra Sinatra
  • Tony Sirico
  • Sylvester Stallone (b.1946 as Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone) (Italian father, Frank Stallone Sr.)
  • Steven Tyler, born Stephen Victor Tallarico (Italian father)
  • Victoria Vetri [45] "This voluptuous dark-haired Italian beauty was named Playmate of the Year in May '68..."
  • Burt Young, born Gerald Tommaso DeLouise

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • Don Ameche [46] "Ameche's father was a tough Italian who was successful in the saloon and hotel business..." [47] "Father: Felix Ameche. grew up outside Rome; Anglicized original surname "Amici" to "Ameche" when he came to the United States Mother: Barbara Ameche. of Irish-German extraction"
  • Iron Eyes Cody
  • Russ Columbo, born Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolpho Colombo
  • Lou Costello, born Louis Francis Cristillo (Italian father)

1890s

  • Nita Naldi, born Anita Donna Dooley (Italian mother)
  • George Raft [48] "George Raft was born in 1895 to a German father (Ranft) and an Italian mother. His underworld involvement in New York City is still not clear..."
  • 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 father, Giovanni Antonio Giuseppe Fidele Guglielmi)

1880s

By Medium

Voice actors

Actors

Academy Award winning actors and entertainers

The Godfather actors

The Sopranos actors

Soap opera actors

Soap opera actresses

Adult movie stars

References

  • Peter Bogdanella, Hollywood Italians: Dagos, Palookas, Romeos, Wise Guys, and Sopranos, New York: The Continuum IPG, 2004 - ISBN 082641544
  • Thomas Victoria, Hollywood's Latin Lovers: Latin, Italian an French Men Who Make the Screen Smolder, Santa Monica: Angel City Press, 1998.

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ [1] "I am Italian and I am from upstate New York..."
  2. ^ [2] "Im Italian..." [3] "I think I would want to star on the Sopranos... the writing on it seems good and it would probably be a of fun finally being able to act Italian!"
  3. ^ [4] "To clear up the whole nationality confusion; I am half Italian, and half eastern European Jew. I used to say half Italian and half Jewish."
  4. ^ [5] "I'm a spicy blend of Jamaican (my dad) and Italian (my mom)."
  5. ^ [6] "Q: What nationality are you? A: Irish Italian"
  6. ^ [7] "I've played Latino parts, but I'm Italian."
  7. ^ [8] "Miss November Raquel Gibson is half Italian, half Filipino and 100 percent proof that beauty is the universal language."
  8. ^ [9] "Q: Since you’re Italian do you love that food or are you sick of it? A: No, I don’t think I could ever get sick of Italian food. There’s a lot more to it than spaghetti and meatballs."
  9. ^ [10] "See, food I can talk about. I'm Italian, I know the food."
  10. ^ [11] "Born half Columbian and half Italian in Miami, Florida..."
  11. ^ [12] "DG: Lauren, I also understand that you’re Italian-American? LA: Yes, my father’s family is Italian-American."
  12. ^ [13] ""Everyone thinks I'm Jewish," says actor Jason Biggs. The 23-year-old star of American Pie, Loser and American Pie 2 is actually an Italian Catholic from New Jersey."
  13. ^ [14] "Born in Bogota, Colombia, Brancato was adopted by Italian-American parents in Yonkers when he was 4 months old. He still lives with them. "I consider myself Italian," he once said. "I was raised to eat pasta.""
  14. ^ [15] "Oddly, the only top HBO series the Italian-American hasn't been on is The Sopranos."
  15. ^ [16] "Rachael is half Italian and refers to herself as Italian."
  16. ^ [17] "Although Italian-American by heritage, she said she had faked her way through the Venice festival by "speaking English with an Italian accent."
  17. ^ [18] "Andrea Donna de Matteo was born in Queens, Italian and Catholic."
  18. ^ [19] "He's half-German, half-Italian.
  19. ^ [20] "Well, I'm Italian, but my family isn't stereotypical."
  20. ^ [21] "Joey ended the interview saying that he was the 'most hung' of the group because "I'm Italian.""
  21. ^ [22] "I'm half-Italian, so personally, I consider that Latina . . . and in Spy Kids I also play Spanish," she said in a July interview. "What's interesting is that Karen Sisco in the book was blond-haired (and non-Hispanic) . . . and originally, Nicole Kidman was going to do the movie. My feeling about this Karen Sisco, is that her mother was Cuban and her father was not."
  22. ^ [23] "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."
  23. ^ [24] "Raised in an Italian Catholic home, Monaco is very close with her family, especially her great-grandmother."
  24. ^ [25] "The olive comes from my being half-Italian. And I'm a quarter Irish and a quarter Eastern Bloc country."
  25. ^ [26]
  26. ^ [27] "I'm Italian."
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