List of Italian Americans

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This is a list of notable Italian Americans.

Anarchists[]

• Luigi Galleani (1861–1931)
• Arturo Giovannitti (1884–1959) - union leader and poet
• Nicola Sacco (1891–1927)
• Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1888–1927)
• Carlo Tresca (1879–1943)

Architects[]

• Vito Acconci
• Pietro Belluschi
• Giorgio Cavaglieri
• Mario J. Ciampi
• Neil Denari
• Romaldo Giurgola
• Michael Manfredi
• Rosaria Piomelli
• George Ranalli
• Mario Salvadori
• Lawrence Scarpa
• Ricardo Scofidio
• Paolo Soleri
• Robert Venturi

Artists[]

Comic artists, cartoonists, illustrators[]

• Brian Azzarello - comic book writer
• Joseph Barbera (1911–2006) - animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, producer, and co-founder, together with William Hanna, of Hanna-Barbera
• Timothy D. Bellavia (born 1971) - children's illustrator, author and founder of the We Are All The Same Inside - Sage doll-making workshop
• Ivan Brunetti (born 1967) - cartoonist and comics author
• John Buscema (1927–2002) - comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate
• Greg Capullo (born 1962) - comic book artist
• Anthony Flamini (born 1978) comic book writer
• Frank Frazetta (1928–2010) - one of the world's most influential fantasy and science fiction artists
• Dick Giordano (1932–2010) - comic book artist and editor
• Frank Giacoia (1925–1989) - comic book artist
• Carmine Infantino (1925–2013) - comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books
• Walter Lantz (1900–1994) - cartoonist and animator, founded the Walter Lantz Studio, created Woody Woodpecker
• Bob Montana (1920–1975) - comic strip artist who created the characters that launched Archie comics
• Joe Orlando (1927–1998) - illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist
• Jimmy Palmiotti - writer and artist of various comics, games and film
• Leo Politi (1908–1996) - artist and author who wrote and illustrated some 20 children's books
• Don Rico (1912–1985) - comic book writer-artist, paperback novelist, screenwriter and wood engraver; co-created the Marvel Comics character Black Widow with Stan Lee
• John Romita, Sr. (born 1930) - comic book artist known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man
• Don Rosa (born 1951) - comic book artist for Disney comics
• Eric Stefani (born 1967) - pop musician, former Simpsons animator, and Grammy-nominated composer and writer
• Jim Valentino (born 1952) - writer, penciler and editor of comic books
• Gerard Way (born 1977) - comic book writer; frontman of the American rock band My Chemical Romance

Digital artists and illustrators[]

• Ashley Biden (born 1981) - founder of the fashion company Livelihood, daughter of Joe and Jill Biden
• Louise Fili (born 1951) - graphic designer, 2014 American Institute of Graphic Arts Medalist^[1]
• Fred Marcellino (1939–2001) - illustrator

Painters[]

• John Balossi (1931–2007) - painter and sculptor
• Alfred D. Crimi (1900–1994) - muralist and painter
• Ettore (Ted) DeGrazia (1909–1982) - painter, best known for American Southwest subjects
• Robert De Niro, Sr. (1922–1993) - abstract expressionist, father of actor Robert De Niro, Jr.
• Sheila Giolitti (born 1957) - painter and art dealer
• Robert Longo
• Carla Carli Mazzucato (born 1935) - modern expressionist painter
• Tony Sisti (1901–1983) - painter and boxer
• Frank Stella (born 1936) - painter and printmaker
• Joseph Stella (1877–1946) - futurist painter known for his depictions of industrial America

Photographers[]

• Lynsey Addario (born 1973) - photojournalist known for her coverage of women in war-torn countries
• Severo Antonelli (1907–1995) - legendary figure in Philadelphia Italian American history and the subject of one of the largest ever one-man shows at the Smithsonian Institution
• Franco A. "Frank" Barsotti (1937–2012) - photographer and professor emeritus from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Justin Guariglia (born 1974) - photographer and contributing editor to National Geographic Traveler, and a regular contributor to Smithsonian Magazine
• Isa Leshko (born 1971) - artist/photographer and author of Allowed to Grow Old: Portraits of Elderly Animals from Farm Sanctuaries published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019
• Luis Marden (1913–2003) - photographer, explorer, writer, filmmaker, diver, navigator, and linguist who worked for National Geographic magazine
• Nick Saglimbeni - 3D photographer
• Francesco Scavullo (1921–2004) - fashion photographer known for his work on the covers of Cosmopolitan magazine and his celebrity portraits
• Mario Sorrenti (born 1971) - fashion photographer

Sculptors[]

• Vincent Cavallaro
• Jasper D'Ambrosi
• John DeAndrea
• Joe De Santis
• Arturo Di Modica
• Mark Di Suvero
• Virginio Ferrari
• Thomas Gaetano LoMedico
• Costantino Nivola
• Corrado Parducci
• Piccirilli Brothers
• Italo Scanga - neo-Dadaist

Business[]

Criminals[]

• Salvatore Briguglio - former mobster, one of the prime suspects in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa
• Michael Franzese - former mobster
• Santino William Legan - perpetrator of the Gilroy Garlic festival shooting

Entertainers[]

Actors[]

Food[]

• Joe Bastianich - chef
• Lidia Bastianich - chef
• Hector Boyardee - famous for his Chef Boyardee brand of food products
• Caesar Cardini - creator of the Caesar salad
• Michael Chiarello - celebrity chef specializing in Italian-influenced California cuisine
• Giada De Laurentiis - host of the Food Network program Everyday Italian
• Dom DeLuise - celebrity chef who wrote several cookbooks and videos on his family's Italian-influenced cuisine
• Guy Fieri - chef and host of the Food Network program "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"
• Gina Keatley - chef and television personality; influenced charities in New York City
• Sirio Maccioni - restaurateur and author
• Rachael Ray - Food Network- chef and Emmy-winning television personality
• Nick Stellino - chef and television personality
• Carlo Vaccarezza - restaurateur
• Buddy Valastro - chef

Inventors[]

• Anthony Adducci (1937–2006) - pioneer of the medical device industry in Minnesota; best known for founding Guidant Corp. precursor Cardiac Pacemakers, inc., now part of Boston Scientific, the company that manufactured the world's first lithium battery-powered artificial pacemaker^[2]
• Giuseppe Mario Bellanca - designer of the first monoplane in the United States with an enclosed cabin
• Enea Bossi
• Lorenzo Del Riccio-Inventor of fotofinish camera
• Daniel DiLorenzo
• Federico Faggin (born 1941) - physicist, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur; best known for designing the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004
• Gerard J. Foschini
• Domingo Ghirardelli
• The Jacuzzi family - developed the deep well water pump that led to the famous whirlpool bath
• Antonio Meucci (1808–1889) - credited by the Congress of the United States with the invention of the telephone
• Lorenzo Ponza - inventor of the modern baseball pitching machine
• Francis Rogallo - engineer at NASA, designed the Rogallo wing, which found its greatest success in hang gliders and kites
• Andrea Rossi (born 1950) - entrepreneur who claims to have invented the cold fusion device E-Cat
• Andrew Toti
• Dr. Andrew Viterbi (born 1935) - billionaire, cofounder of Qualcomm, inventor of the Viterbi algorithm
• Frank Zamboni - inventor of the modern ice resurfacer

Jurists[]

Law enforcement figures[]

• Joseph Arpaio (born 1932 in Springfield, Massachusetts) - law enforcement officer, most notably as the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona; the child of immigrants from Lacedonia
• Michael D'Andrea - officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, appointed to head the Agency's Iran Mission Center
• Pete DeFazio
• Cate Edwards - daughter of former United States Senator John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards
• Gil Garcetti (born 1941) - Los Angeles County's 40th district attorney
• Joseph D. Pistone - undercover FBI agent who went undercover as Donnie Brasco and infiltrated the Bonanno crime family
• Louis Freeh (born 1950 in Jersey City, New Jersey) - Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 1993–2001
• Rudolph Giuliani - early career was a US attorney in S.D.N.Y., prosecuting high-profile cases, including Cosa Nostra cases
• Dan Mitrione - Italian-born American police officer and U. S. government advisor in Latin America
• Frank Rizzo
• Frank Serpico
• Joe Petrosino - NYCPD lieutenant in charge of the Italian Squad, an elite corps of Italian-American detectives formed to fight the Mafia
• Charles Joseph Bonaparte - member of Theodore Roosevelt's Cabinet and founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Journalism (print and multimedia)[]

• Melissa Anelli - resident of Staten Island, journalist at Staten Island Advance and webmaster of The Leaky Cauldron
• Maria Bartiromo - financial journalist and television host
• Joe Benigno - WFAN sports radio personality
• David Brancaccio - journalist
• 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!
• Matt Casamassina - video game journalist working for IGN
• Danny Casolaro - freelance journalist
• Igor Cassini - journalist
• Chris Cimino - co-host of Today in New York on WNBC, the NBC affiliate in New York City
• Kellyanne Conway - president and CEO of The Polling Company Inc./Woman Trend, and has been a political commentator on CNN, Fox News, and Fox Business
• Anthony Cumia - "Anthony" of the Opie and Anthony show
• Rick Francona - NBC military analyst
• Michael Gargiulo - co-host of Today in New York on WNBC, the NBC affiliate in New York City
• John Iadarola - progressive political commentator for The Young Turks
• Megyn Kelly - Fox News Channel political commentator and former corporate defense attorney
• Charlotte Laws - author, columnist, political commentator, former politician, animal rights advocate, anti-revenge porn activist (known as the "Erin Brockovich of revenge porn")
• Anthony Fantano - music critic and founder of The Needle Drop, a music related video blog
• Al Giordano - political commentator, and former anti-nuclear and environmental activist
• Steve Lopez - journalist; a columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2001; the son of Spanish and Italian immigrants
• Rob Marciano - journalist and meteorologist
• Ann Nocenti - journalist, writer and editor, known for her work on comic books and magazines
• Alexandra Pelosi - journalist, documentary filmmaker, and writer; daughter of Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi
• Dana Perino - political commentator and author who served as the 26th White House Press Secretary, serving under President George W. Bush
• Generoso Pope Jr. (1927–1988) - founder of the National Enquirer
• Tony Rizzo - sports anchor with WJW-TV, the Fox affiliate in Cleveland
• Allison Rosati - WMAQ-TV nightly anchor, maternal Italian ancestry
• Lauren Scala - co-host of Today in New York on WNBC, the NBC affiliate in New York City
• Elaine Sciolino - Paris bureau chief of The New York Times
• Karley Sciortino - writer, television host, and producer
• Carla Sinclair - editor-in-chief at Craft magazine for O'Reilly Media

Military[]

• Sgt. John Basilone - USMC, Medal of Honor recipient of World War II
• Major John Belli - Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army 1792–1794
• Corporal Anthony Casamento - USMC, Medal of Honor recipient of World War II
• Lieutenant General Peter W. Chiarelli
• Lieutenant General Joseph P. DiSalvo - Military Deputy Commander of United States Southern Command
• General Curtis Scaparrotti, Commander of United States European Command
• Col. Luigi Palma di Cesnola - Civil War Union Cavalry officer, and Medal of Honor recipient
• Lt Col Rick Francona - U S Air Force officer
• Major Don Gentile (Dominic Salvatore Gentile) (1920–1951) - US Air Force officer
• Edmund P. Giambastiani - Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Giovanni Martini - trumpeter; only member of Custer's army to leave the site of the Battle of the Little Big Horn alive
• General Raymond T. Odierno - incumbent Chief of Staff of the United States Army
• Peter Pace - USMC, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Antonio Pierro - lived to be one of the oldest surviving veterans of World War I
• Joseph L. Romano
• Vito Trause - World War II prisoner of war
• Walter Schirra - naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and one of the original seven astronauts chosen for Project Mercury
• Maj. Gen. Francis D. Vavala - Adjutant General, Delaware Army National Guard
• Humbert Roque Versace - United States Army officer and POW in Vietnam
• Gen. Anthony Zinni - USMC, former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)

Politicians[]

Founding Fathers of the United States[]

• William Paca - signer of the Declaration of Independence, and President of Maryland
• Caesar Rodney - signer of the Declaration of Independence, and President of Delaware

Members of Congress[]

• Mark Amodei - American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district
• John Barrasso - American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wyoming (2007-present)
• Catherine Cortez Masto - American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Nevada (2017-present)
• Ted Cruz - United States senator for Texas is of mixed Cuban, Irish and Italian ancestry (2013-present)
• John Ensign - Congressman and United States Senator from Nevada (1994–2011)
• Kevin McCarthy - American businessman and politician currently serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives (2007–present)
• Joe Manchin - American politician serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia
• Nancy Pelosi - Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2007–2011, 2019–present)
• Steve Scalise - United States House of Representatives minority whip and representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district (2008-present)
• Thomas Suozzi - Member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 3rd Congressional District (2017–present)

Minister[]

• Leon Panetta - U.S. Secretary of Defense 2011–2013
• Mike Pompeo - U.S. Secretary of State 2018–2021

Diplomats[]

• Richard F. Celeste - U.S. Ambassador to India, 1997–2001
• Paul Cellucci - U.S. Ambassador to Canada, 2001–2005
• Peter Cianchette - U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, 2008–2009
• Luigi R. Einaudi - acting Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS)
• Thomas M. Foglietta - U.S. Ambassador to Italy, 1997–2001
• John J. Maresca - U.S. Ambassador, United States Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1992–1994
• Joseph A. Mussomeli - U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines; Ambassador to Cambodia, 2005–2008;
• Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr. - U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines and Republic of Palau, 2002–2005; Ambassador to Egypt, 2005–2008; and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2009–2010
• Peter F. Secchia - U.S. Ambassador to Italy, 1989–1993
• Ronald P. Spogli - U.S. Ambassador to Italy and first U.S. Ambassador to San Marino, 2005–2009

Governors and former governors[]

• John Baldacci - former governor of Maine (2003–2011)
• Donald Carcieri - former governor of Rhode Island (2003–2011)
• Dick Celeste - former governor of Ohio (1983–1991)
• Argeo Paul Cellucci - former governor of Massachusetts (1997–2001)
• Chris Christie - former governor of New Jersey (2010–2018)
• Andrew Cuomo - governor of New York (2011–2021)
• Mario Cuomo - former governor of New York (1983–1994)
• Ron DeSantis - governor of Florida
• Edward D. DiPrete - former governor of Rhode Island (1985–1991)
• Michael DiSalle - former governor of Ohio (1959–1963)
• James Florio - former governor of New Jersey (1990–1994)
• Foster Furcolo - former governor of Massachusetts (1957–1961)
• Ella T. Grasso - former governor of Connecticut (1975–1980); first woman to be elected governor without following a husband
• Andrew H. Longino - former governor of Mississippi (1900–1904)
• Janet Napolitano - former governor of Arizona (2003–2009)
• William Paca - signer of the American Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, governor of Maryland, Federal District Judge
• John Orlando Pastore - former governor of Rhode Island
• George Pataki - former governor of New York (1995–2006)
• Gina Raimondo - former governor of Rhode Island (2015–2021)
• Albert Rosellini - former governor of Washington State (1957–1965)
• Al Smith - former governor of New York (1919–1921; 1923–1929)
• John A. Volpe - former governor of Massachusetts (1961–1963; 1965–1969)

Mayors and former mayors[]

• Hugh Addonizio (1914–1981) - Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, 1962–1970
• Joseph Alioto (1916–1998) - Mayor of San Francisco, 1968–1976
• Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro, Jr. (1903–1987) - Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, 1947–1959; prior to being mayor, he was a representative from Maryland's 3rd congressional district (1939–47); father of U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi
• Luigi Boria (born 1958) - Mayor of Doral, Florida, 2012–2016
• Richard Caliguiri (1931–1988) - Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1978–1988
• Anthony Celebrezze (1910–1998) - Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, 1953–1962
• Vincent Cianci, Jr (1941–2016) - Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, 1975–1984 and 1991–2002
• David Cicilline (born 1961) - Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, 2003–2011; Jewish mother
• Bill de Blasio (born 1961) - Mayor of New York City, since 2014
• John DeStefano, Jr. (born 1955) - Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, since 1993
• Frank Fasi (1920–2010) - Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii, 1969–1981 and 1984–1994
• Eric Garcetti (born 1971) - Mayor of Los Angeles, California, since 2013
• Philip Giordano (born 1963) - Mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut, 1995–2001 when was arrested for municipal corruption and convicted of sex offender.
• Rudolph Giuliani (born 1944) - Mayor of New York City, 1994–2001^[3]
• Dick A. Greco (born 1933) - Mayor of Tampa, Florida, 1967–1974 and 1995–2003
• Pam Iorio (born 1959) - Mayor of Tampa, Florida, since 2003
• Vincent R. Impellitteri (1900–1987) - Mayor of New York City, 1950–1953
• Fiorello La Guardia (1882–1947) - Mayor of New York City, 1934–1945; both parents Italian-born; father lapsed Catholic; mother Jewish
• Mitch Landrieu (born 1960) - Mayor of New Orleans, 2010–2018
• Anthony M. Masiello (born 1947) - Mayor of Buffalo, New York, 1994–2005
• Thomas Menino (1942–2014) - Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, 1993–2014
• Robert Maestri (1899–1974) - Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, 1936–1946
• George Moscone (1929–1978) - Mayor of San Francisco, 1976–1978
• Frank Rizzo (1920–1991) - Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1972–1980
• Angelo Rossi (1878–1948) - Mayor of San Francisco, 1931–1944
• Victor Schiro (1904–1992) - Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, 1961–1970
• Frank A. Sedita (1907–1975) - Mayor of Buffalo, New York, 1958–1961, 1966–1973

Other[]

• Alessandra Biaggi (born 1986) - New York State Senator
• Andrew Giuliani (born 1986) - Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison for President Donald Trump
• Jim Messina (born 1969) - political adviser, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations under President Barack Obama 2009–2011

Prelates[]

• Msgr. Geno Baroni (1930–1984) - Catholic Coordinator for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Raggio dell'Raggio (born 1963), New York Italian parish president of Our Lady of Knee Clubbing Most Holy Divine Red Sauce Catholic Church
• Francis X. DiLorenzo (1942–2017) - twelfth bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia
• John Clement Favalora - Archbishop of the Latin Rite Archdiocese of Miami
• Fr. Stan Fortuna - Roman Catholic priest
• James Groppi - Roman Catholic priest and noted civil rights activist
• Francis Mugavero - first Italian-American Bishop of Brooklyn, 1968–1990
• Anthony M. Pilla - bishop of the , 1979–2006
• Joseph Rosati - first Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis
• Robert Sirico

Cardinals[]

• Joseph Louis Bernardin (1928–1996) - Archbishop of Cincinnati, Archbishop of Chicago
• Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1923–2012) - served as Bishop of Pittsburgh and Archbishop of Philadelphia
• Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (born 1949) - Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
• Justin Francis Rigali (born 1935) - Archbishop of Philadelphia

Scientists[]

• Aristides Agramonte - bacteriologist
• Janis Amatuzio (born 1950) - forensic pathologist
• John T. Cacioppo - neuroscientist
• Eugenio Calabi - mathematician
• Nicholas R. Cozzarelli
• Charles DeLisi
• Renato Dulbecco - Nobel prize 1975 winner for medicine
• Federico Faggin - widely known for designing the first commercial microprocessor
• Robert Fano (1917–2016) - computer scientist
• Ugo Fano (1912–2001) - physicist
• Anthony Fauci - immunologist contributing to research in the areas of AIDS and other immunodeficiencies
• Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) - physicist; Nobel Prize 1938
• Robert Gallo - virologist
• Albert Ghiorso - nuclear scientist who helped discover several chemical elements on the periodic table
• Riccardo Giacconi (1931–2018) - astrophysicist; Nobel Prize 2002
• Edward J. Giorgianni - imaging scientist
• Louis Ignarro - Nobel Prize 1998 winner for medicine
• Robert Lanza
• Paul J. Lioy - exposure science
• Mariangela Lisanti - theoretical physicist
• Salvador Luria - microbiologist; Nobel Prize 1969
• Mike Massimino - astronaut
• Fulvio Melia - physicist, astrophysicist, and author
• Antonio Meucci - telephone inventor
• Franco Modigliani - economist; Nobel Prize 1985
• Rita Levi-Montalcini - neurobiologist; Nobel Prize 2009
• Lisa Marie Nowak - born Lisa Marie Caputo; astronaut
• William Daniel Phillips - physicist; shared the Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1997, with Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji
• Sam Potolicchio - psychologist specializing in government
• Bruno Rossi
• Gian-Carlo Rota
• Jack Sarfatti
• Piero Scaruffi (born 1955) - cognitive scientist
• Walter Schirra - astronaut
• Emilio Segrè - Nobel Prize 1959-winning physicist and academic
• Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (1922–2018) - geneticist
• Giuliana Tesoro (1921–2002) - organic chemist
• Andrew Viterbi
• Philip Zimbardo

Academics[]

• Mario Capecchi - University of Utah
• John D. Caputo
• James Carafano
• Frank A. Cipriani
• Thomas A. DeFanti
• John J. DeGioia - President of Georgetown University
• Frank J. Fabozzi
• Eugene Fama - University of Chicago professor of finance and winner of the 2013 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
• A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938–1989) - President of Yale University, later Major League Baseball commissioner; Italian father
• Robert Gallucci - Dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University
• Lino Graglia - University of Texas in Austin
• Paul J. Lioy - University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Robert Magliola - academic specialist in hermeneutics, philosophy, and religious studies
• Mariana Mazzucato
• Silvio Micali - professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, distinguished for his work on cryptography
• Fulvio Melia - professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Arizona in Tucson
• Franco Modigliani - MIT economics professor and winner of the 1985 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
• L. Jay Oliva - former President of New York University (NYU) and author of many books on European and Russian history
• Camille Paglia - professor of humanities at the University of the Arts
• Michael Parenti - political scientist, Marxist activist
• P. M. Pasinetti - professor of comparative literature and Italian at UCLA
• Walter Piston - professor of music at Harvard University 1926–1960; Pulitzer Prize winner 1948 and 1961

Sports[]

Writers[]

• Kim Addonizio - poet and novelist
• Paul Attanasio - screenwriter
• Ken Auletta - writer/journalist and media critic for The New Yorker
• David Baldacci (born 1960) - best-selling novelist; a distant cousin of John Baldacci, former governor of Maine
• Andrew Berardini - art critic and fiction writer
• Greg Berlanti - television writer and producer
• Giannina Braschi - poet and novelist
• Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) - author and motivational speaker
• Christopher Castellani - Novelist
• Nick Cafardo (1956–2019) - sportswriter
• Duane Capizzi - screenwriter
• Lorenzo Carcaterra - novelist and screenwriter
• Christopher Carosa - (born 1960) author, journalist, and investment adviser
• John Ciardi - poet and etymologist
• Diablo Cody - screenwriter, producer, author, journalist, memoirist, stripper and exotic dancer
• Bob Colacello - writer
• Angelo F. Coniglio - civil engineer, genealogist and author
• Gregory Corso - poet
• Wendy Corsi Staub - novelist
• John Corvino - philosopher
• Lorenzo Da Ponte - poet, writer, librettist
• William L. DeAndrea - mystery writer
• Keith R. A. DeCandido
• Don DeLillo (born 1936) - author
• Guy Anthony De Marco - author
• Tomie dePaola - author
• Louise DeSalvo - writer, editor, professor, and lecturer
• Pietro Di Donato - writer
• John Fante - novelist and screenwriter
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti - poet, essayist and painter
• David Franzoni - screenwriter of Gladiator and King Arthur
• John Fusco - novelist (Paradise Salvage) and screenwriter of Young Guns, Hidalgo, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
• Paul Gallico - Italian father
• Daniela Gioseffi (born 1941) - poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, performer, social justice activist
• Arturo Giovannitti - poet, political activist
• Barbara Grizzuti Harrison (1934–2002) - writer
• Evan Hunter - aka Ed MacBain, born Salvatore Lombino
• Philip Lamantia
• Teresa de Lauretis
• Luis Marden - born Annibale Luis Paragallo, writer for National Geographic
• Fulvio Melia - author of several popular science books, including The Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy
• Charles Messina - writer/director of the play Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, the film Merging, and co-author the book My Father, My Don
• Henry Samuel Morais - writer, rabbi
• Diana Ossana - Academy Award-winning screenwriter
• Camille Paglia - post-feminist literary and cultural critic
• Christopher Paolini
• Michael Parenti
• P.M. Pasinetti - novelist, playwright, journalist, professor
• Mario Pei
• Tom Perrotta - novelist and screenwriter best known for the novels Election (1998) and Little Children (2004)^[4][5][6][7]
• Joseph D. Pistone
• Diane di Prima - poet of the Beat generation
• Mario Puzo (1920–1999) - writer/screenwriter and best-selling author of The Godfather
• Terry Rossio - screenwriter
• Shane Salerno - screenwriter
• R.A. Salvatore (born 1959) - born Robert Anthony Salvatore, science fiction and fantasy author, best known for his Forgotten Realms and Star Wars novels
• Leslie Scalapino - poet
• Piero Scaruffi - poet, historian, scientist
• Dom (Domenico) Serafini - TV trade magazine editor
• Michelangelo Signorile - journalist, columnist, talk radio host and gay activist
• Michael Smerconish - radio host and television presenter, newspaper columnist, author, and lawyer
• Gay Talese
• Adriana Trigiani
• Jessica Valenti - blogger and feminist writer
• Mark Valenti - screenwriter^[8]
• Tom Verducci - sportswriter

Italian Americans who were first in their field of achievement[]

• Giuseppe Mario Bellanca - designer of the first monoplane in the United States with an enclosed cabin
• Frank Borzage - first person to win the Academy Award for Directing, for Seventh Heaven (1927)
• Enea Bossi - designer of the first stainless steel aircraft and designer of the disputed first fully human-powered plane
• Anthony Celebrezze (1910–1998) - first non-native to be appointed to the U.S. Cabinet
• Geraldine Ferraro (1935–2011) - first woman in U.S. history to be nominated for the vice presidency of the United States from a major political party
• Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981) - born Ella Rose Tambussi Grasso, first woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state without succeeding her husband
• Giuseppina Morlacchi (1846–1886) - ballerina and dancer, introduced the can-can to the American stage
• Nancy Pelosi - first woman in U.S. history to hold the office of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• Dennis Tito - world's first space tourist
• Joe Valachi (1904–1971) - first member of the Mafia to testify to the Senate about organized crime

Italian Americans not otherwise categorized[]

• Emile Ardolino - dancer and choreographer
• Donald P. Bellisario - director, former civil uniform service
• Jill Biden - Doctor of Education; teacher; First Lady of the United States from 2021
• Marella Agnelli - furniture designer
• Luigi Antonini - labor leader
• Chris Avellone - video game designer
• Mike Bongiorno - TV personality
• Alyssa Campanella - fashion blogger, model, and beauty pageant titleholder
• Oleg Cassini - Russian-Italian-American fashion designer
• Andrew Cunanan - mass murderer; mother is of Italian background
• Charli D'Amelio - TikTok personality
• Dixie D'Amelio - TikTok personality
• Emily DiDonato - model of Italian, Irish, and Native American ancestry^[9]
• Ralph DiGia - pacifist and social justice activist
• Tabitha D'umo - choreographer and creative director
• Angelo Dundee - trainer of several boxing champions
• Elizabeth Edwards - born Anania, wife of John Edwards, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina
• Vincenzo Ferdinandi - fashion stylist
• Vanessa Hessler - model and actress^[10]
• Olivia Jade - social media celebrity and YouTuber
• Stacy London - stylist and fashion consultant
• Jay Manuel - make-up artist
• Sabato Morais - rabbi leader of Mikveh Israel Synagogue, pioneer of Italian Jewish Studies in America, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City
• Bruno Pauletto - physiologist, shot putter, businessman, coach, author
• Mike Pompeo - politician, former Central Intelligence Agency director and 70th United States Secretary of State
• Charles Ponzi (1882–1949) - one of the greatest swindlers in American history; inventor of the Ponzi scheme
• Carrie Prejean - model, author, former Miss California USA 2009 and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up^[11]
• Angela Carlozzi Rossi - executive secretary of the Italian Welfare League
• John Scarne - born Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia, gambling expert and sleight-of-hand card performer
• Mary Schiavo - former Inspector General of the United States Department of Transportation
• Michael Schiavo - ex-husband of Terri Schiavo, the woman whose comatose state and subsequent court case garnered much media attention
• Christian Siriano - fashion designer from New York
• Milton Sirotta - at age nine coined the term googol
• Michael Smerconish - CNN journalist
• Gwen Stefani - singer
• Carmela Teoli - 14-year-old mill worker whose Congressional testimony helped end the 1912 Lawrence textile strike
• Jack Valenti - of Sicilian heritage, president of the Motion Picture Association of America from 1966 to 2007
• Michael Viscardi - mathematician
• Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann - fashion model, and socialite^[12]

Italian Americans with ancestry in Campania[]

• Bradley Cooper
• Mario Cuomo^[13]
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Geraldine Ferraro
• Jay Leno
• Vince Lombardi
• Rocky Marciano
• Bruce Springsteen

See also[]

• List of Italians
• List of Sicilian Americans
• List of Italian Britons
• List of Italian-American television characters
• List of Italian-American women writers

References[]