List of Hungarian Americans

List

Actors

• Don Adams – Get Smart; father was a Hungarian Jew
• Vilma Bánky
• Drew Barrymore – mother is a Hungarian immigrant.
• 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
• Tony Curtis – parents were Hungarian Jews
• Matthew Daddario – actor
• Bill Dana
• Rodney Dangerfield
• Kim Darby
• Peter Falk – Columbo
• Sherilyn Fenn
• Eva Gabor
• Zsa Zsa Gabor
• 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
• 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 film director
• László Benedek – film director
• Gabor Csupo – animator of Rugrats and early Simpsons
• George Cukor – film director
• Michael Curtiz – director of Casablanca; Academy Award winner
• Frank Darabont – producer and director
• William S. Darling – designer, winner of three Oscar awards
• André de Toth – film director
• Jules Engel – animator, filmmaker and teacher
• Joe Eszterhas – screenwriter
• William Fox – founder of 20th Century Fox
• Alexander Korda – director
• László Kovács – cinematographer
• Andrew Laszlo – cinematographer
• László Marton – theatre director
• 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
• 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
• Adolph Zukor – founder of Paramount Pictures

  Fine artists

• Robert Capa – photographer
• Lajos 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.
• 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
• Ralph Branca – professional baseball player; mother was of Hungarian Jewish descent
• Greg Camarillo – football player
• Larry Csonka – football player
• Ed Doheny – baseball player
• Bertalan de Nemethy – show jumping coach for the United States Equestrian Team
• Nick Fazekas – basketball player
• Kirk Ferentz – American football coach
• 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
• Charles Horváth – Hungarian-American soccer player.
• Les Horvath – 1944 Heisman Trophy winner
• Tim Howard – soccer player
• Al Hrabosky – baseball player
• Béla Károlyi – born in Kolozsvár, Hungary ; 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
• 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
• 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
• Dave Shula – football WR/PR, football coach
• Don Shula – football coach
• 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
• József Galamb – mechanical engineer, designer of the Ford Model T
• Peter Carl Goldmark – engineer
• Sidney Gottlieb
• Paul Halmos – mathematician
• Stevan Harnad – scientist
• John Harsanyi – economist, game theory in economics, Nobel Prize
• Csaba Horváth
• Imre Izsak
• John George Kemeny – scientist
• 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
• Ivan Raimi – Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
• Julius Rebek – chemist
• Hans Selye – physician, theory of psychological stress
• Charles Simonyi – computer developer
• Thomas Szasz – psychiatrist and academic
• Victor Szebehely – scientist, 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
• 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
• Edward Teller – father of the hydrogen bomb
• 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
• Thomas Vietorisz – researcher and teacher in economics
• Eugene Wigner – quantum physicist, Nobel Prize
• 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
• Zoltan Grad – newspaper editor
• Peter Hargitai – writer, poet, translator
• Chris Jansing – 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
• Nicholas Nagy-Talavera – dissident, historian, writer and professor
• Joseph Pulitzer – publisher, Pulitzer Prize was named after him.
• John Simon – author; literary, theater, and film critic
• 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
• 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
• Keith Jarrett – jazz and classical pianist and composer
• 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
• John Popper – singer/harmonicist of Blues Traveler
• Suzi Quatro – American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress; Hungarian mother
• Tommy Ramone – member of the Ramones
• Miklós Rózsa – film score composer
• 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
• Chris Gabrielli – Massachusetts candidate for governor
• Joseph Gaydos – former Pennsylvania congressman
• Ernest Istook – former Congressman from Oklahoma
• John Kerry – United States Secretary of State ; of Hungarian and Moravian ancestry; his family's original name was "Kohcn"
• Fiorello H. LaGuardia – former mayor of New York City ; Hungarian mother
• Tom Lantos – former Congressman from California
• George Pataki – former Governor of New York ; father was Hungarian
• Mark Singel – former Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania
• Sebastian Gorka – Deputy Assistant to the President
• 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
• Michael Kovats – founder of the U.S. Cavalry
• Eugene Lang – philanthropist
• 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