List of Polish Americans

Academics

• Leon M. Goldstein, President of Kingsborough Community College, and acting Chancellor of the City University of New York
• Joseph S. Murphy, President of Queens College, President of Bennington College, and Chancellor of the City University of New York

  Arts and entertainment

Television, radio and film actors

• Nick Adams, film actor; mother was of Polish descent
• Grant Aleksander, film and daytime actor, Guiding Light
• Pico Alexander, actor; parents are Polish immigrants
• Anna Anka, actress, model, and author
• Stanley Andrews, TV/radio actor
• David Arquette, actor, director, screenwriter; mother was of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Rosanna Arquette, actress, director, producer; mother was of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Jacob Artist, actor, singer, and dancer; mother is of Polish descent
• Joe Augustyn, screenwriter, movie producer
• Jake T. Austin, actor; father is of part Polish descent
• Carroll Baker, film actress and author; father of Polish ancestry
• Christine Baranski, actress
• Kristen Bell, film/television actress, mother is of Polish descent
• Maria Bello, actress ; mother is of Polish descent
• Brian Benben, television actor; father was of Polish descent
• Jack Benny, comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film; of Polish Jewish descent
• Carlos Bernard, actor
• Craig Bierko, actor and singer; father has Polish ancestry
• Rebecca Black, singer, father of partial Polish descent
• Marc Blucas, actor; paternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and philanthropist; maternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Alex Borstein, actress, voice actress, writer, and comedian; of Polish Jewish descent
• Lisa Boyle, actress and model; of part Polish descent
• Andrew Bryniarski, actor and bodybuilder; father of Polish descent
• Amanda Bynes, actress and comedian; paternal grandmother was of Polish descent
• Liz Cackowski, comedy writer and actress; of part Polish descent
• Nicolas Cage, actor; maternal grandmother was of Polish descent
• Bobby Campo, actor; paternal grandmother of Polish descent
• Steve Carell, actor; mother of Polish descent
• Jessica Cauffiel, actress and singer; paternal grandmother of Polish ancestry
• Jennifer Connelly, Academy Award-winning actress; her mother was of Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent
• Robert Conrad, film and television actor; Polish on father 's side
• D.J. Cotrona, actor; mother of half Polish descent
• Elżbieta Czyżewska, Polish-born award-winning theater, film and TV actress
• Larry David, comedian, writer, actor, director, and television producer; mother was of Polish descent.
• Jenna Dewan-Tatum, actress, model, and dancer; paternal grandmother of Polish descent
• Janice Dickinson, model/reality television star; mother was of Polish descent
• Dagmara Dominczyk, Polish-born American actress; sister of Marika Dominczyk
• Marika Dominczyk, Polish-born American actress; sister of Dagmara Dominczyk
• Anne Dudek, television actress
• David Duchovny, actor, paternal grandmother of Polish Jewish ancestry
• Alexis Dziena, film and television actress, of part Polish descent
• George Dzundza, actor, of part Polish descent
• Zac Efron, actor, paternal grandfather was the son of Polish Jewish parents
• Jesse Eisenberg, actor, of Polish Jewish and Ukrainian Jewish descent
• Linda Emond, actress; paternal grandmother was of Polish descent
• Briana Evigan, actress; of part Polish descent
• Peter Falk, actor; of Polish Jewish descen
• Jason David Frank, actor and mixed martial artist; mother of half Polish descent
• Johnny Galecki, actor; father of Polish descent
• Arlene Golonka, actress
• Katerina Graham, actress, mother of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Gilda Gray, actress and dancer
• Ari Graynor, actress; father of Polish descent
• Alice Greczyn, actress
• Kim Greist, actress; Polish maternal grandmother
• Zach Grenier, actor; mother of Polish descent
• Sasha Grey, actress; maternal great-grandfather of Polish descent
• Khrystyne Haje, actress
• Chelsea Handler, actress and comedian; maternal great-grandmother of Polish origin
• Marilu Henner, television actress and health book author; father was of Polish descent
• John Hodiak, film actor
• Bonnie Hunt, Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-nominated actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host, maternal grandparents were Polish
• Ryan Hurst, actor; mother of Polish descent
• Scarlett Johansson, actress ; mother is of Polish Jewish descent
• Jake Johnson, actor; maternal grandmother, Lucille/Lucy Kopacz, was of Polish descent
• JoJo, singer and actress; maternal grandmother of Polish origin
• Angelina Jolie, Acedemy Award-winning film actress; mother was approximately 1 quarter Polish
• Jane Kaczmarek, actress
• Nina Kaczorowski, actress, stunt woman, model and dancer
• Vincent Kartheiser, actor; maternal great-grandmother was Polish, from Błonie
• Harvey Keitel, Academy Award-nominated actor, of Polish Jewish and Romanian Jewish descent
• Ted Knight, Emmy Award-winning film and television actor
• Kristof Konrad, TV and film actor
• Camille Kostek, actress and model
• Mitchell Kowal, film actor
• Linda Kozlowski, film actress
• Jane Krakowski, film, stage and television actress ; winner of the 2003 Tony Award; of three quarters Polish descent
• John Krasinski, TV and film actor ; of half Polish and half Irish descent
• Lisa Kudrow, actress, of Polish Jewish and Belarusian Jewish descent
• Shia LaBeouf, actor, voice actor, and comedian, mother is of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Lisa Lampanelli, comedian and actress; maternal grandfather, Stanley Velgot, of Polish descent
• Carole Landis, film actress; mother was of Polish descent and father of Norwegian descent
• Joe Lando, TV and film actor
• Matt Lanter, actor and model; of part Polish descent
• Téa Leoni, film and TV actress; paternal grandmother was of Polish descent
• Logan Lerman, actor; his maternal grandfather was a Polish Jewish immigrant, and the rest of Logan's ancestry is Russian Jewish, Lithuanian Jewish, and other Polish Jewish
• Justin Long, film and television actor; his mother, former Broadway actress Wendy Lesniak, is of half Polish descent
• Josh Lucas, actor
• Eric Mabius, TV and film actor, mother is of Polish descent
• Rose Marie, TV and film actress ; mother of Polish heritage and father of Italian descent
• Ross Martin, Polish Jewish immigrant, TV and film actor
• Joseph Mazzello, actor; maternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Jenny McCarthy, actress and comedian; mother of part Polish descent
• Izabella Miko, Polish-American actress and dancer
• Patrycja Mikula, also known as Patricia Mikula, model and Playboy Cybergirl
• Wentworth Miller, actor, model, screenwriter, and producer; maternal great-grandmother, Florence Busczniewicz, of Polish descent
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse, actor; paternal grandmother, Joan Stolarczyk, was of Polish descent
• Helena Modjeska, Polish-born actress who specialized in Shakespearean roles
• Cameron Monaghan, actor and model; mother of part Polish descent
• Kyle Mooney, actor and comedian; maternal great-grandfather of Polish descent
• Zero Mostel, actor of stage and screen, of Polish Jewish descent
• Pola Negri, Polish film actress who achieved notoriety as a femme fatale in silent films between the 1910s and 1930s
• Paul Newman, actor; of Polish Jewish/Hungarian Jewish and Slovak Catholic descent
• Jerry O'Connell, TV and film actor; maternal grandfather was of Polish descent
• Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, actress and model; of part Polish descent
• Jerry Orbach, Tony Award-winning stage, film, musical theatre and television actor and singer; mother was of Polish-Lithuanian Roman Catholic background; father was a German Jewish immigrant
• Frank Oz, British-born American film director, actor and puppeteer, father was a Polish Jew
• Joanna Pacuła, Polish-born actress
• Jared Padalecki, actor ; father is of Polish descent
• Adrianne Palicki, actress; paternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Gwyneth Paltrow, actress; paternal family were Jewish immigrants from Belarus and Poland; grandfather's surname was "Paltrowicz"
• Annie Parisse, actress; father of part Polish descent
• James Penzi, playwright, screenwriter, poet; mother is Polish
• Mary Kay Place, actress and singer; Polish maternal great-grandmother
• Stefanie Powers, actress and singer; mother was of Polish descent
• Beata Pozniak, Polish-born actress, film director, painter, fashion model and activist who is now based out of the United States
• Robert Prosky, TV and film actor
• Danny Pudi, TV actor; mother is of Polish descent
• Maggie Q, model and actress ; father is of Irish and Polish descent
• Jack Quaid, actor; maternal grandfather of Polish ancestry
• Emily Ratajkowski, actress and model; paternal grandfather was of Polish descent, maternal grandfather was a Polish Jewish immigrant
• John Ratzenberger, TV actor, mother was of Polish descent
• Dana Reeve, actress, singer, and activist for disability causes; paternal grandmother of Polish descent
• Scott Rogowsky, comedian and the primary host of HQ Trivia.
• Ronda Rousey, MMA fighter and actress; of part Polish descent
• Eli Roth, film director, producer, writer and actor, of Polish Jewish, Russian Jewish, and Austrian Jewish descent
• Paul Rudd, actor, of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Amy Ryan, actress, born Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski; of part Polish descent
• Meg Ryan, née Hyra, actress, Polish ancestry on her father's side
• Thomas Sadoski, actor; paternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Jonathan Sadowski, actor of Polish and Italian descent
• Fred Savage, actor, of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Rob Schneider, actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director; father was of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent
• Liev Schreiber, film and stage actor, mother is of Polish Jewish descent
• Chloë Sevigny, film actress and model; mother is of Polish descent
• Atticus Shaffer, actor; maternal grandmother, Wanda Mary Jankowski, of Polish descent
• Casey Siemaszko, film/television actor, Polish father
• Nina Siemaszko, film/television actress, Polish father
• Joseph Sikora, Polish-American actor
• Bill Smitrovich, actor
• Leelee Sobieski, actress, father is of partial Polish descent
• Olga Sosnovska, Polish-born TV and soap opera actress
• Martin Starr, actor; maternal great-grandmother, Mary H. Krzyzanowski, of Polish descent
• Ben Stiller, actor, father is of Polish Jewish descent
• Gloria Swanson, actress ; mother, Adelaide Klainowksi, was of part Polish descent
• Loretta Swit, musical theatre and television actress
• Keith Szarabajka, TV and film actor
• Eric Szmanda, TV actor, of part Polish descent
• Carly Tamborski, actress; father of Polish descent
• Christine Taylor, actress; of part Polish descent
• Miles Teller, actor; paternal great-grandmother, Catherine Stancavage, was of Polish descent
• Meghan Trainor, singer and actress; maternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Alan Tudyk, TV, film and stage actor; father of Polish descent
• Liv Tyler, actress and model; paternal great-grandfather was a Polish immigrant
• Tom Tyler, film actor
• James Urbaniak, film, television and theatre actor
• Travis Van Winkle, actor; maternal grandmother of Polish descent
• Michael Vartan, film and television actor; mother is a Jewish immigrant from Poland
• Jean Wallace, film actress
• Eli Wallach, actor, of Polish Jewish descent
• Devon Werkheiser, actor; maternal great-grandmother was of Polish descent
• Paul Wesley, actor, born Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski to Polish parents
• Steve Wilkos, TV host
• Alicia Witt, actress, singer, songwriter, and pianist
• Pia Zadora, actress and singer; mother was of Polish descent
• Henry Zebrowski, actor and comedian; grandfather was Polish immigrant
• Maddie Ziegler, actress and dancer; of partial Polish descent
• Madeline Zima, actress; maternal grandfather of Polish ancestry
• Vanessa Zima, actress; maternal grandfather of Polish ancestry
• Yvonne Zima, actress; maternal grandfather of Polish ancestry
• Sheri Moon Zombie, actress; mother of Polish descent
• Daphne Zuniga, actress; maternal grandfather of Polish descent
• Chris Zylka, actor; maternal grandfather of Polish descent

  Architects

• John S. Flizikowski, prominent Chicago architect
• Frank Gehry, Canadian-born of Polish Jewish descent; California architect
• Norman Jaffe, architect widely noted for his contemporary residential architecture
• Daniel Libeskind, Polish-born architect
• Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Polish American leader of the New Urbanism movement
• Witold Rybczynski, Scottish-born architect, author and professor; later based in Canada and the United States

  Artists

• Richard Anuszkiewicz, painter, sculptor, and printmaker
• Joseph Bakos, Southwestern artist
• Władysław T. Benda, painter and illustrator
• Hedwig Gorski, performance poet and avant-garde artist
• Frank Kozik, graphic artist who has worked with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melvins, The Offspring and Butthole Surfers; runs Man's Ruin Records
• Tamara de Lempicka, art deco artist
• Jan Lorenc, photographer and designer
• Jozef Mazur, painter and stained glass artist
• Rafał Olbiński, artist
• Ed Paschke, artist
• Miroslaw Rogala, video artist
• Theodore Roszak, sculptor
• Jan Sawka, painter, sculptor, printmaker, stage design, and set design
• Kesha Sebert, singer
• David Seymour, Polish-born photographer and photojournalist
• Julian Stanczak, painter
• Stanisław Szukalski, painter, sculptor and pseudoscientific historian
• Arthur Szyk, political cartoonist
• Jack Tworkov, painter
• Piotr Uklański, artist and photographer
• Max Weber, Polish-born Expressionist painter
• Jurek Wajdowicz, photographer, artist and graphic designer
• Krzysztof Wodiczko, artist
• Korczak Ziolkowski, sculptor of Crazy Horse Memorial

  Authors

• George Adamski, author
• Douglas Blazek, poet and editor
• Charles Bukowski, writer
• Virginia C. Bulat, author and historian
• Mark Z. Danielewski, author
• Stuart Dybek, poet, writer
• Marie Ferrarella, author
• Hedwig Gorski, performance poet, avant-garde artist
• John Guzlowski, poet/novelist/essayist, author
• Chuck Klosterman, author with German and Polish ancestry
• Lelord Kordel, author of books on nutrition and healthy living
• Jerzy Kosinski, novelist
• Chris Kuzneski, best-selling author of multiple thrillers
• Richard C. Lukas, author, historian and freelance writer
• Czesław Miłosz, Nobel Prize–winning poet, prose writer, essayist and translator
• Andrew Nagorski, non-fiction/fiction author and award-winning senior editor of Newsweek magazine
• Michael Alfred Peszke, psychiatrist and historian of the Polish Armed Forces in World War II
• David Pietrusza, non-fiction and historical author
• James Rollins, bestselling author of fantasy and action-adventure thrillers
• Leo Rosten, teacher and academic; best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography
• Maurice Sendak, Polish Jewish-American writer and illustrator of children's books
• Isaac Bashevis Singer Polish-American writer in Yiddish, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.
• Maja Trochimczyk, music historian, poet, editor, translator and publisher, founder of Moonrise Press
• Diane Wakoski, poet and essayist in residence at Michigan State University
• Maia Wojciechowska, writer of children's books
• Leo Yankevich, critic, editor, poet and translator associated with the New Formalist movement
• Adam Zamoyski, historian and a member of the Zamoyski ancient Polish nobility family
• George Zebrowski, science fiction author
• Roger Zelazny, writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels
• Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm, academic and non-fiction and historical author

  Filmmakers

• Joe Augustyn, screenwriter, producer
• Andrzej Bartkowiak, cinematographer, director and actor
• Richard Boleslavsky, director
• Mark Cendrowski, television director
• Shirley Clarke, experimental and independent filmmaker
• Tad Danielewski, director/producer; his first wife was Polish-American actress Sylvia Daneel, with whom he emigrated to the United States
• Max Fleischer, Polish-American cartoonist, filmmaker and creator of Koko the Clown, Betty Boop and Popeye, of Jewish descent
• Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-born U.S. Hollywood motion picture producer and founding contributor of several motion picture studios, of Jewish descent
• Gene Gutowski, Polish-born European and U.S. motion picture and theater producer, noted sculptor and author. Producer of several of Roman Polanski's early films. Co-producer of The Pianist.
• Janusz Kamiński, two-time-Oscar-winning cinematographer and film director who has photographed all of Steven Spielberg's movies since Schindler's List
• Stanley Kubrick, US/UK filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and photographer, of Jewish descent
• Martin Kunert, writer/director
• Rudolph Maté, cinematographer and film director
• Alan J. Pakula, producer, writer and director, of Jewish descent
• Roman Polanski, filmmaker born in France; at age 3 moved to Poland; fled from the U.S. to France in 1978 due to allegations of statutory rape, of Jewish descent
• Zbigniew Rybczyński, director, filmmaker, cinematographer, Oscar winner 1983 Best Animated Short Film
• Andrzej Sekuła, cinematographer and film director
• Aaron Spelling, film and television producer, of Jewish descent
• Sam Spiegel, Academy Award-winning film producer, of Jewish descent
• J. Michael Straczynski, writer/producer
• Gore Verbinski, director
• Lilly Wachowski, filmmaker, director
• Lana Wachowski, filmmaker, director
• Albert Warner, co-founder of Warner Bros. Studios, of Jewish descent
• Harry Warner, one of the founders of Warner Bros. and a major contributor to the development of the film industry, of Jewish descent
• Jack L. Warner, president and driving force behind the highly successful development of Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, of Jewish descent
• Sam Warner, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. film company, of Jewish descent
• Tommy Wiseau, writer, director, and star of The Room
• Billy Wilder, journalist, screenwriter, film director, and producer whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films, of Jewish descent
• Dariusz Wolski, Polish-born cinematographer

  Journalists

• Mika Brzezinski, NBC and MSNBC News journalist and commentator
• Rita Cosby, MSNBC anchor; journalist
• Christopher Hitchens, literary critic and political activist
• Laura Ingraham, conservative political TV commentator/radio show host/author
• Wanda Jablonski, journalist
• Larry King, Larry King Live, of Jewish descent
• John Kobylt, radio personality and co-host of talk radio program John and Ken on KFI AM 640
• Max Kolonko, TV personality, news correspondent, author, producer
• Michelle Kosinski, NBC News correspondent
• Alan Krashesky, anchorman of Chicago's WLS-TV or ABC 7
• Jim Miklaszewski, chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News
• Carl Monday, investigative journalist in Cleveland
• Mike Royko, long-time Chicago newspaper columnist
• Wilma Smith, anchorwoman WJW-TV
• Gloria Steinem, American feminist icon, journalist, and social and political activist, of partial Jewish descent
• Ivo Widlak, Polish-born international press, radio and television Journalist

  Models

• Anna Anka, model, actress, and author
• Anna Chudoba, model/reality TV star
• Janice Dickinson, self-proclaimed first supermodel, fashion photographer, actress, author and an agent
• Katarzyna Dolinska, model and contestant of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10
• Alice Greczyn, model and actress
• Jacquelyn Jablonski, model
• Anna Jagodzinska, Polish model, born in Sierpc
• Diane Klimaszewski, model and one half of the Coors Light Twins with sister Elaine
• Elaine Klimaszewski, model and one half of the Coors Light Twins with sister Diane
• Karlie Kloss, model
• Camille Kostek, model who was on a solo cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
• Joanna Krupa, model and actress, born in Warsaw
• Jordan Monroe, Playboy model
• Beth Ostrosky Stern, model and wife of Howard Stern
• Emily Ratajkowski, Polish-American model who appeared on iCarly
• Anja Rubik, Polish model, born in Rzeszów
• Mia Tyler, plus-size model, actress, public speaker and advocate; great-grandfather emigrated from Poland

  Musicians

• Esther Allan, composer, pianist, and organist
• Rosalie Allen, country singer, songwriter, and guitarist
• Michael Anthony, born Michael Anthony Sobolewski; bassist
• Jerry Augustyniak, drummer
• Pat Benatar, Patricia Mae Andrzejewski, rock singer
• Eddie Blazonczyk, polka musician
• Mike Bordin, drummer for
• Dan Bryk, singer-songwriter
• Clem Burke, drummer
• Peter Cetera, singer/songwriter, bassist
• Greyson Chance, singer, songwriter, and pianist; maternal great-grandmother, Annie J. Kosinski, of Polish descent
• Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records
• Phil Chess, co-founder of Chess Records
• Florian Chmielewski, Minnesota musician; politician; former legislator; former President of the Minnesota Senate
• John Curulewski, one of the original members of Styx
• Dick Dale, pioneer of surf rock and one of the most influential guitarists of the early 1960s; experimented with reverb and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers
• Neil Diamond, singer-songwriter, born to a Jewish family descended from Russian and Polish immigrants
• Slawomir Dobrzanski, classical pianist
• Henry Doktorski, accordionist, pianist, composer and conductor
• Urszula Dudziak, jazz singer
• Adam Dutkiewicz, guitarist
• Rik Fox, heavy metal bass/guitar player ; also actor and published writer
• Piotr Gajewski, conductor, music director
• Isis Gee, pop singer-songwriter
• Paul Gilbert, guitarist
• Arkadiusz Górecki, musician, trombonist, choir master, music teacher
• Leopold Godowsky, Polish-born pianist/composer
• Benny Goodman, jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman; of Polish Jewish descent
• Lawrence Gwozdz, saxophone player
• Donnie Hamzik heavy metal drummer and original member of Manowar, of Polish descent, born Dominik Hamzik
• Josef Hofmann, Polish-born pianist and composer
• Mieczysław Horszowski, Polish-born pianist
• Frank Iero, guitarist for the band
• Walter Jagiello, polka musician; akas: "Mały Władziu", "Li'l Wally", "The Polka King"
• Jill Janus, heavy metal singer and frontperson of Huntress, born Jill Janiszewska
• Sarah Jarosz, singer-songwriter
• Bobby Jarzombek, drummer
• Ron Jarzombek, guitarist
• Steve Jocz, drummer
• JoJo, pop and R&B singer–songwriter; actress
• Jan Kaczmarek, Academy Award-winning composer
• Greg Kihn, pop musician, frontman
• Jake Kiszka, guitarist
• Josh Kiszka, frontman
• Sam Kiszka, bassist
• Pee Wee King, country-western singer and songwriter
• Frank Klepacki, musician, video game music composer and sound director
• Miliza Korjus, Polish-born opera singer and Academy Award-nominated actress
• Adam Kowalczyk, guitar player
• Ed Kowalczyk, vocalist
• Benjamin Kowalewicz, vocalist
• Gene Krupa, big band and jazz drummer
• Wiktor Labunski, classical pianist and composer
• Geddy Lee, bassist and frontman of Rush, son of Jewish holocaust survivors from Poland.
• Liberace, entertainer of Polish and Italian descent
• Karl Logan heavy metal guitarist and member of Manowar, born Carl Mozelewski
• Adam Makowicz, jazz pianist and composer
• Marilyn Manson, musician, artist
• Ray Manzarek, The Doors keyboardist and co-founder
• Marilyn Mazur, percussionist/composer/singer/pianist/bandleader
• Paul Mazurkiewicz, drummer
• Robert Muczynski, composer
• Karen O, singer
• Ric Ocasek, lead singer and rhythm guitarist
• Ken Peplowski, jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
• Christina Perri, singer and songwriter
• PhilliMAK, singer; an actor; a model; and producer. He's Polish on his mother's side. He's Polish Jewish; his great grandfather, grandfather, and great uncle were in the Holocaust before immigrating to America
• Gene Pitney, singer and songwriter
• Poe, singer-songwriter
• Bogdan Raczynski, musician
• Axl Rose, lead vocalist for the band Guns N' Roses
• Frederic Rzewski, composer and pianist
• John Rzeznik, guitarist and vocalist of Goo Goo Dolls
• Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi guitarist
• Neil Sedaka, singer-songwriter
• Stevenson Sedgwick, composer, keyboard player, multi-instrumentalist, composer Black Ice
• Jacques Singer, conductor
• Matt Skiba, singer and guitarist
• Ruth Slenczynska, pianist
• Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American musician; original guitarist and founding member of Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Walt Solek, polka musician
• Paul Stanley, Kiss singer and guitarist with Polish father
• Peter Steele, vocalist, bassist bonn Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk
• Zygmunt Stojowski, pianist and composer
• Leopold Stokowski, conductor and composer
• Roman Totenberg, Polish-born violinist
• Thomas Tyra, college bandmaster, composer, arranger and music educator
• Keith Urban, New Zealand-born U.S.-based Grammy an, ARIA-winning country music singer
• Michał Urbaniak, Polish-born jazz musician
• Bobby Vinton, pop singer
• Henryk Wars, composer
• Cory Wells, born Emil Lewandowski in Buffalo, New York; one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night
• Carl Wierzbicki, drummer in heavy metal band Huntress
• Jack White, singer/guitarist for The White Stripes
• D'arcy Wretzky, bassist
• Franciszek Zachara, composer, pianist

  Television personalities

• Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of The View and contestant on Survivor
• Bonnie Hunt, host of The Bonnie Hunt Show
• Jenny Jones, talk show host who hosted The Jenny Jones Show from 1991 to 2002
• Jane Kaczmarek, Emmy-nominated actress Malcolm in the Middle and Raising the Bar
• John Krasinski, actor, The Office
• Richard "Mach" Machowicz, host of Discovery Channel's Future Weapons, former Navy SEAL
• Charlie O'Connell, reality and TV actor
• Kinga Philipps, actress/producer
• Janelle Pierzina, contestant on the sixth and All-Star seasons of the American version of the CBS reality show Big Brother
• Stefanie Powers, film and television actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart
• Anthony Stanislas Radziwill, television executive/filmmaker
• Pat Sajak, host of the popular and long-running television game show Wheel of Fortune
• Howard Stern Radio and TV personalty
• Jon Stewart, host
• Edyta Śliwińska, television personality; ballroom dancer
• Paul Winchell, ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian; his grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Austria-Hungary

  Theater and dance

• Christine Baranski, stage, film and television actress
• Walter Bobbie, Broadway director
• Pesach Burstein, Polish-born Israeli-American actor, comedian, singer; director of Yiddish vaudeville/theatre
• Mike Burstyn, musical theatre actor; entertainer
• David Burtka, stage actor
• John Gromada, Broadway composer and sound designer
• Jerry Jarrett, Broadway musical theatre actor
• Staś Kmieć, theater and dance choreographer
• Chloe Lukasiak, dancer and reality television personality
• Lillian Lux, singer, author, songwriter and actress in Yiddish theater and Yiddish vaudeville; wife of Pesach Burstein; mother of Mike Burstyn
• Ida Nowakowska, actress, singer and dancer
• Anna Sokolow, leading American modern-dance choreographer, Broadway choreographer
• Zypora Spaisman, Lublin-born, U.S. stage actress ; was midwife in Poland during World War II
• Marta Wittkowska, contralto operatic singer
• Karen Ziemba, Tony Award-winning actress, singer and dancer

  Business and economics

• Darius Adamczyk, Polish-born CEO of Honeywell
• Drew Bartkiewicz, founder and CEO of lettrs
• Andrzej Beck, in 1983, he established his own firm, Eastport Trading
• Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and CSO of Airbnb
• Leonard Bosack, co-founder of Cisco Systems
• Paul Bragiel, internet entrepreneur and currently a managing partner of Bragiel Brothers
• Maciej Cegłowski, web developer, entrepreneur. He is the owner of the bookmarking service Pinboard
• Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb
• Jennifer Dulski, President and COO of Change.org
• Olga Erteszek, undergarment designer and lingerie company owner
• Max Factor, Sr., Polish-born cosmetics company founder
• Tony Fadell, American engineer, inventor, designer, entrepreneur, and angel investor. Known as "one of the fathers of the iPod"
• Andrew Filipowski,, technology entrepreneur and founded Platinum Technology
• Roman Galinski, activist, journalist and businessman
• David Geffen, American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist
• Leo Gerstenzang, inventor of Q-Tips
• Alan Greenspan, economist; Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States, 1987-2006
• Joseph Grendys, chairman, CEO, president and owner od Koch Foods
• Ron Grzywinski, co-founder of ShoreBank
• Nathan Handwerker,, Polish-Jewish-American entrepreneur known for creating the Nathan's Famous brand of hot dogs
• Erazm Jerzmanowski, was an industrialist, philanthropist and patron of art
• Barbara Piasecka Johnson,, humanitarian and art collector, who was one of the richest women in the world
• Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman/CEO of Gibson Guitar Corporation
• Tom Kalinske, former president and CEO of Sega of America
• Adam Kolawa, was CEO and co-founder of Parasoft
• John Koza, computer scientist and co-founder of Scientific Games Corporation
• Marcin Kleczynski, CEO and co-founder of American Internet security company, Malwarebytes
• Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco International, convicted in 2005 of fraud
• Anthony Levandowski, American self-driving car engineer. He co-founded Otto and Pronto AI
• Valeria Lipczynski, American businesswoman
• Hank Magnuski, co-founder and CEO of GammaLink, an early pioneer in PC-to-fax technology
• John Michael Małek, engineer, entrepreneur, real estate investor and developer and philanthropist
• Reuben and Rose Mattus, founders of the Häagen-Dazs company
• John Mojecki, businessman and community activist
• Luke Nosek co-founder of PayPal
• Edward P. Roski, real estate businessman; rated #163 on Forbes 400 Richest Americans, with a net worth of approximately $2.5 billion
• Frank Piasecki, founder of Piasecki Helicopter Company, inventor of dual-rotor helicopters
• Edward Piszek, co-founded the Mrs. Paul's frozen foods brand
• Helena Rubinstein, Polish-born cosmetics company founder
• Lydia Sarfati, founder of the Repechage cosmetics company
• Martha Stewart, business magnate, author, editor, former stockbroker, model, and homemaking advocate
• John J. Studzinski, investment banker and philanthropist
• John Stumpf, former chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo
• Bob Stupak, founded Vegas World casino and the Stratosphere tower
• Peter Szulczewski, co-founder and CEO of Wish
• Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International; President and CEO of Atari Corporation
• Ted Twardzik, founder of Mrs. T's Pierogies
• Jan Waszkiewicz, co-founder of Randolph Engineering
• Sanford I. Weill, banker, philanthropist, CEO/Chairman of Citigroup
• Warren Winiarski, winemaker, stag leap winery
• Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, a personal genomics and biotechnology company
• Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president in charge of product management and engineering at Google
• Steve Wozniak, co-founder Apple Computer, Inc.
• Michael J. Wytrwal, one of the successful businessmen and entrepreneurs of the early 1900s in Amsterdam, New York
• Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, vice president of Pacific Coast Borax Company
• Sam Zell, U.S.-born billionaire and real estate entrepreneur

  Explorers

• John Scolvus, aka John of Cologneo, navigator

  Military

• Sylvester Antolak, US Army sergeant
• Alexander Bielaski, Captain of the Union Army
• Leo J. Dulacki, U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general whose last assignment was as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower
• Gabby Gabreski, Francis Stanley "Gabby" Gabreski was a U.S. Army Air Corps and later U.S. Air Force officer who was a fighter ace in World War II, and again in Korea
• Ralph Ignatowski, awarded the Purple Heart with Gold Star, Presidential Unit Citation with Star, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal
• Jan Karski, Polish World War II resistance fighter and scholar
• Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish and Lithuanian national hero, general and a leader of 1794 uprising against the Russians
• Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski, Polish military leader and a Union general in the American Civil War
• Donald J. Kutyna, General, commander in chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Space Command from 1990 to 1992, and commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado from 1987 to 1990
• Robert J. Modrzejewski, U.S. Marine and Medal of Honor Recipient for conspicuous gallantry in Vietnam
• Richard F. Natonski, U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general whose last assignment was as the Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command.
• Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish soldier and politician; has been called "the father of American cavalry"; from 1777 until his death, he fought in the American Revolutionary War for the independence of the U.S.
• Hyman G. Rickover, U.S. Navy Admiral; known as the "father of the Nuclear Navy"; first Director of Naval Reactors
• Edward Rowny, U.S. Army General and ambassador Chief U.S. Negotiator for Arms Control
• John Shalikashvili, U.S. Army general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; born in Warsaw, Poland and emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager; became the first draftee to rise to rank of General and first JCS Chairman after General Colin Powell
• Frank P. Witek, U.S. Marine and Medal of Honor recipient

  Politics

• Anna Maria Anders, politician and diplomat
• Mark Begich, United States Senator from Alaska, 2009-2015
• Dan Benishek, physician; U.S. Representative for Michigan's 1st congressional district
• A. Bruce Bielaski, director of the Bureau of Investigation
• Jackie Biskupski, politician and businesswoman from Utah
• Michael Bloomberg, businessman and politician, and the former Mayor of New York City
• Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman
• Susan Bysiewicz, Lt. Governor, Connecticut
• John D. Cherry, Lt. Governor, Michigan
• Florian Chmielewski, Minnesota musician; politician; former legislator; former President of the Minnesota Senate
• Andrew R. Ciesla, State Senator, New Jersey, Republican
• Mark Critz, U.S. Congressman
• Ed Derwinski, former U.S. Secretary of Veteran Affairs
• John Dingell, former Democratic representative from Michigan.
• Thaddeus J. Dulski, U.S. House of Representatives, New York
• Kendel Ehrlich, former first lady of Maryland
• Renee Ellmers U.S. Representative for since 2011.
• John A. Gronouski, Postmaster General and ambassador
• Chuck Hagel, United States Senator ; U.S. Secretary of Defense
• Kyle Janek, Texas State Senator
• Leon Jaworski, special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal
• Mike Johanns, United States Senator
• Paul E. Kanjorski, Pennsylvania Congressman, Democrat
• Marcy Kaptur, U.S. Representative for the Ninth Congressional District of Ohio, Democrat
• Casimir Kendziorski, Wisconsin State Senate
• Jerry Kleczka, United States House of Representatives from 1985 to 2005, representing the Fourth Congressional District of Wisconsin
• Douglas Kmiec, U.S. Ambassador, U.S. Assistant Attorney General , legal scholar
• Ted Kulongoski, Governor of Oregon
• Raymond Lesniak, New Jersey State Senator
• Corey Lewandowski Lobbyist and campaign manager of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for President of the United States
• Bill Lipinski, United States House of Representatives from 1983–2005, representing the 3rd District of Illinois; father of Dan Lipinski
• Dan Lipinski, member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 3rd District of Illinois; son of Bill Lipinski
• George D. Maziarz, Republican state senator from New York's 62nd district
• Christopher Murphy, United States Senator ; mother of Polish descent
• Barbara Mikulski, Senior United States Senator
• Frank Murkowski, former United States Senator and Governor ; father of Lisa Murkowski
• Lisa Murkowski, Junior United States Senator from Alaska; first U.S. Senator born in Alaska; Alaska's first female senator ; daughter of Frank Murkowski
• Edmund Muskie, Democratic politician from Maine, served as Governor of Maine, a U.S. Senator, as U.S. Secretary of State, and ran as a candidate for Vice President of the United States
• Marian P. Opala, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice
• Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, Republican
• Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Gene Pelowski, Representative in the Minnesota State Legislature for District 31A; schoolteacher
• Władysław Pleszczyński, conservative editor and writer
• Adam Przeworski, Professor of Political Science
• Roman Pucinski, House of Representatives, Illinois
• Nicholas Andrew Rey, United States Ambassador to Poland from 1993–97
• Dan Rostenkowski, served in the U.S. Congress as a U.S. Representative from 1959–95
• Susan Sadlowski Garza, member of the Chicago City Council
• Bernie Sanders, United States Senator from Vermont
• Scott Stringer, New York City Comptroller and Borough President of Manhattan
• Bart Stupak, former U.S. Representative
• Richard Trumka, American labor movement leader
• Alexander Vershbow, United States Ambassador to South Korea
• Jackie Walorski, United States Representative, representing the 2nd district of Indiana's 2nd congressional district
• Aldona Wos, United States Ambassador to Estonia until 2006
• Marion Zioncheck, United States House of Representatives from 1933–36

  Religion

• Paul Gregory Bootkoski, Bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey
• Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska
• Walter Ciszek, Jesuit priest held by the Soviet Union for 23 years, between 1941 and 1963
• Franciszek Chalupka, Polish priest, graduate of Orchard Lake Seminary, founder of the first Polish parishes in New England, started from 1887
• Józef Dąbrowski, Catholic priest
• William A. Dembski, Episcopalian; prominent proponent of intelligent design
• Edward Kmiec, Bishop of Buffalo, New York
• John Cardinal Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia
• Jerome Edward Listecki, Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Adam Cardinal Maida, Archbishop of Detroit, Michigan
• David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center, a corporation that controls the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology, and controls the copyrighted teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard
• Leopold Moczygemba, Franciscan, founder of the first Polish settlement in Panna Maria, Texas
• Thomas J. Paprocki, Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, Illinois
• Edmund Cardinal Szoka, former president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and Governor of Vatican City
• Thomas Wenski, Bishop of Orlando, Florida
• David Zubik, Roman Catholic Bishop of Pittsburgh

  Scientists

• Victor Ambros, developmental biologist who discovered the first known microRNA.
• Henryk Arctowski, scientist, oceanographer and Antarctica explorer
• Julius Axelrod, biochemist
• Paul Baran, Internet pioneer, one of the developers of packet-switched networks along with Donald Davies and Leonard Kleinrock
• Mieczysław G. Bekker, engineer and scientist; inventor of the lunar rover
• Karol J. Bobko, former NASA astronaut
• Jozef Cywinski, biomedical engineer; he developed several first-on-the market electro-medical devices like cardiac stimulators pacemakers, train-of-four nerve stimulators, PACS, EMS, TENS and Veinoplus calf pump stimulators
• Elonka Dunin, game developer, writer, and amateur cryptographer; maintains a website dedicated to the Kryptos sculpture/cipher located at the CIA's headquarters
• Andrzej Ehrenfeucht, mathematician and computer scientist; formulated the Ehrenfeucht–Fraïssé game and Ehrenfeucht–Mycielski sequence
• Kazimierz Fajans, pioneer in the science of radioactivity; created Fajans' rules; discovered the element protactinium
• Christopher Ferguson, former NASA astronaut
• Richard Feynman, physicist; 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Casimir Funk, biochemist, generally credited with the first formulation of the concept of vitamins in 1912
• Walter Golaski, engineer
• Joanna Hoffman, part of the original Apple Macintosh developer team; acted as the team's only marketing person for more than a year; wrote the first draft of the Macintosh User Interface Guidelines
• Josef Hofmann, inventor of windshield wipers, shock absorbers for vehicles, and oil burning furnace
• Roald Hoffmann, chemist and writer, Nobel Prize winner
• Leonid Hurwicz, economist, Nobel Prize winner
• Tomasz Imieliński, computer scientist, most known in the areas of data mining, mobile computing, data extraction, and search engine technology
• Christopher Jargocki, physicist and author
• Hilary Koprowski, virologist and immunologist
• Alfred Korzybski, developed the theory of general semantics
• Stephanie Kwolek, inventor nylon and kevlar
• Gerhard Lenski, sociologist known for contributions to the sociology of religion, social inequality, and ecological-evolutionary social theory
• Richard Lenski, evolutionary biologist, proved evolution with the E. coli long-term evolution experiment
• Cass Lewart, electrical engineer and author
• Janusz Liberkowski, winner of the first season of the show American Inventor; his invention was the Anecia Safety Capsule
• Henryk Magnuski, inventor of the first walkie talkie the SCR-300
• Bronislaw Malinowski, one of the most important 20th-century anthropologists
• Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, polymer chemist best known for the discovery of atom transfer radical polymerization
• Albert Abraham Michelson, Polish-born American physicist; awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for work done on the measurement of the speed of light; the first American to receive the Nobel in the sciences
• Ralph Modjeski, engineer and bridge builder
• Jan Moor-Jankowski, primatologist; Polish independence fighter during World War II
• Tomasz Mrowka is an American mathematician specializing in differential geometry and gauge theory.
• Stanisław Mrozowski, worked on the Manhattan Project
• Jan Mycielski, mathematician whose work includes the Ehrenfeucht–Mycielski sequence, The Mycielskian, The Mycielski–Grötzsch graph and Mycielski's theorem
• Bohdan Paczyński, astronomer, leading scientist in theory of the evolution of stars
• Scott E. Parazynski, NASA astronaut, performed a dangerous EVA never performed before to repair a live solar array on the International Space Station
• James A. Pawelczyk, astronaut, Associate Professor of Physiology and Kinesiology at Penn State; the first Pole in outer space
• Sidney Pestka, geneticist and biochemist who discovered how mRNA is translated into proteins through a small ribosomal subunit
• Frank Piasecki, aviation engineer, developed vertical lift aircraft
• Piotr Piecuch, physical chemist, best known for his work in theoretical and computational chemistry, particularly ab initio quantum-mechanical methods based on coupled-cluster theory
• Marek Pienkowski, medical researcher and clinician known for innovations in diagnosis and treatment of immunological deficiencies and asthma/allergic disorders.
• Isidor Isaac Rabi, emigrated to the U.S. in 1899; awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for work on molecular-beam magnetic-resonance detection method.
• Wojciech Rostafiński, worked for NASA; contributed to the theory of aeronautics and applied mathematics; listed in Scientific Citation Index
• Albert Sabin, Polish-born medical scientist, discovered oral vaccine for poliomyelitis; President of the Weizmann Institute of Science
• Andrew Schally, endocrinologist and Nobel Prize winner in 1977 in Medicine for research work
• Tadeusz Sendzimir, engineer and inventor of international renown with 120 patents in mining and metallurgy, 73 of which were awarded to him in the United States
• Terry Sejnowski, neuroscientists whose research in neural networks and computational neuroscience has been pioneering.
• Maria Siemionow, Polish surgeon who performed the first face transplant surgery in the U.S.
• Igor Sikorsky, helicopter engineer who founded the first helicopter industry in the U.S.
• Iwona Stroynowski, immunologist she discovered the process of gene expression control called attenuation, the first example of a riboswitch mechanism
• Ryszard Syski, mathematician whose research was in queueing theory
• Stanisław Szarek, mathematician his research concerns convex geometry and functional analysis
• Jack W. Szostak, Nobel Prize–winning biologist; his work helped us to understand telomeres and helped create the human genome project
• Bolesław Szymański, computer scientist, he's known for multiple contributions into computer science, including Szymański's algorithm
• Alfred Tarski, mathematician and philosopher
• Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner, patent and invention of sound film on motion pictures
• Adam Ulam, historian and political scientist at Harvard University, one of the world's foremost authorities on Russia and the Soviet Union
• Stanisław Ulam, mathematician who participated in the Manhattan Project and proposed the Teller–Ulam design of thermonuclear weapons
• Thaddeus Vincenty, geodesist, he devised Vincenty's formulae, a geodesic calculation technique published in 1975 which is accurate to about half a millimeter
• Andrzej Walicki, economist; in 1998 he won Balzan Prize for his contribution to the study of the Russian and Polish cultural and social history, and also the study of European culture in the 19th century
• Frank Wilczek, physicist, Nobel Prize 2004
• Anne Wojcicki, biotech analyst, biologist, and businesswoman; co-founder of 23andMe
• Stanley Wojcicki, professor and former chair of the physics department at Stanford University in California
• Aleksander Wolszczan, astronomer, discoverer of the first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets
• Robert Zajonc, social psychologist
• Maria Zakrzewska, pioneering female doctor in the United States
• Edmund Zalinski, invented pneumatic dynamite torpedo-gun, invented an electrical fuse, Other inventions included a modified entrenching tool, a ramrod-bayonet, and a telescopic sight for artillery and the Zalinsky boat, one of the earliest submarines in the United States
• George D. Zamka, NASA astronaut
• Casimir Zeglen, invented the bulletproof vest in 1897; a Catholic priest of St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church in Chicago
• Florian Znaniecki, sociologist and philosopher
• Wojciech H. Zurek, pioneer in information physics; co-author of a proof stating that a single quantum cannot be cloned; coined the terms "einselection" and "quantum discord"
• Antoni Zygmund, mathematician, "trigonometric series"

  Sports

Athletic

• Stanisława Walasiewicz, 100m runner

  Baseball

• Rick Ankiel, former professional baseball outfielder and pitcher
• Mike Bielecki, former professional baseball player
• Joe Borowski, Cleveland Indians closing pitcher
• Dave Borkowski, former Major League Baseball relief pitcher
• Stan Coveleski, Major League Baseball player during the 1910s and 1920s
• Jim Czajkowski, Major League Baseball starting pitcher
• Doug Drabek, former professional baseball player
• Moe Drabowsky, right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Dave Dombrowski, baseball executive
• Tim Federowicz, catcher for the Chicago Cubs
• Mark Fidrych, pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Jason Grabowski, pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Johnny Grabowski, catcher in Major League Baseball
• Steve Gromek, pitcher in Major League BaseballBaseball
• Mark Grudzielanek, second baseman in Major League Baseball, plays for the Kansas City Royals
• Kevin Gryboski, right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Mark Gubicza, former pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Ray Jablonski, third baseman in Major League Baseball with an eight-year career from 1953 to 1960
• Scott Kamieniecki, former professional baseball player
• Matt Kata, Major League Baseball infielder
• Ryan Klesko, Major League Baseball player
• Ted Kluszewski, Major League first baseman
• Paul Konerko, former professional baseball first baseman
• Tony Kubek, baseball player and television broadcaster
• Whitey Kurowski, third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Mat Latos, professional baseball pitcher
• Eddie Lopat, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Stan Lopata, Major League Baseball player
• Mark Lukasiewicz, former professional baseball player who played two seasons for the Anaheim Angels
• Greg Luzinski, former left fielder in Major League Baseball
• Joe Maddon, Major League Baseball manager, currently serving as manager of the Chicago Cubs
• Gary Majewski, former Major League Baseball pitcher
• Phil Mankowski, former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets
• Brian Matusz, professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball
• Bill Mazeroski, former Major League baseball player
• Barney McCosky, center fielder/left fielder in Major League Baseball
• Doug Mientkiewicz, former first baseman for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and several other MLB teams
• Dave Mlicki, former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Stan Musial, Major League Baseball player who played 22 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 to 1963
• Joe Niekro, starting pitcher in Major League Baseball; younger brother of Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro; father of first baseman Lance Niekro
• Phil Niekro, former pitcher in Major League Baseball and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
• C. J. Nitkowski, left-handed former professional baseball pitcher
• Tom Paciorek, Major League outfielder and first baseman for 18 seasons between 1970 and 1987
• Freddie Patek, Major League Baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, and California Angels
• Ron Perranoski, Major League pitcher
• A. J. Pierzynski, Major League catcher
• Johnny Podres, Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher
• Jack Quinn, Major League pitcher
• Ron Reed, Major League pitcher
• Art Shamsky, outfielder in Major League Baseball and Israel Baseball League manager
• Al Simmons, player in Major League Baseball over three decades
• Marc Rzepczynski, Major League pitcher
• Bill "Moose" Skowron, Major League Baseball player, primarily a first baseman
• Matt Szczur, active Major League outfielder for the Chicago Cubs
• Ryan Sherriff, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Frank Tanana, former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball
• Alan Trammell, baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers from 1977 to 1996
• Troy Tulowitzki, Major League Baseball shortstop
• Helen Walulik, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Ted Wilks, relief pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians; coach of the Kansas City A's
• Carl Yastrzemski, Major League Baseball player
• Richie Zisk, Major League Baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Seattle Mariners from 1971 to 1983

  Basketball

• Carol Blazejowski, women's professional basketball player
• Vince Boryla, pro basketball player, coach, and executive
• Frank Brickowski, retired basketball player
• Dan Dickau
• Phil Farbman, basketball player
• Mike Gminski, former college and professional basketball player
• Tom Gola, one of Philadelphia's most famous basketball players
• Marcin Gortat, professional basketball player in the NBA. Washington Wizards.
• Bobby Hurley, Duke and NCA basketball player
• Frank Kaminsky, basketball player
• Thomas Kelati, professional basketball player for the Polish national team
• Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke University men's basketball team and the 2008 gold medal-winning U.S. men's Olympic basketball team
• Mitch Kupchak, former professional basketball player and current general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-2017 after Jerry West moved to the Memphis Grizzlies organization
• Bob Kurland, 7-foot basketball center
• Christian Laettner, NBA player
• Red Mihalik, NCAA and Olympic official/referee
• Paul Mokeski, former basketball player
• Eric Piatkowski, National Basketball Association player with the Phoenix Suns
• Joe Proski, first trainer of Phoenix Suns; inducted into Phoenix Ring of Fame in 2001
• Joel Przybilla, professional basketball player in the NBA
• A.J. Slaughter, professional basketball player for the Polish national team
• Kelly Tripucka, National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets from 1981 to 1991
• Steve Wojciechowski, Head coach of the Marquette University men's basketball team

  Bowling

• Eddie Lubanski, considered one of the greatest bowlers of all time; is in the Guinness book of World Records

  Boxing

• Bobby Czyz, boxer
• Andrew Golota, professional boxer from Poland who has been involved in many controversial fights
• Stanley Ketchel, boxer who became one of the greatest world middleweight champions
• Stanley Poreda, Jersey City boxer considered a top heavyweight contender in the early 1930s
• Paweł Wolak, former WBC USNBC Light Middleweight Champion
• Teddy Yarosz, NBA Middleweight Boxing Champion
• Tony Zale, two-time Middleweight World Champion Boxer

  Fencing

• Monica Aksamit, Olympic bronze medalist, Women's Team Saber
• Dagmara Wozniak, Olympic bronze medalist, Women's Team Saber

  Figure skating

• Colette Kaminski, figure skater
• Tara Lipinski, Olympic gold medalist figure skater and celebrity
• Janet Lynn, figure skater and Olympic bronze medalist

  Football

• Danny Abramowicz, wide receiver in the NFL who played for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers
• Pete Banaszak, college and professional football player
• Steve Bartkowski, former NFL quarterback
• Tom Brady, 6 time Super Bowl champion, NFL quarterback for the New England Patriots; Maternal grandmother of Polish descent.
• Zeke Bratkowski, All-American quarterback at the University of Georgia in 1952 and 1953
• Bryan Bulaga, NFL offensive tackle
• Carter Bykowski, football player
• Frank Bykowski, football player
• Brad Cieslak, tight end in the NFL; currently plays for the Cleveland Browns.
• Lou Creekmur, NFL left offensive tackle/guard for the Detroit Lions from 1951–59
• Frank Dancewicz, former NFL quarterback
• Mike Ditka, former NFL player, television commentator, and coach
• Frank Gatski, former NFL player
• Mike Gesicki, football player
• Tom Glassic, former NFL player, guard for the Denver Broncos of the NFL from 1976 to 1983
• Mark Glowinski, football player
• Stephen Gostkowski, placekicker for the New England Patriots of the NFL
• Jim Grabowski, football player and broadcaster
• Bruce Gradkowski, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals
• Chris Gronkowski, fullback for the Denver Broncos
• Dan Gronkowski, tight end for the Cleveland Browns
• Rob Gronkowski, former tight end for the New England Patriots
• Jack Ham, former linebacker who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Jim Harbaugh, NFL quarterback and coach
• John Harbaugh, NFL coach
• Leon Hart, tight end and defensive end
• Henry Hynoski, fullback for the New York Giants
• Jim Irsay, owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts
• Jeff Jagodzinski, head coach of the Boston College Eagles football team
• Sebastian Janikowski, former kicker for the Oakland Raiders/Seattle Seahawks
• Vic Janowicz, halfback for Ohio State University
• Ron Jaworski, former football player, NFL analyst on ESPN
• Kyle Juszczyk, NFL player
• Mike Kenn, former offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons
• Joe Klecko, former NFL defensive end
• Gary Kubiak, NFL coach and former player
• Frank Kush, football coach who most prominently served as head coach at Arizona State University for more than two decades
• Joe Kowalewski, tight end for the New York Jets
• Brian Kozlowski, former NFL tight end
• Glen Kozlowski, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
• Joe Kulbacki, Buffalo Bills
• Ted Kwalick, former tight end in the NFL and World Football League
• Nick Kwiatkoski, NFL linebacker
• Chris Liwienski, former offensive guard
• Johnny Lujack, former quarterback for the University of Notre Dame and the Chicago Bears
• Don Majkowski, former NFL quarterback
• Stas Maliszewski, Princeton All-American 1964 and 1965, Baltimore Colts 1966 NFL Draft
• Ted Marchibroda, former quarterback and head coach in the NFL
• Dan Marino, former quarterback for the Miami Dolphins
• John Matuszak, former defensive end with the Oilers, Chiefs, and Raiders; son of Marv Matuszak
• Marv Matuszak, former linebacker; son of John Matuszak
• Lou Michaels, former pro defensive lineman, 1958–1971, with the Colts, Steelers, Rams, and Packers
• Walt Michaels, former player and coach, remembered for his six-year tenure as head coach of the New York Jets from 1977–1982
• Dick Modzelewski, former college and pro football player with the Redskins, Steelers, Giants and Browns; coach for the Cleveland Browns; member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Mike Munchak, former pro offense with the Houston Oilers; Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Gene Mruczkowski, offensive lineman for the New England Patriots of the NFL
• Scott Mruczkowski, center, San Diego Chargers, Bowling Green
• Bronko Nagurski, former NFL player and professional wrestler
• Ray Nitschke, former Hall of Fame NFL linebacker for the Green Bay Packers
• Bill Osmanski, College and Pro Football Hall of Fame; former player with Chicago Bears
• Walt Patulski, former defensive end for the University of Notre Dame, Buffalo Bills, and St. Louis Cardinals
• Jason Pociask, tight end for the New York Jets
• Paul Posluszny, linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars
• Bill Romanowski, former football player for the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders
• Tony Romo, NFL quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys
• Ed Rutkowski, former wide receiver and quarterback for the Buffalo Bills; later became County Executive of Erie County
• Jack Sack, American football player and coach
• Mark Stepnoski, one of NFL's top linemen with the Dallas Cowboys
• Hank Stram, Head Coach, Kansas City Chiefs
• Mike Tomczak, former NFL quarterback
• Frank Tripucka, former quarterback for the Broncos, Cardinals and Lions
• Steve Wisniewski, former pro-bowler, offensive guard with the Oakland Raiders
• Alex Wojciechowicz, former offensive lineman and linebacker for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles
• Tom Zbikowski, safety for the Baltimore Ravens

  Golf

• Billy Burke, prominent golfer of the 1930s
• Jim Furyk, professional golfer, 2003 U.S. Open winner, FedEx Cup Champion, PGA Tour Player of the Year, Ryder Cup captain
• Betsy King, professional golfer
• Paul Stankowski, professional golfer with two PGA Tour wins; finished tied for 5th at the 1997 Masters as well as a tie for 17th at the 1997 U.S. Open
• Bob Toski, golf player and teacher
• Al Watrous, PGA Champion
• Walt Zembriski, former ironworker; played on both the PGA and Senior PGA tour

  Hockey

• Justin Abdelkader, left wing for the Detroit Red Wings from Muskegon, Michigan
• Matt Bartkowski, defenseman for the Minnesota Wild from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Eric Boguniecki, center for the Anaheim Ducks from New Haven, Connecticut
• Jonny Brodzinski, forward for the Los Angeles Kings from Blaine, Minnesota
• Len Ceglarski, U.S. Olympic ice hockey team silver medal winner, 1952
• Austin Czarnik, center for the Calgary Flames from Washington, Michigan
• Alex Goligoski, defenseman for the Arizona Coyotes from Grand Rapids, Minnesota
• Patrick Kaleta, retired NHL forward from Angola, New York
• Mike Komisarek, defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs from West Islip, New York
• Ed Olczyk, former head coach and player in the National Hockey League
• Joe Pavelski, center for the Dallas Stars from Stevens Point, Wisconsin
• Lee Stempniak, NHL free agent
• Andy Welinski, defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers from Duluth, Minnesota
• Zach Werenski, defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets from Grosse Pointe, Michigan
• Luke Witkowski, defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning from Holland, Michigan
• James Wisniewski, defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets from Canton, Michigan
• Andy Wozniewski, retired NHL defenseman

  Media

• Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports NBA reporter, originator of the "Woj Bomb"

  Olympic athletes

• Alyson Dudek, short track speed skater at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics; won bronze in 2010
• Mark Gorski, track cyclist; gold medal
• Bob Gutowski, pole vaulter; won silver at 1956 Summer Olympics
• Jeffrey Klepacki, rower in 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics; won Rowing World Championship titles in 1994, 1998 and 1999
• Christopher Liwski, rower in 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams ; won Rowing World Championship title in 2007
• Norbert Schemansky, gold, silver and bronze Olympic m in weightlifting
• Jenn Suhr, pole vaulter, won silver at 2008 Summer Olympics
• Stanisława Walasiewicz , athlete and Olympic champion

  Soccer

• Brad Guzan, USA international goalkeeper currently playing for Atlanta United
• Wojtek Krakowiak, soccer player; most recently for the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer
• Matt Miazga, soccer player for Chelsea F.C. and for the United States men's national soccer team; currently loaned to SBV Vitesse.
• Danny Szetela, soccer player for the Columbus Crew of the MLS
• Chris Wondolowski, soccer player for the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS; 2010 MLS Golden Boot winner

  Wrestling

• Ole Anderson
• Killer Kowalski
• Chris Mordetsky
• Beth Phoenix
• Ivan Putski, Polish-born American professional wrestler and champion
• Stanley Radwan, professional wrestler and strongman
• Trish Stratus
• Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
• Johnny Valentine
• Rob Van Dam
• Velvet Sky
• Stanislaus Zbyszko

  Other sports

• Jane Bartkowicz, a top woman U.S. tennis player in the 1960s
• Frank Cumiskey, Olympic gymnast
• Kevin Cywinski, NASCAR driver
• Arthur Dake, Grand Master chess player
• Stefan Janoski, professional skateboarder of half-Polish, half-Irish descent; one of the most recognized pro skateboarders
• Henryk Jordan, philanthropist, physician, and pioneer of physical education in Poland
• Brad Keselowski, NASCAR driver
• Brian Keselowski, NASCAR driver
• Ed Korfanty, fencing master, U.S. National Women's saber coach, Olympic saber coach, and a former Men's Veteran's Saber World Champion
• Steve Kuclo, bodybuilder
• Alan Kulwicki, auto racing champion
• Dylan Kwasniewski, NASCAR driver
• Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, tennis player
• Billy Packer, sportscaster for CBS Sports
• Gary Styczynski, professional poker player; won the 2007 World Series of Poker

  Other

• George Adamski, one of the first people to publicly claim to have seen and photographed UFOs
• Leon Czolgosz, assassin of U.S. President William McKinley
• John Wayne Gacy, serial killer, of Polish and Danish ancestry. His paternal grandparents were from what is now Poland, then part of the German Empire.
• Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber
• Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, father is of Polish descent
• Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski, notorious hitman, claimed to have killed 200 people
• Joseph Opala, scholar of African American history
• Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder
• Wilfrid Michael Voynich, antiquarian and bibliophile, and the eponym of the Voynich manuscript
• Henry Earl J. Wojciechowski , mob boss and rival of Al Capone
• John Wojnowski, protester against pedophilia in the Catholic Church.