An Italian-American is an American of Italian descent. Many, although proud of their heritage, prefer to be referred to simply as American.
Although Italians arrived early to the new world, beginning with Christopher Columbus in 1492, and contining with early explorers John Cabot, Giovanni da Verrazano and Amerigo Vespucci, the largest wave of Italian immigration to the United States took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Between 1820 and 1978, 5.3 million Italians immigrated to the United States, including over two million in the years 1900-1910. Only the Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers. In the 1990 census, Italian constituted the fifth largest ethnic group in America with over 14.6 million people (almost 6% of the total U.S. population).
Common stereotypes continue to link Italian-Americans to organized crime and restaurant workers [1] (http://www.niaf.org/research/report_zogby.asp), unflattering images which remain staples of Hollywood films. In fact, the National Italian American Foundation found that two-thirds of Italian-Americans held white collar jobs in 1990.
Like other ethnic groups in the USA their political beliefs are diverse. The US Congress includes Italian Americans who are regarded as leaders on both sides of the aisle.
In some Italian-American communities, Saint Joseph's Day (March 19) is marked with celebrations and parades. Columbus Day is also widely celebrated in these communities, as are the feasts of some regional Italian patron saints, most notably San Gennaro (September 19) by those claiming Neapolitan heritage, and Santa Rosalia (September 4) by Sicilians.
The following is a list of people who have referred to themselves ethnically as "Italian", or have an Italian parent.
Famous Italian Americans
- Danny Aiello, actor
- Joseph Allioto, Mayor of San Francisco
- Mario Andretti (born 1940), auto racing legend
- Joseph Joe Barbera, director, producer, and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Film Studios
- Jon Bon Jovi (born 1962), rock star, actor (born John Frank Bongiovi)
- Steve Buscemi (born 1957), actor
- Nicolas Cage (born 1964), actor (born Nicholas Kim Coppola; nephew of Francis Ford Coppola)
- Al Capone (1899-1947), Chicago gangster
- Frank Capra (1897-1991), great American fimmaker - It's A Wonderful Life
- John Cazale, actor
- Vincent Cianci, former mayor of Providence, R.I.
- John Ciardi
- Perry Como (1912-2001), musician
- Francis Ford Coppola (born 1939), film director
- Sofia Coppola (born 1971), film director and actor, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola
- Mario Cuomo (born 1932), former governor of New York
- Alfonse D'Amato
- Fred De Luca, founder of Subway Sandwich
- Robert De Niro, actor
- Brian De Palma (born 1940), film director
- Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999), Baseball Hall of Famer
- Ronnie James Dio, heavy metal singer
- Dion (born 1939), singer
- Peter Domenici
- Jimmy Durante (1893-1980)
- John Fante, novelist and screenwriter
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet
- Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), physicist
- Geraldine Ferraro
- Annette Funicello
- James Gandolfini (born 1961), actor
- Vito Genovese, mobster
- A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938-1989), academic, Major League Baseball commissioner
- Amedeo Giannini, founder in 1904 of The Bank of America, the largest bank in the country
- Jimmy Giuffre, jazz musician
- Rudolph Giuliani (born 1944), Mayor of New York during 9/11
- Ella T. Grasso (1919-1981), first woman to be elected governor of a state without succeeding her husband
- Richard Grasso, chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange
- Rocky Graziano, boxer
- Lee Iacocca, chairman of Chrysler Corporation
- Fiorello LaGuardia (1882-1947)
- Nick LaRocca (1889-1961), self-proclaimed "inventor of jazz"
- Susan Lucci (born 1947), soap opera actress (Erica Kane on All My Children)
- Lucky Luciano, gangster
- Madonna (born 1958), singer
- Rocky Marciano (1924-1969), boxer, only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated
- Dean Martin (1917-1995), singer & actor
- Sal Mineo, actor
- Luis Monti, athlete
- George Moscone, former mayor of San Francisco
- Jimmy Ragtime Monaco early American songwriter "You Made Me Love You"
- Laura Nyro songwriter
- Camille Paglia, post-feminist literary and cultural critic
- Al Pacino, actor
- Felix Pappalardi, rock and roll bassist and producer
- Bill Parcells, football coach
- John Pastore
- George Pataki Governor of New York
- Art Pepper, jazz musician
- Mike Piazza (born 1968), baseball star
- Rick Pitino (born 1952), basketball coach
- Louis Prima (1910-1978), musician & entertainer
- Mario Puzo (1920-1999), US Mafia author
- Mary Lou Retton (born 1968), Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics
- Christina Ricci (born 1980), actress
- Johnny Rivers early Rock'N Roll singer of many hit records
- Frank Rizzo, Mayor of Philadelphia
- Pete Rizzo
- Peter Rodino
- Angelo Rossi, Mayor of San Francisco
- Nicola Sacco, anarchist
- Rick Santorum U.S. Senator from Pa.
- Susan Sarandon, actress
- John Saxon, actor
- Antonin Scalia (born 1936), Supreme Court justice
- Martin Scorsese, film director
- Emilio Segre, Nobel-winning physicist and academic
- Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), US singer
- John Sirica
- Bruce Springsteen Rock Star, songwriter
- Sylvester Stallone (born 1946), actor
- Gay Talese, writer
- Johnny Thunders, rock musician (born John A. Genzale)
- Arturo Toscanini, conductor
- Robert Toricelli
- John Travolta (born 1954), movie actor
- Steven Tyler (born 1951), born Steven Tolerico, rock star, songwriter
- Liv Tyler (born 1977), film actress
- Rudolph Valentino (born 1895), Hollywood's first sex symbol and the first "Latin Lover"
- Jim Valvano (1946-1993), basketball coach and sportscaster
- Bartolomeo Vanzetti, anarchist
- Dick Vermeil, football coach
- Tony Visconti, rock music producer (based in Britain)
- Dick Vitale (born 1939), basketball coach and sportscaster
- Harry Warren wrote more hit songs than anyone in early 20th century America
- Frank Zappa (1940-1993), rock and jazz musician, composer
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