Celebrating the contributions of italian americans to the entertainment industry
Since Italians started immigrating to the United States, they’ve brought great contributions to the entertainment industry. Many of the great bands, shows, and artists we know of today have used these contributions our ancestors brought with them and influenced American society.
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Kate Walsh – Italian American Actress
Kate Walsh was born in San Jose, California. Her mother, Angela Bocchetto is of Italian descent, with roots from Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Walsh graduated from Catalina Magnet High School and studied acting at the University of...
Jason Schwartzman – Italian American Actor
Jason Francesco Schwartzman was born in Los Angeles on June 26, 1980, the son of actress Talia Shire (Coppola) and film producer Jack Schwartzman. His paternal grandparents were Polish Jews, while his mother is an Italian-American Catholic. His younger brother, Robert...
Dennis Farina – Italian American Actor
Dennis Farina was born in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, the fourth son and youngest of the seven children of Joseph and Yolanda Farina. Farina's father, who was from Villalba, Sicily, was a Chicago-area doctor, and his mother a homemaker. The Farinas raised their...
Buddy Valastro – Italian American TV Personality
Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro Jr. was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, and grew up there and in Little Ferry, New Jersey. His mother was born in Altamura, Italy, and is the daughter of Italian-American immigrants who moved to New Jersey when she was six years old. His father,...
John Turturro – Italian American Actor
John Turturro was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Katherine Incerella and Nicholas Turturro. His mother was born in the U.S., to Italian parents with roots in Sicily, and was an amateur jazz singer, who had worked in a naval yard during World War II. His father...
Steve Buscemi – Italian American Actor
Steven Vincent Buscemi was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, to John Buscemi, a sanitation worker and Korean War veteran, and Dorothy Buscemi, a hostess at Howard Johnson's. Buscemi's father was of Italian descent; his ancestors were from the town of...
Morgana King – Italian American Singer & Actress
Maria Grazia Morgana Messina was born in Pleasantville, New York. Her parents were from Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy. She grew up in New York City with five siblings. Her father, who owned a coal and ice business, played the piano and...
Bobby Cannavale – Italian American Actor
Robert Michael Cannavale was born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, the son of Isabel and Salvatore "Sal" Cannavale. His father is of Italian descent, while his mother is Cuban and moved to the U.S. in 1960. He was raised Catholic and attended St. Michael's...
Suzi Quatro – Italian American Musician
Susan Kay Quatro[ was born and raised in Detroit. Her paternal grandfather was an Italian immigrant to the U.S.. Her family name of "Quattrocchi" ("four eyes", meaning "bespectacled") was shortened to Quatro. She was influenced at the age of six by seeing Elvis...
Lou Ferrigno – Italian American Actor
Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Victoria and Matt Ferrigno, a police lieutenant. He is of Italian descent. Soon after he was born, Ferrigno says he believes he suffered a series of ear infections and lost 75 to 80% of his hearing, though his...