This is a list of notable Cuban Americans, including immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
Directors, screenwriters and producers
Ozzie Alfonso, TV director, writer, producer; directed Sesame Street in the 1970s; was senior producer, writer, ad director of 3-2-1 Contact in the 1980s; free-lanced for many clients; adjunct college professor at St. John's University
Migdia Chinea, Film director, writer, producer; (When it rains...), (The Incredible Hulk).
Manny Coto, executive producer (24), writer (24, Star Trek: Enterprise)
René Echevarria, writer (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Medium), co-creator of The 4400
Andy García, director (Lost City)
Silvio Horta, creator and writer (Ugly Betty), writer (Urban Legends, Jake 2.0)
Leon Ichaso, director/screenwriter (El Super), director (Ali: An American Hero, Crossover Dreams, Piñero, El Cantante)
Joe Menendez, TV and film director (Ladrón que roba a ladrón), director (A Golden Christmas 2: The Second Tail, Hunting of Man), co-executive producer of (Imagination Movers)
Roberto Orci, executive producer (Star Trek, The Proposal) and writer (Transformers, Eagle Eye, Star Trek)
George A. Romero, American film director, screenwriter and editor (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), creator of the Living Dead film series; son of a Cuban-born father of Castilian Spanish parentage and a Lithuanian American mother
Amy Serrano, director, cimematographer, and writer (The Sugar Babies), producer of documentary films, poet
Lazaro Hernandez, fashion designer; born in Miami
Jorge Manuel, bridal fashion
Narciso Rodriguez, fashion designer
Isabel Toledo, former creative director for Anne Klein; designed Michelle Obama's inauguration day dress
Camila Cabello, pop singer from X Factor (US), formerly a part of the famous girl group Fifth Harmony
Lauren Jauregui, pop singer from X Factor (US), who is currently a part of the famous girl group Fifth Harmony
Juan Croucier, rock bassist (Ratt, Dokken, Quiet Riot)
Dave Lombardo, drummer of Slayer
Courtney Love, actress and frontwoman of rock band Hole; great-grandmother was Cuban immigrant
Al Jourgensen, frontman of Ministry; born in La Habana, Cuba, to Cuban and Norwegian parents
Rudy Sarzo, rock bassist (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Manic Eden, Dio)
Al Jourgensen, frontman of Ministry; born in La Habana, Cuba, to Cuban and Norwegian parents
Tico Torres, drummer of Bon Jovi, singer
Paul Masvidal, guitarist for metal band Cynic; born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents
Johnny Goudie, rock musician
Frank Ferrer, American rock drummer and session musician
Nil Lara, rock musician
Latin American popular music
Gloria Estefan, 7-time Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated singer
Emilio Estefan, 19-time Grammy-winning producer
Camila Cabello, former member of the girl group Fifth Harmony
Lauren Jauregui, member of the girl group Fifth Harmony
Franky Gee, member of German eurodance group Captain Jack; born in Cuba, of African American descent
Roger Miret, singer for Agnostic Front
Jorge Moreno, Grammy award-winning singer, writer and TV producer
JD Natasha, Latin pop musician
Albita, Grammy-winning singer
Elizabeth Caballero, lyric soprano
Willy Chirino, singer
Olga Guillot, singer
Addys D'Mercedes, singer
Celia Cruz, multiple Grammy-winning singer
Nayer, American singer of Cuban parents
Syesha Mercado, singer
A. J. McLean, member of the Backstreet Boys; of Cuban and German ancestry on his mother's side
Martika, Grammy-nominated singer/actress (film Annie; television series Kids Incorporated)
Lissette, singer, actress; wife of Willy Chirino; daughter of Olga y Tony
Rey Ruiz, singer
Ponciano Seoane, pop singer and contestant from NBC's The Voice season 11
Mayra Verónica, singer, model, television personality
Jon Secada, two-time Grammy-winning singer
Carly Simon, singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author; mother, Andrea Louise Simon, was of German, French, and Afro-Cuban descent
The DeCastro Sisters, singing group
Lola Falana, singer, actress and dancer
Ana Cristina, singer, songwriter, actress, Miss South Florida USA 2011
Angela Bofill, American R&B and jazz singer and songwriter of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent
Irene Cara, Oscar and Grammy-winning singer (Flashdance), actress (Fame); born in the Bronx, New York; mother was an American of Cuban descent
Pitbull, Cuban American; born in Miami, Florida
P-Star, rapper, actress Born: Priscilla Star Diaz
Ángel, Cuban American rapper
Sen Dog, Cuban rapper, member of Cypress Hill
B Real, member of rap group Cypress Hill; born Louis Freese; father is Mexican, mother is Cuban
Don Dinero, rapper, born Jose Manuel Guitian
Olivia, born Olivia Longott; rapper; Cuban and Jamaican
Mellow Man Ace, "godfather of Latin hip hop"; born Ulpiano Sergio Reyes; Afro-Cuban
Desmond Child, American musician, songwriter, and producer; mother is Cuban songwriter Elena Casals
Scott Herren, music producer; father is Catalan and mother is of Irish and Cuban descent
Rudy Pérez, Cuban composer and music producer
Tonedeff, American rapper, producer, and singer-songwriter; Cuban mother and Colombian father
Ray Martinez, American musician, music producer, songwriter, artist, Disco music icon; Cuban American - Cuban mother and Puerto Rican father
Francisco Aguabella, Afro-Cuban master percussionist
Chano Pozo, Afro-Cuban, Latin Jazz percussionist, conga player
Horacio Hernandez ("El Negro"), Grammy-winning drummer and percussionist
Walfredo Reyes, Jr., percussionist and drum set player; born in Havana to a historically musical Cuban family; former member of Santana; current member of Chicago; expert in jazz, Latin, world music, world fusion, Afro-Cuban, and rock
Composers and/or bandleaders
Xavier Cugat, bandleader
Arsenio Rodríguez (1911–1970), Cuban musician, composer and bandleader; born in Cuba, he died in United States, where he lived in the last years of his life
Lucy Simon, American composer for the theatre and popular songs; known for the musical The Secret Garden; sister of Carly and Joanna Simon
Joanna Simon, mezzo-soprano; sister of Carly Simon
Manuel Barrueco, classical guitarist
Andrés Cárdenes, violinist
René Touzet, composer, pianist
Zenaida Manfugas, concert pianist
Horacio Gutiérrez, prize-winning classical concert pianist
Jorge Bolet, classical concert pianist specializing in Liszt
José Curbelo (1917–2012), Cuban-born American pianist and manager
Fats Navarro (1923–1950), American jazz trumpet player; a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s; of Cuban-Black-Chinese descent
Arturo Sandoval, jazz trumpeter and pianist; composer
Mongo Santamaría, Latin jazz musician Grammy winner
Paquito D'Rivera, Grammy-winning saxophonist
Mario Bauza, trumpeter, saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader and Afro-Cuban Jazz pioneer
Folk, country and other music
Nini Camps, Cuban-American folk rock singer-songwriter
La Lupe, singer and gay icon
Raúl Malo, lead singer of American country music band The Mavericks
Ras Juan Perez, international Cuban reggae star, member and founder of the reggae group Arawak Jah in Orlando, Florida
Voltaire, dark cabaret musician; born Aurelio Voltaire Hernández
Rachel Campos, featured on The Real World: San Francisco
Jose "Pepi" Diaz, contestant on season 5 of The Apprentice
Marlon Fernández, winner of Objetivo Fama (third season)
Janette Manrara, finalist, So You Think You Can Dance, Season 5
Jeanine Mason, winner of Season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance
Ashley Massaro, Survivor: China contestant, WWE wrestler, Playboy model
Syesha Mercado, American Idol contestant
Chris Núñez, artist and reality television personality (Miami Ink)
Melissa Padrón, featured on The Real World: Miami
Veronica Portillo, Playboy model and Road Rules contestant
Janu Tornell, Vegas showgirl and reality show contestant (Survivor)
Pedro Zamora, AIDS activist, featured on The Real World: San Francisco
Alex Abella, mystery/crime novelist, non-fiction writer, and journalist
Mercedes de Acosta, poet, playwright
Reynaldo Arenas, poet, author
Joaquín Badajoz, poet, author, essayist, member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language
Richard Blanco, Spanish born poet
Rafael Campo, Cuban born American poet
Daína Chaviano, novelist, poet, and award-winning novelist of Azorín Prize for Best Novel (Spain), among other international awards.
Nilo Cruz, playwright, the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Silvia Curbelo, poet
Carmen Agra Deedy, children's books author
Carlos Eire, writer, won the 2003 National Book Award in Nonfiction
Frank Fernández, anarchist, author of exile-related themes
Roberto G. Fernández, novelist
María Irene Fornés, playwright
Paula Fox, author, winner of Hans Christian Andersen Medal, biological grandmother of musician Courtney Love
Cristina García, novelist
Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, mystery novelist and descendant of Cuban independence patriot Francisco Vicente Aguilera
Jorge Enrique González Pacheco [2], poet, cultural entrepreneur, founder of the Seattle Latino Film Festival, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization
Oscar Hijuelos, first Hispanic to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction
Robert Lima, author of twenty-seven books, poet, literary critic, biographer, editor, translator, bibliographer
Rosa Lowinger, author of Tropicana Nights: the Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub
Ana Menéndez, author (books In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd and Loving Che)
Anaïs Nin, author
Achy Obejas, novelist
Ricardo Pau-Llosa, poet, art critic
Carlos Pintado, author, playwright and award-winning poet of Sant Jordi International Prize for Poetry
Jorge Reyes, memoirist, short-story writer, poet, children's books
Antonio Sacre, children's books, playwright
Cecilia Samartin, novelist, (books Broken Paradise, Tarnished Beauty, Vigil)
Virgil Suárez, novelist
Piri Thomas, author (memoir Down These Mean Streets)
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, writer (The Dirty Girls Social Club)
Armando Valladares, writer (Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro's Gulag)
Jim Acosta, CNN's Senior White House Correspondent
Jessica Aguirre, anchor for KNTV NBC Bay Area News, San Francisco, California
Manny Alvarez, medical correspondent for Fox News Channel
Cathy Areu, founder of Catalina magazine
Liz Balmaseda, columnist, Miami Herald
Bárbara Bermudo, anchor, Primer Impacto
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, business news general assignment reporter for CNBC television
Myrka Dellanos, former anchor, Primer Impacto
GiGi Diaz, sports reporter, Pompano Park, and journalist in Miami
José Díaz-Balart, anchor and reporter
Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, National Public Radio
Max Gomez, medical correspondent for WCBS-TV in New York City
Pedro Gomez, ESPN reporter and Barry Bonds' bete-noire
Eva Golinger, journalist and presenter
Ambrose E. Gonzales, co-founder of The State newspaper in South Carolina and author of several books in Gullah language
Narciso Gener Gonzales, co-founder of The State newspaper in South Carolina
Perez Hilton, celebrity blogger and television personality
Dan Le Batard, sportswriter for The Miami Herald
Tom Llamas, correspondent for ABC News
Antonio Mora, host on Al Jazeera America
Belkys Nerey, anchor WSVN, Fox in Miami
Jackie Nespral, anchor WTVJ, NBC in Miami
Soledad O'Brien, Al Jazeera America correspondent, independent producer
Mirta Ojito, Pulitzer Prize winner
Rafael Pineda, veteran TV personality, former anchor WXTV in New York City
Ellie Rodriguez, anchor WSVN in Miami
Maggie Rodriguez, co-anchor of CBS's The Early Show
Mari Rodriguez Ichaso, filmmaker, columnist, journalist, Vanidades, Harper's Bazaar en Espanol, Travel & Leisure en Espanol
Rick Sanchez, anchor
Eduardo Aguirre, former United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra
Everett Ellis Briggs, United States Ambassador to Panama
Paul L. Cejas, former United States Ambassador to Belgium
Miguel H. Díaz, United States Ambassador to Holy See
Lino Gutierrez, former United States Ambassador to Argentina
Hugo Llorens, United States Ambassador to Honduras
Carlos Pascual, former United States Ambassador to Mexico
Mauricio Solaún, former United States Ambassador to Nicaragua
Carlos Gutierrez, former United States Secretary of Commerce
Mel Martinez, former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
John H. Sununu, White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush and former governor of New Hampshire
Carlos Curbelo, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 26th district
James Devereux, former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Maryland's 2nd district
Lincoln Díaz-Balart, Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 21st district
Mario Díaz-Balart, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 25th district
Joe Garcia, former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 26th district
Joseph Marion Hernández, first Hispanic elected to the United States Congress
Alex Mooney, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing West Virginia's 2nd district
David Rivera, Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 25th district
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 18th district
Albio Sires, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New Jersey's 13th district
2008 Congressional candidates
Raul L. Martinez, Democratic candidate for Florida's 21st district
Ted Cruz, United States Senator (R–Texas)
Mel Martinez, former United States Senator (R-Florida)
Bob Menendez, United States Senator (D–New Jersey), and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; former representative for New Jersey's 13th district
Marco Rubio, United States Senator (R-Florida)
John E. Sununu, former United States Senator (R-New Hampshire), former representative for New Hampshire's 1st district
Al Cardenas, Washington, D.C. lobbyist
Alex Castellanos, Republican media consultant; senior advisor to 2008 Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney
Nils J. Diaz, former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Emilio T. Gonzalez, Ph.D, director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Eliot A. Jardines, first Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Open Source
Otto Reich, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Mauricio J. Tamargo, 14th Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
Carlos Alvarez, mayor of Miami-Dade County
Joe Carollo, former mayor of Miami
Manny Diaz, mayor of Miami
Rosario Kennedy, former commissioner and vice-mayor of Miami
Raul L. Martinez, former mayor of Hialeah
Carlos Mayans, mayor of Wichita, Kansas
Alex Penelas, former mayor (D–FL), Miami-Dade County, Florida
Tomas Regalado, mayor of Miami
Julio Robaina, former mayor of City of Hialeah
Xavier Suarez, former mayor of Miami
Silverio Vega, mayor of West New York, New Jersey
Bill Vidal, former mayor of Denver, Colorado; born in Camagüey, Cuba
Zulima Farber, former Attorney General of New Jersey
Anitere Flores, Florida State Senator and former Florida State Representative, first Republican Hispanic woman to serve in both the Florida House and Senate since 1986
Bob Martinez, former governor of Florida, first Cuban-American governor in United States history
Joseph Miró, Delaware state representative, president National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
Alex X. Mooney, member of the Maryland state senate representing District 3
Vincent Prieto, New Jersey State Assemblyman, 32nd District
Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida, and former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney for Miami-Dade County
Roberto Arango, Puerto Rico Senator
Cecilia Altonaga, United States District Court Judge
Danny Boggs, Chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati
Raoul G. Cantero, III, first Hispanic justice on the Florida Supreme Court
Adalberto Jordan, United States District Court Judge
Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court
Jose L. Linares, United States District Court Judge of United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey
Joseph H. Rodriguez, United States District Court Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey
Eduardo Robreno, United States District Court Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia
Esther Salas, United States District Court Judge of United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey
Mauricio J. Tamargo, Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
Adolfo Fernández Cavada, captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War who later served as Commander-in-Chief of the Cinco Villas during Cuba's Ten Year War
Federico Fernández Cavada, colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later Commander-in-Chief of all the Cuban forces during Cuba's Ten Year War
Mercedes O. Cubria, lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army; first Cuban born female officer in the US Army
Julius Peter Garesché, lieutenant colonel in the Union Army who served as Chief of Staff, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans
Ambrosio José Gonzales, colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War
Erneido Oliva, major general; former deputy commander of the D.C. National Guard
Félix Rodríguez, U.S. Army helicopter pilot, former CIA officer known for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion and his involvement in the capture and interrogation of Che Guevara
Lola Sánchez, Confederate spy during the American Civil War; played an instrumental role in the Confederate victory in the Battle of Horse Landing
Loreta Janeta Velazquez (1842 – c. 1902), aka Lieutenant Harry Buford, Cuban-born woman who claimed that she masqueraded as a male Confederate soldier during the American Civil War
Éamon de Valera, third president of Ireland
Science and technology
Aida de Acosta, first female to fly a powered aircraft
Aristides Agramonte, physician, pathologist and bacteriologist
Luis Walter Alvarez, Nobel Prize winning experimental physicist (his paternal grandfather immigrated from Spain to Cuba and then to the United States)
Serena M. Auñón, American physician, engineer, and NASA astronaut
Nils J. Diaz, former Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Isabel Pérez Farfante, carcinologist
Carlos Juan Finlay (1833–1915), Cuban physician and scientist recognized as a pioneer in yellow fever research
Albert Siu, internist and geriatrician at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City
Mercedes de Acosta, socialite, author, best known for her affairs with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich
Rita de Acosta Lydig, socialite
Jose Ramon Diaz Alejandro, painter
José Bernal, artist
Fernando Bujones, ballet dancer
Manuel Carbonell (1918–2011), the last of the Cuban master sculptors; lived and died in Florida
Jose Manuel Carreño, award-winning ballet dancer, American Ballet Theatre
Humberto Castro, painter
Emilio Cruz (1938–2004), American artist of African and Cuban descent; his work is held in several major museums in the United. States
Alberto Cutié, priest and television host, EWTN, and a daily talk show on Telemundo Network
Alina Fernández, radio personality, daughter and critic of Fidel Castro
Teresita Fernández, artist
Coco Fusco, artist and writer
Agustin Gainza, artist
Joe Garcia, 2008 Democratic congressional candidate
Félix González-Torres, artist
Jose Acosta Hernandez, artist
Dinorah de Jesús Rodriguez, experimental filmmaker
Emilio Hector Rodriguez, contemporary visual artist, abstraction, painter, photographer
Josignacio, abstract artist
Nelson De La Nuez, pop artist, designer
Guerra de la Paz, Cuban born, American artist duo Alain Guerra and Neraldo de la Paz, who work in sculpture, installation and photography
Ana Mendieta, performance artist, feminist
Maria Teresa Mestre, wife of Luxembourg's constitutional monarch Grand Duke Henri; her title is Grand Duchess
Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, woman at the center of the Carl Tanzler case
Javier Peres, contemporary art dealer
Henry Pollack, radio host of "Havana Rock"
Charles "Bebe" Rebozo, close friend and confidant of President Richard Nixon; key Watergate scandal figure
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, artist
Emilio Sánchez, contemporary art painter and lithographer
Consuelo Yznaga, wife of George Montagu, 8th Duke of Manchester
Juanita Castro, sister of former Cuban President Fidel Castro and incumbent President Raúl Castro; has lived in the United States since 1964 and is a naturalized citizen
Michelle Font, beauty queen who won Miss Washington USA and competed in the Miss USA pageant on April 11, 2008 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada; of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent
Emilio Núñez (1855–1922), soldier, dentist, and politician
Manny Puig, Cuban born wildlife entertainer
Enrique Ros (died April 10, 2013), Cuban born businessman and activist opposed to Cuban president Fidel Castro
Andrea Louise Simon, community leader
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, Cuban born lawyer; writer; historian; expert in the field of human rights and international law; retired high-ranking United Nations official; peace activist; since 2012 the United Nations Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order (also known as Special Rapporteur), appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council
List of Cuban Americans Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
