List of Romani people

Politicians and activists

László Berényi – Hungarian politician

James Carver – member of the European Parliament

Dávid Daróczi – (1972–2010) Government Spokesperson of the Republic of Hungary

Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia – ex-member of the European Parliament, founder of the Romani Union, Spain

Damian Draghici – (born 1970) current Member of the European Parliament, former MP Romanian Parliament – senator, adviser of the Prime Minister on Roma issues

Rajko Đurić – (born 1947) Serbian writer and academic, leader of Roma Union of Serbia

Flórián Farkas – Hungarian politician

James Farnell – (1825-1888) Australian politician

Bajram Haliti – Kosovar activist

Ian Hancock – Romani scholar and activist, born in UK, living in USA, professor at the University of Texas

Amber L. Hollibaugh – American writer, filmmaker and activist.

Lívia Járóka – Hungarian Member of the European Parliament

Orbán Kolompár – Hungarian politician and activist

Ali Krasniqi – Albanian writer and activist

Juscelino Kubitschek – Brazilian president, his mother was of Czech and Roma descent

Ronald Lee – (born 1934, in Montreal), Canadian Romani novelist, activist and U.N. delegate

Mihály Lukács – (1954–2012) Hungarian politician

Washington Luís – Brazilian president of Portuguese and Romani descent

Alfonso Mejia-Arias – musician, writer and politician, Mexico

Viktória Mohácsi – (born 1975) Hungarian Member of the European Parliament

Ágnes Osztolykán – Hungarian politician

Nicolae Păun – Romanian politician

Soraya Post – (born 1956) Swedish politician for the Feminist Initiative party.

Ştefan Răzvan – (?–1595) Prince of Moldavia, ruled Moldavia for four months (Romani father)

Sani Rifati – Serbian activist

Ernest Rogers – (1914–2004) English communist

Romani Rose – German Sinto activist

Rudolf Sarközi – chairman of the Austrian Romani association Kulturverein

József Varga – Hungarian politician

Mădălin Voicu – (born 1952) Romanian politician. His father, Ion Voicu, is Romani

Authors and writers

Veijo Baltzar – Finnish writer

Edward Dębicki – Polish poet

Rajko Djuric – (born 1947) Serbian writer & activist

Louise Doughty – British writer

Karen Finley – American performance artist, musician and poet

Delia Grigore – (born 1972) Romanian writer, academic and activist

Caren Gussoff – American writer, claims Romani and mixed heritages.

Bajram Haliti – Kosovan author

Lafcadio Hearn – Irish writer

Usin Kerim – Bulgarian poet

Menyhért Lakatos (1926-2007) – Hungarian Romani writer

Ronald Lee – Canadian writer, Romani activist and lecturer at the University of Toronto.

Baja Saitovic Lukin – poet

Oksana Marafioti – American writer of Armenian and Romani descent

Matéo Maximoff – French writer

Mehmed Merejan – Bulgarian poet

David Morley – British poet, critic, anthologist, editor and ecologist

Anton Pann – Romanian musicologist, composer and poet

Muharem Serbezovski – Bosnian singer and writer

Charlie Smith – poet

Eleanor Smith – (1902-1945) British writer

Ceija Stojka – (born 1933) Austrian author and painter

Katarina Taikon – (1932-1995) Swedish children's writer

Bronisława Wajs – (1908–1987) AKA "Papusza", Polish poet and singer

Mikey Walsh – British author

Musicians

Carmen Amaya – (1913–1963) Spanish flamenco dancer

Remedios Amaya – Spanish flamenco singer

Gitano Antón – Spanish rapper and member of La Excepción

Ayọ – German-born singer of Nigerian and Romani descent.

Azis – (1978-) Bulgarian chalga (pop-folk) singer.

Elek Bacsik – (1926–1993) Hungarian jazz violinist and guitarist

Šaban Bajramović – (1936–2008) Serbian singer

Janika Balázs – (1925–1988) was a Serbian musician

Tonino Baliardo – Franco-Spanish guitar player; also a member of the Gipsy Kings

Kálmán Balogh – Hungarian musician

Radoslav Banga – of Czech group Gypsy.cz

Vierka Berkyová – Slovak singer

János Bihari – (1764–1827) Hungarian violinist

Věra Bílá – (born 1954) Czech folk and pop singer

Iva Bittová – (born 1958) Czech singer, violinist and composer

Robi Botos – Canadian musician and composer from Hungary

Georges Boulanger – Romanian violinist

Sibel Can – Turkish singer

Manolo Caracol – (1909–1973) Spanish flamenco singer

Antonio Carbonell – Spanish singer and songwriter

Panna Cinka – (1711–1772) Hungarian Violinist, born in Kingdom of Hungary in modern Slovakia

Fanfare Ciocărlia – Romanian Romani band

Connect-R – Romanian rapper, singer, record producer and actor

Joaquín Cortés – Spanish flamenco dancer

Georges Cziffra – (1921–1994) Hungarian composer and pianist

Pista Dankó – (born 1858–1903) Hungarian-born bandleader and composer

Sandro de América – (1945–2010) Argentinian singer and actor

Camarón de la Isla – (1950–1992) Spanish flamenco singer

Manitas de Plata – (1921–2014) French flamenco guitarist

Angelo Debarre – French guitarist

Drafi Deutscher – (1946–2006) German Sinto songwriter, singer and composer

Grigoraş Dinicu – Romanian composer and violinist

Damian Draghici – Romanian, composer and Jazz panflute player, Politician

Sébastien El Chato – French singer and guitarist

Diego El Cigala – Dominican flamenco guitarist

Tracey Emin – British singer

Christian Escoudé – French jazz guitarist

Vicente Escudero – Spanish flamenco singer, dancer and choreographer; occasionally painter, writer and actor

Rafael Ojeda Rojas alias Falete – Spanish singer

Ermal Fejzullahu – Kosovan male pop singer

Antonio Flores – (1961–1995) was a Spanish singer-songwriter and actor

Lolita Flores – (1958) Spanish singer and actress

Rosario Flores – (born 1963) Spanish singer and actress, Latin Grammy award winner

Cornelis Fuhler – (1964) Dutch/Australian musician and composer

Kendji Girac – French singer of Romani and Spanish descent

Edyta Górniak – (born 1972) Polish singer

César Guerra-Peixe – (1914-1993) Brazilian composer

Nicolae Guță – Romanian manele singer

Taraful Haiducilor – (Taraf de Haïdouks) Romanian band, formed 1989

Kostas Hatzis – Greek musician

Eugene Hütz – Ukrainian singer, guitarist, writer and actor

Natalia Jiménez – (born 1981) Spanish pop singer (Portuguese mother of "Cigano" descent)

Kal – Romani world music Band from Serbia

Ketama – Spanish new-flamenco band

Cher Lloyd – British international pop singer/rapper of Romani descent.

Angel Jordanov Kapsov – (1957-2014) Bulgarian pop-folk singer

Didem Kınalı – Turkish belly dancer and singer

Sasha Kolpakov – (born 1943) Russian guitarist

Mónika Juhász Miczura – Hungarian folk singer

Fapy Lafertin – Belgian jazz guitarist

Biréli Lagrène – (born 1966) French jazz guitarist, violinist and bassist

Denny Laine – British musician (The Moody Blues, Wings)

Félix Lajkó – (born 1974) Hungarian-Serbian violinist and composer (part Romani)

Roby Lakatos – Hungarian violinist

Albert Lee – (born 1943) London-born and -raised country rock guitar legend. His father is Romanichal.

Pyotr Leshchenko – Russian (born 1858–1903)

Joe Longthorne – (born 1955) English singer and impressionist

Los Niños de Sara – French (Spanish origin, Iberian Kale) rumba and flamenco singers and guitar players

Fănică Luca – (1894–1968) Romanian musician*Georges Boulanger – (1893–1958) Romanian violinist

Gabi Luncă – (born 1938) Romanian singer (Urban Lăutarească Music)

Aggelopoulos Manolis – (1939–1989) Greek singer and actor

Sofi Marinova – Bulgarian singer

Boban Marković – Serbian brass bandleader and trumpet player

Jerry Mason – American rock singer, guitarist and songwriter

Alfonso Mejia-Arias – (1961-) Mexican musician and activist.

Irini Merkouri – (born 1981) Greek pop singer

Ionică Minune – Romanian accordionist

Carlos Montoya – (1903–1993) Spanish flamenco guitarist

Ramón Montoya – (1889–1949) Spanish flamenco guitarist

Ferus Mustafov – Macedonian saxophonist

Nicolae Neacşu ("Culai") – Lăutar, was the leader of Taraf de Haïdouks

Neshko Neshev – Bulgarian accordionist

Mary Nótár – Hungarian musician

Gergő Oláh – Hungarian singer

Ginesa Ortega – Spanish flamenco singer

Isabel Pantoja – Spanish singer

Ivo Papazov – (born 1952) Bulgarian jazz clarinetist

Aladár Pege – (1939–2006) Hungarian jazz musician

Pere Pubill Calaf "Peret" – (1935-2014) Catalan Spanish singer, guitar player and composer

Zlata Petrović – Serbian pop folk singer

Robert Plant – (born 1948) English singer and songwriter (former vocalist of Led Zeppelin). Romanichal mother

Valentina Ponomaryova – (born 1939) Russian singer

Romica Puceanu – (1928–1996) Romanian singer (Urban Lăutarească Music)

Gigi Radics – Hungarian singer

Johnny Răducanu – (born 1931) Romanian jazz musician

Džej Ramadanovski – born 1964 in Belgrade (former Yugoslavia), modern Serbian folk singer

"Rayito" Antonio Rayo – Spanish Guitarist, singer and composer. Father Gitano (Iberian Kalo) and Japanese mother

Esma Redzepova – (born 1943) Macedonian singer and songwriter

Babik Reinhardt – French guitarist

Django Reinhardt – (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) Belgian-born pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar) that has since become a living musical tradition within French Manouche culture

Nicolas Reyes (born 1958) – Franco-Spanish singer, guitar player; lead singer for the Grammy Award winning group Gipsy Kings, a band made up mostly of members of his extended family

Reyhan – (1986–2005) Bulgarian singer

Jimmy Rosenberg – (born 1980) Dutch swing guitarist

Marianne Rosenberg – (born 1955) German singer and songwriter. Daughter of German Gypsy who survived Auschwitz.

Sabicas – (1912-1990) Spanish flamenco guitarist

Sinan Sakić – Serbian Folk singer of Romani descent

Florin Salam – Romanian musician

Tanja Savić – Serbian pop-folk singer

Paulus Schafer – (born 1978) Dutch jazz guitarist

Tchavolo Schmitt – (born 1954) French jazz guitarist

Hüsnü Şenlendirici – Turkish musician

Selim Sesler – (1957–2014) Turkish clarinetist

Anjeza Shahini – Albanian singer

Harri Stojka – Austrian jazz guitarist

Wally Tax – Dutch rock singer, of The Outsiders. Son of a Dutch father and a Russian Romani mother

Tomatito – Spanish flamenco guitarist

Manuel Torre – (1878–1933) Spanish flamenco musician

Mariska Veres – (1947–2006) Lead singer of the Dutch rock group Shocking Blue. Daughter of Hungarian Romani violinist Lajos Veres and Franco-Russian mother

Ion Voicu – (1923–1997) Romanian violinist and orchestral conductor, founder of Bucharest Chamber Orchestra

Mădălin Voicu – Romanian musician

Sotis Volanis – Greek singer

Ronnie Wood – British musician

Yuri Yunakov – Turkish-Bulgarian musician

Joe Zawinul – Austrian musician. His grandmother was a Hungarian Romani, and his grandfather was from southern Moravia

Cinema and theater

Charlie Chaplin – British actor, filmmaker, composer

Lolita Flores – Spanish actress

Elena Furiase – Spanish actress

Hiba Abouk – Spanish actress

Fairuza Balk – American actress

Ştefan Bănică, Jr. – Romanian actor and musician

Ştefan Bănică, Sr. – Romanian actor

Eric Cantona – French actor and former footballer

Tony Gatlif – French film director

Jill Hennessy – Canadian actress and musician

Marcia Nicole Barandyai known as Manoush – French-German actress. Her mother is of Manouche origin

Helen Mirren – British actress

Nikolai Slichenko – Russian actor

Rosa Taikon – Swedish actress

Tracey Ullman – British-born American actress

Artists

Micaela Flores Amaya, La Chunga, Flamenco dancer and painter

Helios Gómez – Spanish artist, writer and poet

Lita Cabellut – Spanish female artist

Joe Machine – (1973) British Stuckist

Otto Mueller – painter and printmaker, Sinti mother

Antonio Solario – Italian artist

Athletes

Ilie Năstase – Romanian tennis player of selfdeclared Romani descent

Mirko Petrović – Serbian long-distance runner

Boxers

Jakob Bamberger – German amateur boxer

Johnny Frankham – British Boxer

Zoltan Lunka – Germany

Ivailo Marinov – also known as Ismail Mustafov, Ismail Huseinov or Ivailo Khristov) is a Roma Bulgarian boxer

Michele di Rocco – Italian Light Welterweight Boxing Champion

Billy Joe Saunders – British Boxing, represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics

Serafim Todorov – was a Bulgarian/Georgian boxer at the 1996 Summer Olympics who won a silver medal.

Johann Wilhelm Trollmann – German light-heavyweight boxer killed during the Porajmos

Football players

Pierre-Yves André – French (Retired)

Aljoša Asanović – Croatian (Retired)

Eugen Bari – Slovak

Richard Carpenter – English (Retired)

Dumitru Copil – Romanian

Iván Amaya – Spanish (Rayo)

Antonio Amaya – Spanish (Retired, Atletico)

Carlos Muñoz – Spanish (Retired, Oviedo)

Carlos Aranda – Spanish (Levante)

Tony Vairelles – Frech (Retired)

Freddy Eastwood – Welsh (Free Agent)

János Farkas – Hungarian

André-Pierre Gignac – French (Olympique Marseille)

Dani Güiza – Spanish (Getafe)

Rab Howell – English

Ruzin Kerimov – Bulgarian

Vital Lanko – Belarusian

Mircea Lucescu – Romanian (Retired)

Răzvan Lucescu – Romanian (Retired)

Predrag Luka – Serbian

José Mari – Spanish (Xerez CD)

Petre Marin – Romanian (Retired)

Marcos Márquez – Spanish (Retired)

José Rodríguez Martínez – Spanish

Gerd Mueller – German (Munich)

Jesús Navas – Spanish (Manchester City)

Bănel Nicoliță – Romanian (Nantes)

Nacho Novo – Spanish (Carolina Railhawks)

Oleksandr Noyok – Ukrainian

Marian Ognyanov – Bulgarian

Dejan Osmanović – Serbian (Retired)

Christos Patsatzoglou – Greek (Iraklis Psachna)

István Pisont – Hungarian (Retired)

Ricardo Quaresma – Portuguese (Porto)

José Antonio Reyes – Spanish (Sevilla)

Dragoslav Šekularac – Serbian (Retired)

Emra Tahirović – Bosnian

Various

Florin Cioabă – (1954 –2013) Romanian Pentecostal

Ceferino Giménez Malla – Spanish beatified Catholic catechist

Paul Henry – New Zealand radio and television broadcaster

Sofia Kovalevskaya – Russian mathematician of 1/4 Romani descent

Hristo Kyuchukov – Bulgarian specialist

Jimmy Marks – litigant in a lawsuit against the city of Spokane, Washington

Róisín Mullins – Irish dancer and choreographer

Kerope Patkanov – Armenian Garachi scientist

Juliette Peirce – Wife of mathematician and philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce

Ștefan Răzvan – Ruler of Moldovia

Rodney "Gipsy" Smith – (1860–1947), British evangelist

Settela Steinbach – Holocaust victim

Petr Torak, MBE - UK police officer working with the Roma community