Music & Performing Arts

Bob Dylan

Voice of a generation, roots in Odessa

Capital Bra

Germany's rap king, born in Soviet Siberia

Helene Fischer

Siberia-born queen of German Schlager

Joe Dassin

The American-born Parisian whose soul was Odessan.

Katie Melua

Kutaisi-born voice behind Britain's quiet revolution

Lenny Kravitz

Rock icon whose roots trace to imperial Kyiv

Michel Polnareff

French pop icon, rooted in Odessa

Regina Spektor

Moscow-born singer who made anti-folk poetry in New York

Serge Gainsbourg

Provocateur poet, born of Crimean Jewish émigrés

Adam Levine

Rock-pop frontman with Russian Empire Jewish roots.

Adriano Celentano

Italy's rock patriarch with Empire roots

Al Jolson

The Lithuanian-born cantor's son who became America's first superstar.

Amy Winehouse

Back to Black singer whose Russian-Jewish East London roots shaped one of pop's greatest voices

Anna Netrebko

Krasnodar-born soprano who conquered Vienna.

Arik Einstein

The voice Israel called its own.

Arkady Duchin

Soviet-born Israeli jazz pianist bridging Russian conservatory tradition and Middle Eastern music

Art Garfunkel

The golden tenor who echoed an immigrant's longing.

Barbara Streisand

Brooklyn-born icon with Russian-Galician roots who became the greatest living entertainer

Barbra Streisand

From Galician roots to American icon

Barry Manilow

Brooklyn's Borscht Belt heir who conquered pop.

Benny Goodman

The son of Kaunas immigrants who crowned swing.

Bette Midler

Honolulu-raised daughter of the Russian Empire.

Billy Joel

Piano Man with roots in the Russian Empire

Carole King

Brooklyn songwriter with Russian-Jewish roots who wrote the soundtrack of a generation

Chava Alberstein

Voice of the Israeli Yiddish revival, born a child of the Russian Empire's Pale

Chilly Gonzales

Montreal pianist with Russian-Hungarian roots who holds the Guinness record for longest solo concert

Courtney Love

Hole frontwoman and grunge icon with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Dana International

Tel Aviv trans icon with Romanian-Yemeni roots who won Eurovision and changed Israel forever

Doja Cat

Grammy-winning pop star with a Russian-Jewish grandmother on her mother's side

Drake (Aubrey Graham)

Global rap superstar whose mother Sandi has Latvian-Russian Jewish roots

Erykah Badu

Neo-soul queen with Russian-Jewish roots on her mother's side

Geddy Lee

Rush bassist and vocalist whose parents survived the Holocaust and emigrated from Russian-controlled Poland

Gene Simmons

KISS co-founder born in Haifa to a Hungarian mother with Russian roots

Gogol Bordello

Eugene Hutz — born in Soviet Ukraine, created Gypsy punk and made immigration into a celebration

Harel Skaat

Israeli pop idol and Eurovision representative with Yemenite-Iraqi Jewish roots

Idan Raichel

Israeli world-music pioneer whose ancestors came from Russia and Poland

Idina Menzel

Frozen's Elsa and Broadway's Elphaba — her grandparents came from Russia and Eastern Europe

Ilya Prusikin

Little Big frontman from Siberia who nearly won Eurovision and invented Russian rave pop

Ivan Rebroff

Berlin-born singer with a Russian mother who became the world's most famous interpreter of Russian folk songs

Ivri Lider

Israeli pop star with Polish-Russian roots who became a symbol of LGBTQ+ visibility in Israeli culture

Jakob Dylan

The Wallflowers frontman and son of Bob Dylan, whose Odessa-born grandparents fuel one of music's greatest legacies

Joey Ramone

Queens-born punk icon whose mother Charlotte Mandell has Russian-Jewish roots

Jon Bon Jovi

New Jersey rock legend with partial Russian ancestry on his mother's side

Josh Groban

Multi-platinum tenor with Polish-Russian Jewish roots who became America's classical-pop crossover star

Keren Peles

One of Israel's most successful pop singers with Polish-Russian Jewish heritage

Leonard Cohen

Montreal poet and songwriter whose mother came from Lithuania — Hallelujah became humanity's anthem

Little Big

St. Petersburg rave-pop collective who created gypsy punk anthems and nearly won Eurovision with UNO

Lou Reed

Walk on the Wild Side — his parents came from the Russian Empire's Jewish communities

Lydia Kavina

Moscow-born grandniece of Leon Theremin — the world's foremost theremin virtuoso

Maksim Pokrovskiy

Moscow rock frontman — lead singer of Nogu Svelo, Russia's most beloved quirky rock band

Marc Bolan

T. Rex glam rock pioneer whose father Simeon Feld came from Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Michael Bolton

How Am I Supposed to Live Without You — his family name was Bolotin, from Russian-Jewish immigrants

Morgenshtern (Alisher Morgenshtern)

Ufa-born rapper who became Russia's most-streamed artist — then fled Russia and became a vocal war opponent

Neil Diamond

Sweet Caroline singer whose grandparents came from Russia and Poland — 130 million records sold

Neil Sedaka

Brooklyn pop genius with Russian-Turkish Jewish roots who wrote Laughter in the Rain and Calendar Girl

Netta Barzilai

Israeli Eurovision winner with Polish Jewish roots — Toy became an anthem for a generation

Nicole Scherzinger

Pussycat Dolls frontwoman whose Ukrainian grandfather gave her an unexpected Russian Empire connection

Ninet Tayeb

Israeli pop phenomenon who won Kokhav Nolad and sang with Roger Waters at the Wall

Noize MC

Born in Yartsevo — Russia's most political rapper who has performed in exile since opposing the Ukraine war

Oonagh (Senta-Sofia Delliponti)

German Celtic folk singer with Bulgarian-Russian roots who became a surprise chart phenomenon

Oxxxymiron (Miron Fyodorov)

Leningrad-born rapper educated at Oxford who became Russia's greatest lyricist — now an anti-war exile

P!nk (Alecia Moore)

Pop-rock superstar — her father's family has partial Eastern European Jewish roots

Paul Simon

Folk poet shaped by immigrant longing

Paul Stanley

KISS co-founder whose father's family came from the Russian-partitioned territories of Poland

Paula Abdul

American Idol judge and pop star whose mother has Russian-Canadian Jewish roots

Peaches (Merrill Nisker)

Toronto-born electronic punk provocateur with Polish-Russian Jewish roots — Berlin-based avant-garde icon

Peter Green

Fleetwood Mac founder whose parents came from Russia and Poland — one of the greatest blues guitarists ever

Sasha Alex Sloan

Introspective American pop singer-songwriter whose first name honours Russian heritage

Shlomo Artzi

Israel's most beloved male singer — his family came from Romanian Bukovina, on the fringes of the Russian Empire

Shoshana Damari

Yemenite-born Queen of Hebrew Song — the voice of Israel's founding generation

Sonya Tayurskaya

Irkutsk-born Little Big member who became an unlikely international pop star

Sophie Tucker

Born in Tulchyn, Ukraine — the Last of the Red-Hot Mamas and one of the original American pop stars

Stan Getz

His parents came from Kyiv — the Sound became the most beautiful saxophone tone in jazz history

Susanna Hoffs

The Bangles frontwoman with Russian-Jewish roots — Eternal Flame and Walk Like an Egyptian

Viktor Tsoi

Leningrad rock idol with Korean roots — the voice of Soviet youth who died at 28 and became a cult god

Viktoria Tolstoy

Swedish jazz singer and great-great-granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy — carries the greatest name in Russian literature

Yehoram Gaon

Yip Harburg

Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side — wrote Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Brother Can You Spare a Dime

Zemfira Ramazanova

Born in Ufa — Russia's greatest female rock star, who left Russia after opposing the Ukraine war

Steven Tyler

Aerosmith frontman, roots in Belarusian shtetl

Ekaterina Leonova

Russian ballroom champion who won Let's Dance and became one of Germany's most beloved TV personalities

Shirin David

Germany's biggest female rapper with Lithuanian-Russian Jewish roots — 4 million YouTube subscribers

Olexesh

Ukrainian-born German rapper with millions of streams — one of Germany's authentic Russian-speaking hip-hop voices