USA

Anton Yelchin

Leningrad-born star who redefined a generation

Antony Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State, rooted in Kyiv

Bernie Sanders

U.S. Senator shaped by a father's flight from empire

Bob Dylan

Voice of a generation, roots in Odessa

Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader with Galician-Jewish roots

David Duchovny

Actor and writer with Ukrainian Jewish roots

Elena Kagan

First female Solicitor General, SCOTUS Justice

Gwyneth Paltrow

Oscar winner with roots in the Russian Empire

Harrison Ford

Han Solo's grandfather fled the Russian Empire

Kirk Douglas

Hollywood titan forged from Belarusian immigrant roots

Lenny Kravitz

Rock icon whose roots trace to imperial Kyiv

Leonardo DiCaprio

Oscar-winning actor with Russian Imperial roots

Michael Bloomberg

NYC mayor, billionaire, grandson of a Russian émigré

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Soviet-trained dancer who redefined American ballet

Mila Kunis

Hollywood star born in Soviet Chernivtsi, Ukraine

Milla Jovovich

Kyiv-born action icon who conquered Hollywood

Natalie Portman

Oscar-winning actress with Lithuanian-Jewish roots

Regina Spektor

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

Sergey Brin

Google co-founder who escaped Soviet antisemitism

Steven Spielberg

Hollywood titan, roots in the Russian Empire

Sylvester Stallone

Rocky's roots run through Odessa

Winona Ryder

Hollywood icon with roots in the Russian Empire

Yul Brynner

Vladivostok-born king of Hollywood's golden age

Yuri Milner

Soviet-born physicist turned Silicon Valley kingmaker

Aaron Copland

Brooklyn-born voice of the American heartland

Abner Zwillman

Prohibition-era crime boss known as the Al Capone of New Jersey

Abraham Maslow

Brooklyn-born son of Kyiv émigrés who mapped human potential.

Adam Levine

Rock-pop frontman with Russian Empire Jewish roots.

Adam Schiff

California senator who rose through federal law.

Adolph Zukor

The Hungarian-Jewish immigrant who built Hollywood.

Agnes Bruckner

Hollywood actress born in Germany to Russian-German immigrant parents

Akim Tamiroff

Tbilisi-born scene-stealer of Hollywood's golden age

Al Jolson

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

Alan Arkin

Comic genius rooted in the Russian Empire's diaspora.

Alan King

Stand-up comedian who turned Jewish immigrant anxieties into American comedy gold

Albert Brooks

Hollywood's sharpest neurotic, rooted in the Pale.

Albert Sabin

From Białystok to the vial that ended polio.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Gulag survivor who shook the Soviet empire with a typewriter

Alex Karp

Philosopher-CEO who built the surveillance state's brain

Alex Ovechkin

Moscow's goal machine rewrote NHL history

Alexander Berkman

Russian-born anarchist who attempted to assassinate a steel baron and shaped American radical politics

Alexander Genis

Soviet-born essayist who became the defining voice of Russian emigre literary culture in New York

Alexander Georgiev

Rybinsk-born NHL goaltender who became the Colorado Avalanche starter

Alexander Godunov

Bolshoi's star who chose freedom over the Bolshoi.

Alexander Kartveli

The Georgian émigré who armed the U.S. Air Force

Alexander Mogilny

The Soviet star who skated into freedom

Alexander Polyakov

The Soviet mind that rewired string theory

Alexander Poniatoff

Russian engineer who invented the videotape recorder and founded AMPEX

Alexander Seversky

Ace pilot who armed America's air war

Alexandr Wang

American fashion designer raised by parents who emigrated from the USSR

Alexei Abrikosov

Soviet theorist who mapped the invisible architecture of superconductors.

Alexei Kitaev

Architect of topological quantum computing

Alexei Kovalev

Togliatti's magician who rewrote NHL artistry

Alexei Yashin

Sverdlovsk's son who electrified Ottawa.

Alexey Brodovitch

The Russian émigré who reinvented American design

Alicia Silverstone

Gen-X icon shaped by Empire-era roots

Alla Nazimova

Yalta-born actress who reinvented Hollywood stardom

Allen Ginsberg

Beat prophet whose howl echoed Russian anguish.

Amanda Anisimova

Moscow-born, American-raised WTA force.

Amanda Bynes

Nickelodeon star with Russian-Jewish roots on her mother's side

Amanda Seyfried

Mamma Mia actress with partial Russian ancestry through her mother's German-Russian family

Amy Schumer

Stand-up subversive who made discomfort funny.

Anatole Litvak

Kyiv-born auteur who mastered Hollywood noir

Andre Agassi

Rebel champion forged from immigrant hunger.

Andrea Martin

SCTV comedy legend who became a two-time Tony Award winner on Broadway

Andrei Kirilenko

Izhevsk's iron-willed forward who redefined NBA versatility.

Andrei Linde

The physicist who inflated the universe

Andrei Okounkov

Moscow-born mathematician who reshaped probability and geometry

Andrei Svechnikov

Barnaul's prodigy rewriting NHL history.

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Ufa's son who became the NHL's last line.

Andrew Filev

Russian-born founder of Wrike who built one of the world's leading work management platforms

Andrey Khusid

Perm-born entrepreneur who co-founded Miro, the world's leading visual collaboration platform

Andy Jassy

Empire-born roots, AWS-built empire.

Anna Kournikova

Moscow's golden girl who conquered the world

Anna Trebunskaya

Russian ballroom champion who became a Dancing with the Stars fan favourite

Anne Applebaum

Pulitzer laureate who mapped totalitarianism's ruins

Anne V (Vyalitsyna)

Nizhny Novgorod's model who conquered New York

Annet Mahendru

Moscow-born actress who made espionage bilingual

Annie Leibovitz

The lens that defined American celebrity for 50 years.

Ari Fleischer

Bush's voice at the podium, rooted in the Pale

Armand Hammer

The capitalist who charmed the Kremlin.

Armie Hammer

Hollywood heir to an Odessa oil dynasty

Arnold Rothstein

The gambler who bankrolled organized crime

Arsen Tomsky

Russian founder of InDriver — the ride-hailing app born in Yakutia that challenged Uber globally

Art Garfunkel

The golden tenor who echoed an immigrant's longing.

Artem Chigvintsev

Vladivostok-born dancer who conquered Hollywood.

Artemi Panarin

Chelyabinsk grit forged into NHL artistry.

Arthur Kornberg

Decoded life's blueprint from immigrant roots.

Arthur Miller

Voice of American conscience, rooted in Ukraine.

Ayn Rand

From Petrograd tenements to American philosophy

Barbara Streisand

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

Barbara Walters

The daughter of immigrants who rewrote broadcast history.

Barbra Streisand

From Galician roots to American icon

Barney Balaban

Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who became president of Paramount Pictures for nearly 30 years

Barry Manilow

Brooklyn's Borscht Belt heir who conquered pop.

Ben Bernanke

The economist who kept the world from the abyss.

Ben Cohen

The ice cream idealist who turned a scoop into a cause.

Ben Horowitz

Silicon Valley titan shaped by immigrant grit.

Ben Stiller

Comic royalty with roots in the Pale of Settlement.

Benny Goodman

The son of Kaunas immigrants who crowned swing.

Bernard Marcus

Son of Russian immigrants who built retail's cathedral.

Bette Midler

Honolulu-raised daughter of the Russian Empire.

Billy Crystal

Odessa's grandson made America laugh for decades

Billy Joel

Piano Man with roots in the Russian Empire

Billy Wilder

Galician émigré who reinvented Hollywood cynicism

Bronson Pinchot

Perfect Strangers star with Russian-descended father who became a beloved sitcom icon

Buddy Hackett

Brooklyn comedian with Russian-Jewish roots who was one of Las Vegas's last great stand-up kings

Bugsy Siegel

Russian-Jewish gangster from Brooklyn who built Las Vegas out of the Nevada desert

Calvin Klein

Bronx-born designer with Russian roots who invented American minimalism

Carl Reiner

Bronx comedian who co-created The Dick Van Dyke Show and shaped American comedy for six decades

Carl Sagan

Brooklyn boy who heard the cosmos call

Carole King

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

Carrie Fisher

Princess Leia and fearless memoirist with Russian-Jewish roots through her father Eddie Fisher

Charles Bluhdorn

Viennese immigrant with Russian parents who presided over Paramount's golden age

Chelsea Handler

Late-night TV trailblazer with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Cheryl Burke

Dancing with the Stars champion with Russian Empire roots who became America's most-watched ballroom dancer

Chico Marx

Eldest Marx Brother, son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother who raised America's greatest comedy team

Chuck Palahniuk

Author of Fight Club, grandson of Ukrainian immigrants from the Russian Empire

Clement Greenberg

Son of Russian-Lithuanian Jewish immigrants who became the most powerful art critic of the 20th century

Costa Ronin

Russian-born actor who played a KGB spy in The Americans and became a Hollywood fixture

Courtney Love

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

Crazy Russian Hacker

Donetsk-born YouTuber Taras Kul who became America's favourite science and life-hacks host

Curly Howard

The Three Stooges' most beloved Stooge, son of Lithuanian-Russian Jewish immigrants

Daniil Trifonov

Nizhny Novgorod piano prodigy called the most complete musician of his generation

Danny Kaye

Brooklyn comedian and UNICEF ambassador born to parents from the Russian Empire

Darren Aronofsky

Brooklyn auteur with Russian-Ukrainian Jewish roots who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Whale

Dasha Nekrasova

Minsk-born actress and Red Scare podcast host who became a cult voice of millennial disillusionment

Dasha Zhukova

Moscow-born art patron and Garage Museum founder who brought contemporary art to Russia

Dave Franco

Hollywood actor with Russian-Jewish roots on his mother's side

Daveed Diggs

Hamilton Tony winner with Russian-Jewish roots on his mother's side

David Copperfield

The world's greatest illusionist, son of a mother with Russian Jewish roots

David O. Selznick

Son of a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca

David Remnick

Russian-Jewish descended New Yorker editor who won the Pulitzer for his book on the Soviet collapse

David Sarnoff

Born in a Belarus shtetl, built NBC and RCA — the man who invented American broadcasting

David Schwimmer

Friends star with Ukrainian-Russian Jewish roots who played Ross Geller for a decade

David Yang

Yerevan-born entrepreneur who co-founded ABBYY and brought Russian AI to the world

Diane Arbus

Russian-Jewish immigrant granddaughter who became the most influential American photographer of the 20th century

Diane von Furstenberg

Belgian-American fashion icon whose father came from Kishinev in the Russian Empire

Dianna Agron

Glee actress with a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish family name that traces to Novgorod-Siversky

Dimitri Tiomkin

Born in Ukraine, composed the soundtrack of Hollywood's golden age

Dmitry Chaplin

Rostov-born dancer who became a So You Think You Can Dance star and Broadway choreographer

Dmitry Orlov

Novokuznetsk-born NHL defenceman and Stanley Cup champion with the Washington Capitals

Doja Cat

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

Don Rickles

Brooklyn insult comedian born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents who became Mr. Warmth

Dustin Hoffman

Hollywood titan forged from immigrant roots

Dutch Schultz

Bronx gangster with German-Russian Jewish roots who ran Prohibition-era New York

Eddie Cantor

Lower East Side entertainer with Russian Jewish roots who became a radio king and Hollywood star

Edward G. Robinson

Romanian-born Hollywood gangster icon whose family came from the Russian Empire

Efim Zelmanov

Soviet-born mathematician who solved a century-old problem and won the Fields Medal

Efrem Zimbalist

Rostov violin virtuoso who became director of the Curtis Institute and shaped American classical music

Emma Goldman

Lithuanian-born anarchist who became the most dangerous woman in America

Erich von Stroheim

Born in Vienna with Russian Empire connections, became Hollywood's greatest director and most hated villain

Ernst Neizvestny

Yekaterinburg sculptor who argued with Khrushchev and created the Tree of Life

Erykah Badu

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

Eugene Dynkin

Soviet mathematician who pioneered probability theory and Dynkin diagrams before emigrating to Cornell

Eugene Kleiner

Vienna-born venture capitalist with Russian roots who co-founded Kleiner Perkins and Silicon Valley itself

Eugenie Leontovich

Moscow-born actress who electrified Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1970s

Evgeni Malkin

Magnitogorsk-born NHL superstar and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Chelyabinsk-born NHL star and three-time Stanley Cup champion with Washington Capitals

Evsey Domar

Russian Empire-born economist who co-created the Harrod-Domar growth model

Ezra Miller

The Flash actor with Russian-Jewish roots who became one of Hollywood's most unconventional stars

FPSRussia (Kyle Myers)

Georgian-born American whose fake Russian persona became one of YouTube's first viral sensations

Fanny Brice

Lower East Side comedian with Russian immigrant parents who became the Ziegfeld Follies' greatest star

Fedor Emelianenko

Ukraine-born MMA legend known as The Last Emperor — considered the greatest heavyweight fighter ever

Feodor Lark

Russian-born actor who became a character actor fixture in Hollywood

Fred Astaire

The greatest dancer in Hollywood history, son of a father who emigrated from the Russian Empire

Fred Zinnemann

Born in Rzeszow in the Russian Empire, directed High Noon and A Man for All Seasons

Fyvush Finkel

Yiddish theatre legend from Brooklyn with Russian-Polish roots who found new fame in Picket Fences

Garry Kasparov

Chess genius turned democracy's fiercest advocate

Gary Shteyngart

Leningrad-born novelist whose satirical fiction made him the voice of the Russian-American experience

Gary Vaynerchuk

From Soviet Babruysk to Silicon Valley's loudest voice

Gene Simmons

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

Gene Wilder

Willy Wonka actor whose father emigrated from Russia and who defined gentle comic genius

Genndy Tartakovsky

Moscow-born animation auteur who created Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Primal

George Balanchine

The Georgian-Russian who reinvented ballet for America

George Burns

Lower East Side comedian with Russian-Austrian Jewish roots who performed until age 98

George Gamow

Odessa-born physicist who cracked the Big Bang, decoded DNA, and explained nuclear fusion

George Gershwin

Brooklyn-born son of Odessa, soundtrack of America

George Soros

The speculator who broke the Bank of England

Gilda Radner

SNL's original queen of comedy with Russian-Lithuanian Jewish roots

Gleb Savchenko

Moscow-born professional dancer and Dancing with the Stars fan favourite

Gogol Bordello

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

Goldie Hawn

Oscar-winning actress whose mother had Russian-Jewish roots stretching to Hungary

Gregor Piatigorsky

Born in Dnipro, became the greatest cellist of the 20th century after fleeing the Bolsheviks

Gregory Breit

Mykolaiv-born nuclear physicist who co-discovered the ionosphere and helped build the atomic bomb

Gregory Goodwin Pincus

Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who co-invented the contraceptive pill and changed the world

Gregory Ratoff

St. Petersburg actor and director who played every European rogue in 1930s Hollywood

Grigory Margulis

Moscow mathematician who won the Fields Medal for revolutionising the theory of Lie groups

Groucho Marx

The Marx Brothers' razor-tongued wit, son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother who built America's greatest comedy team

Harold E. Edgerton

Nebraska engineer with Russian-German immigrant parents who invented the electronic flash and made bullets visible

Harpo Marx

The silent Marx Brother — son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant mother — whose harp playing was genuine genius

Harry Warner

Born in the Russian Empire, co-founded Warner Bros and brought sound to cinema

Harvey Fierstein

Torch Song Trilogy playwright with Russian-Jewish roots who reshaped LGBTQ+ visibility on Broadway

Harvey Keitel

Brooklyn's raw nerve, forged in Minsk & Iaşi

Hedy Lamarr

Hollywood's most beautiful star co-invented spread spectrum technology that underpins Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Helena Rubinstein

Born in Krakow in the Russian Empire, built the first global cosmetics empire

Henny Youngman

King of the One-Liners, son of Russian immigrant parents who defined American stand-up

Henry Kissinger

German-Jewish refugee who became America's most consequential Secretary of State

Herman Muller

Nobel Prize-winning geneticist with Russian-immigrant father who discovered radiation causes mutations

Herschel Bernardi

Broadway and Hollywood actor with Ukrainian-Russian Jewish roots who voiced Charlie the Tuna

Hyman Rickover

Born in Russian-controlled Poland, became the Father of the Nuclear Navy

Ida Rosenthal

Minsk-born immigrant who co-founded Maidenform and invented the modern bra

Idina Menzel

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

Igor Jijikine

Moscow-born actor who played the villain in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Igor Larionov

The Professor — Voskresensk-born centre and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Igor Olenicoff

Moscow-born real estate billionaire and art collector who became one of America's wealthiest immigrants

Igor Shesterkin

Moscow-born Vezina Trophy winner and the NHL's best goaltender

Igor Sikorsky

Born in Kyiv, invented the helicopter and transformed modern aviation

Igor Stravinsky

Born near St. Petersburg, composed The Rite of Spring and changed music forever

Ilya Kabakov

Born in Dnipro, became the most celebrated conceptual artist of the Soviet underground

Ilya Kovalchuk

Tver-born sniper and one of the NHL's most prolific goal-scorers of the 2000s

Ilya Naishuller

Moscow director who made the first-person action film Nobody and the viral Hardest Button to Button video

Ilya Prusikin

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

Ilya Sorokin

Siberian-born goaltender who became one of the NHL's most electrifying netminders with the New York Islanders

Ilya Sutskever

The Soviet-born mind reshaping artificial intelligence

Irina Shayk

From the Urals to the world's runways

Irving Berlin

The immigrant who wrote America's anthem

Irving Thalberg

Son of Russian Jewish immigrants who became Hollywood's greatest producer before dying at 37

Isaac Asimov

The Russian-born prophet of the Space Age

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Born in the Russian Empire's Polish territories, won the Nobel Prize writing Yiddish stories of a vanished world

Israel Gelfand

Self-taught Ukrainian Jewish mathematician who became one of the 20th century's greatest algebraists

Ivan Provorov

Yaroslavl-born NHL defenceman and Columbus Blue Jackets cornerstone

J.B. Pritzker

Governor of Illinois whose great-grandfather emigrated from Kyiv and built the Hyatt hotel empire

J.J. Abrams

Creator of Lost and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens — grandfather emigrated from Russia

Jack Benny

The comedian's comedian — his parents emigrated from Poland and Russia to build America's greatest comedy legacy

Jack Black

Tenacious D rocker and comedic force whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Jack Kirby

Son of Austrian-Russian Jewish immigrants who co-created Captain America, the Fantastic Four and the Marvel Universe

Jack Warner

Born to Russian-Empire parents in Canada, became the longest-serving Warner Brother and Hollywood royalty

Jackie Mason

Minsk-descended stand-up comedian who became Broadway's greatest Jewish comic voice

Jacob Marschak

Kyiv-born economist who founded econometrics and shaped modern economic science

Jake Gyllenhaal

Hollywood star whose mother Naomi Foner has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Jakob Dylan

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

James Franco

Oscar-nominated actor and polymath whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Jan Koum

From Soviet Kyiv to a $19B messaging empire

Janet Yellen

US Treasury Secretary and first female Fed Chair — her father emigrated from the Russian Empire's Polish territories

Janusz Kamiński

Polish-born cinematographer who shot Schindler's List and became Spielberg's visual eye

Jared Polis

Governor of Colorado — his grandparents fled Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire to build an American family

Jascha Heifetz

Born in Vilnius, became the greatest violinist of the 20th century — possibly of all time

Jason Alexander

George Costanza on Seinfeld — his parents have Russian-Jewish roots from the Pale of Settlement

Jason Reitman

Director of Juno and Up in the Air — son of Ivan Reitman, grandson of Czech-Russian Jewish refugees

Jason Segel

How I Met Your Mother star and Muppets writer with Russian-Jewish roots on his father's side

Jeff Goldblum

Jurassic Park icon whose grandparents came from Russia and Austria-Hungary

Jeffrey Tambor

Arrested Development and Transparent star with Hungarian-Ukrainian Jewish ancestry

Jennifer Connelly

Oscar-winning actress whose mother carries Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Jennifer Jason Leigh

The Hateful Eight actress with Austrian-Russian Jewish roots through her mother's family

Jenny Slate

SNL comedian and Obvious Child star with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Jerry Seinfeld

The greatest stand-up comedian of his generation — his father's family came from Ukraine and Hungary

Jerry Stiller

Father of Ben Stiller and Seinfeld's Frank Costanza — his family came from Galicia and the Russian Empire

Jerzy Neyman

Born in Bendery, Russian Empire — the statistician who invented the confidence interval and modern hypothesis testing

Jim Downey

The most influential writer in Saturday Night Live history — with Russian heritage

Joan Rivers

Brooklyn comedian with Russian-Jewish parents who became the queen of American stand-up

Joaquin Phoenix

Oscar-winning actor whose mother Arlyn Dunetz has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Joey Ramone

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

John Garfield

The Bronx's great Russian-Jewish actor who invented the working-class screen hero and was destroyed by McCarthy

Jon Bon Jovi

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

Jon Stewart

The Daily Show host whose family name was Leibowitz — grandparents came from Poland and Ukraine

Jonah Hill

Superbad star and Oscar-nominated actor whose family traces to Russia and Austria

Jonas Salk

Son of Lithuanian-Belarusian Jewish immigrants who developed the polio vaccine and refused to patent it

Jonathan Safran Foer

Everything Is Illuminated author whose grandparents fled Poland and Russia — he went back to find what they left behind

Joseph Brodsky

Leningrad poet expelled by the Soviets who became America's Poet Laureate and won the Nobel Prize

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Inception and 500 Days of Summer star whose grandparents came from Russia and Romania

Joseph Schenck

Born in Rybinsk — became one of Hollywood's founding fathers and co-founded 20th Century Fox

Josh Groban

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

Judy Garland

Born Frances Gumm — her parents came from Russia and Poland, she became Hollywood's most beloved star

Juliana Margulies

ER and The Good Wife Emmy winner with Galician-Russian Jewish roots

Karina Smirnoff

Kharkiv-born ballroom champion and Dancing with the Stars professional dancer

Kat Dennings

2 Broke Girls star with Russian-Jewish immigrant grandparents

Kate Hudson

Almost Famous Oscar nominee whose grandmother Laura Steinhoff has Hungarian-Russian Jewish roots

Kenneth Arrow

Nobel-winning economist with Romanian-Russian roots who proved markets can't be perfectly rational

Kevin Kline

Oscar-winning actor whose father had Russian-Jewish roots and whose comedy is pure immigrant wit

Kirill Kaprizov

Novokuznetsk sniper who became the Minnesota Wild's all-time leading scorer

Komar & Melamid

Moscow conceptual art duo who invented Sots Art, emigrated to New York, and turned democracy into a painting

Kyra Sedgwick

Emmy-winning The Closer star whose mother has Russian and German-Jewish roots

Lana Wood

Natalie Wood's sister — born to Russian immigrant parents, played a Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever

Larry Fine

The Three Stooges' middle Stooge — son of Russian-Jewish immigrants from Philadelphia

Larry King

Brooklyn broadcaster with Belarusian-Austrian Jewish roots who interviewed every world leader for 25 years

Lauren Bacall

The sultry voice and the Look — Hollywood icon whose parents came from Romania and Belarus

Lee J. Cobb

The original Willy Loman — Russian-Romanian Jewish actor who defined American theatrical realism

Lee Philips

American actor and director with Russian Empire Jewish roots

Lee Strasberg

Born in Ukrainian Galicia, invented Method Acting and taught Brando, Dean, Pacino, and De Niro

Lenny Bruce

Brooklyn comedian with Russian-Jewish roots who died for free speech and reinvented stand-up

Leonard Bernstein

America's maestro, born of the Pale's diaspora

Leonard Nimoy

The son of Iziaslav who became Spock

Leonid Hurwicz

Moscow-born economist who won the Nobel Prize at 90 for inventing mechanism design theory

Leonid Radvinsky

Odessa-born tech entrepreneur who owns OnlyFans and built a $2 billion content empire

Leopold Auer

Hungarian-born violin teacher who trained Heifetz, Milstein and Zimbalist — the greatest pedagogue in history

Lera Auerbach

Chelyabinsk-born composer and pianist who became one of the most performed living composers in the world

Lev Gorn

Stavropol-born actor who became a fixture of American film and television

Lewis Milestone

Born in Chisinau (Moldova), directed All Quiet on the Western Front — the greatest anti-war film ever made

Lex Fridman

Moscow-born mind mapping the AI frontier

Liev Schreiber

Ray Donovan star whose mother has Ukrainian-Polish Jewish roots — one of Hollywood's finest actors

Lisa Bonet

Cosby Show breakout star whose mother has Russian-Jewish ancestry

Lisa Edelstein

House MD's Dr. Cuddy — her Russian-Jewish grandparents shaped a family of achievers

Lisa Kudrow

Phoebe Buffay on Friends — her grandmother came from Ilya, Belarus (Russian Empire)

Little Big

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

Liza Minnelli

EGOT winner and Cabaret icon whose grandmother came from Russia and Poland

Logan Lerman

Percy Jackson star whose family traces Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Lou Reed

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

Louis B. Mayer

Born in Minsk, built MGM into the most powerful studio in Hollywood history

Louis Lepke

Brooklyn gangster with Russian-Jewish roots who ran Murder Inc. — and went to the electric chair

Madeleine Albright

First female US Secretary of State — her family fled Nazi Europe, with roots in Russian-ruled Jewish communities

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Secretary actress and The Deuce star whose mother Naomi Foner has Russian-Jewish roots

Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Odessa-born ballroom champion who became Dancing with the Stars' most beloved bad boy

Maksim Pokrovskiy

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

Man Ray

Born Emmanuel Radnitsky in Philadelphia to parents from Kyiv and Minsk — became Surrealism's greatest photographer

Mandy Moore

This Is Us star and pop singer whose maternal grandfather has Russian-Jewish roots

Mandy Patinkin

Inigo Montoya and Saul Berenson — his grandparents came from Lithuania and Russia

Marc Benioff

Salesforce founder whose grandfather Isaac came from Kyiv — built a $200 billion cloud empire

Marc Lasry

Moroccan-born distressed-debt billionaire with Eastern European Jewish heritage who co-owned the Milwaukee Bucks

Maria Ouspenskaya

Born in Tula, brought Stanislavski's Method to America and trained the golden age of Hollywood actors

Maria Sharapova

Siberian-born icon who conquered global tennis

Mark Cuban

Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner whose grandparents came from Russia via the Chabenisky family

Mark Rothko

From Dvinsk to the sublime: Rothko's color fields

Maryna Linchuk

Minsk-born Victoria's Secret Angel who became one of the world's top supermodels

Matthew Broderick

Ferris Bueller actor whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Matthew Weiner

Mad Men creator with Russian-Jewish roots who gave American TV its greatest portrait of the 1960s

Max Factor

Born in Zdunska Wola (Russian Empire), invented modern makeup and built Hollywood's most famous cosmetics brand

Max Levchin

PayPal co-founder who coded his way from Kyiv to Silicon Valley

Maya Rudolph

SNL star whose father Richard Rudolph has Lithuanian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Mayim Bialik

Big Bang Theory and Blossom actress with Ukrainian-Polish Jewish roots who also has a PhD in neuroscience

Mel Brooks

Brooklyn comedy genius whose mother came from Kyiv — created Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and The Producers

Melvin Calvin

Son of Lithuanian-Georgian Jewish immigrants who won the Nobel Prize for mapping photosynthesis

Melvyn Douglas

Son of a Riga-born concert pianist — twice Academy Award-winning Hollywood legend

Merrick Garland

US Attorney General and almost-Supreme Court Justice — his grandparents fled the Russian Empire's pogroms

Meyer Guggenheim

Born in Lengnau, Switzerland — founded the dynasty that built the Guggenheim Museums

Meyer Lansky

Born in Grodno, became the Mob's Accountant — the financial genius behind American organised crime

Michael Bolton

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

Michael Chabon

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist whose family traces Lithuanian and Russian Jewish roots

Michael Chekhov

Anton Chekhov's nephew — born in St. Petersburg, trained Hollywood's greatest actors in his Method

Michael Dell

Founded Dell at 19 in his college dorm — his family name was Tal, changed from Russian-Jewish origins

Michael Douglas

Hollywood royalty, rooted in the Russian Empire

Michael Dudikoff

American Ninja star whose father emigrated from Russia — an unexpected action hero of the 1980s

Michael Kors

Fashion mogul whose mother Joan has Austrian-Russian Jewish roots — built a $10 billion luxury empire

Michael Stroukoff

Born in Yekaterinoslav — the aviation engineer who invented the assault glider and built Chase Aircraft

Michel Fokine

Born in St. Petersburg — the choreographer who reformed ballet and created The Dying Swan for Pavlova

Mickey Cohen

Born to Kyiv Jewish immigrants — became the most feared gangster in Los Angeles

Mike Nichols

Born in Berlin, father from Siberia — the only person to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony AND the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Mike Todd

Born to Ukrainian-Polish Jewish immigrants — the showman who made Around the World in 80 Days and married Elizabeth Taylor

Mikhail Chemiakin

Moscow-born artist who was expelled from the Soviet Union and befriended Vladimir Vysotsky in Paris

Mikhail Sergachev

Nizhnekamsk-born NHL defenceman and two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning

Mila Jovovich

Born in Kyiv, raised between Moscow and Los Angeles — became The Fifth Element and Resident Evil icon

Milton Berle

Mr. Television — his parents came from Russia, he put America in front of TV sets

Milton Friedman

Son of Ukrainian immigrants who won the Nobel Prize and became the most influential economist of the 20th century

Mischa Auer

Born in St. Petersburg, became Hollywood's greatest comic supporting actor of the 1930s

Moe Dalitz

Russian-Jewish bootlegger who built Las Vegas alongside Bugsy Siegel and became its most legitimate mogul

Moe Howard

The boss Stooge — born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents, the driving force behind The Three Stooges

Molly Picon

The Queen of Second Avenue — her parents came from Kyiv, she became the greatest Yiddish theatre star in history

Monk Eastman

Russian-Jewish gangster who ruled New York's Lower East Side and died a decorated WWI hero

Morris "Moe" Dalitz

Russian-Jewish bootlegger who built Las Vegas and transformed from mobster to civic benefactor

Morris Michtom

Born in Russia, invented the Teddy Bear — one of the most beloved toys in history

Mstislav Rostropovich

Born in Baku — the greatest cellist in history, who played Bach as the Berlin Wall fell

Murray Bookchin

New York anarchist thinker with Russian-Jewish roots whose ideas inspired the Kurdish revolution in Syria

Nastia Liukin

Born in Moscow, became America's Olympic gymnastics all-around champion in Beijing 2008

Natalie Wood

Born to Russian immigrants from Barnaul — became one of Hollywood's greatest stars

Natasha Poly

Perm-born supermodel who became one of the world's most recognisable faces on the runway

Nathan Milstein

Born in Odessa, trained by Auer and Ysaÿe — one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century

Nathan Swartz

Born in Odessa — bought a failing Massachusetts boot company and built it into Timberland

Nehemiah Persoff

Jerusalem-born character actor with Russian-Jewish parents who became a Hollywood legend

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

Nicholas Schenck

Born in Rybinsk alongside his brother Joseph — became president of MGM's parent company Loew's Inc.

Nicole Scherzinger

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

Nikita Kucherov

Maykop sniper who became the NHL's greatest points-per-game player and two-time Stanley Cup champion

Nina Berberova

Born in St. Petersburg — émigré novelist who was rediscovered at 80 and became a literary sensation

Noah Wyle

ER's Dr. Carter — his father Stephen Wyle has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Noam Chomsky

The exile's son who rewired linguistics

Norman Mailer

Son of a Lithuanian-Russian Jewish immigrant father — two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and American literature's great pugilist

Oksana Baiul

Orphaned in Dnipro, became Olympic figure skating champion at 16 — Ukraine's greatest sporting moment

Oleg Shardin

Russian-born co-founder of Miro — the collaborative whiteboard platform used by 60 million people

Oleg Cassini

Born in Paris to a Russian diplomat family — became Jackie Kennedy's official couturier

Oleg Taktarov

Born in secret Soviet nuclear city Sarov — became UFC champion and Hollywood actor

Oleg Vidov

Soviet heartthrob who defected from the USSR — became a Hollywood actor and freedom symbol

Olga Fonda

Born in Ukhta, Komi Republic — Russian actress who built a Hollywood career in action and thriller films

Oscar Zariski

Born in Kobryn, Belarus — became one of the greatest algebraic geometers in history

Otto Preminger

Born in Chernivtsi — the Hollywood director who fought censorship and made Anatomy of a Murder

Otto Struve

Born in Kharkiv into Russia's greatest astronomical dynasty — became America's foremost astronomer

P!nk (Alecia Moore)

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

Pasha Kovalev

Siberian ballroom champion who became Strictly Come Dancing's most passionate professional dancer

Patricia Arquette

Oscar and Emmy winner whose mother Brenda has Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Paul Muni

Born in Lviv, became one of Hollywood's greatest actors and the conscience of 1930s cinema

Paul Reiser

Mad About You star whose family came from Russia and Romania — a quintessential New York Jewish comedian

Paul Rudd

Ant-Man and Clueless star whose parents came from Russia and Belarus — the most likeable man in Hollywood

Paul Samuelson

Son of Polish-Russian Jewish immigrants who became America's greatest economist and won the first US Nobel in Economics

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

Pavel Bure

The Russian Rocket — Moscow-born hockey superstar who was the NHL's most electrifying scorer

Pavel Datsyuk

Sverdlovsk magician who became the NHL's greatest two-way forward and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Peggy Guggenheim

Granddaughter of Meyer Guggenheim — became the greatest patron of modernist art in history

Peter Falk

Columbo — his parents came from Russia and Poland, he became the most beloved detective on television

Peter Shukoff

Epic Rap Battles of History co-creator with Russian ancestry — YouTube's greatest comedy series

Philippe Kahn

Paris-born tech pioneer whose mother was a Russian Jewish violinist — invented the camera phone

Pitirim Sorokin

Born in Vologda, sentenced to death by Lenin, escaped to become Harvard's greatest sociologist

Rade Šerbedžija

Croatian actor who plays the definitive Hollywood Russian — Eyes Wide Shut, Batman Begins, 24

Ralph Lauren

His parents came from Pinsk, Belarus — he invented the American dream as a fashion

Rashida Jones

Parks and Recreation star whose great-grandfather came from Latvia (Russian Empire)

Red Buttons

Oscar-winning comedian whose parents came from Russia — a Borscht Belt legend

Reid Hoffman

LinkedIn founder and PayPal Mafia member with Eastern European Jewish roots

René Auberjonois

Odo from Star Trek DS9 — his grandfather was a celebrated Russian-born painter

Richard Feynman

The quantum rebel whose roots ran to Minsk

Richard Lewis

The prince of pain — his parents came from Russia and Romania, he turned neurosis into an art form

River Phoenix

Stand By Me actor whose maternal family had Russian-Jewish roots — died at 23 leaving an extraordinary legacy

Roald Hoffmann

Born in Zolochiv, Ukraine — survived the Holocaust hiding in an attic, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Rob Reiner

Son of Carl Reiner — directed When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride, carries Russian-Jewish heritage

Robert Downey Jr

Iron Man forged from Empire-era roots

Robert Solow

Son of Brooklyn Jewish immigrants from Russia — won the Nobel Prize and defined modern growth economics

Rodney Dangerfield

He got no respect — his father left for Russia, his mother had Hungarian-Russian roots, he became comedy royalty

Roman Jakobson

Born in Moscow — the linguist who invented structuralism and transformed how we understand language

Rosalyn Yalow

Granddaughter of Ukrainian-German Jewish immigrants who won the Nobel Prize for inventing radioimmunoassay

Rosanna Arquette

Desperately Seeking Susan star — shares Polish-Russian Jewish roots with sisters Patricia and David

Rouben Mamoulian

Born in Tiflis — the Armenian-Georgian director who invented the moving camera and directed the first Technicolor film

Rudolf Abel

Born in England to Russian revolutionary parents — became the KGB's greatest illegal spy in America

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Her mother's parents came from Odessa — the Notorious RBG became America's most beloved Supreme Court Justice

Sam Gennawey

American author and urban planner with Russian-Lebanese roots who wrote the definitive books on Walt Disney

Sam Raimi

Evil Dead creator and Spider-Man director — his family came from Russia and Hungary

Samuel Goldwyn

Born Schmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw — co-founded Hollywood itself and produced its golden age

Samuel Zemurray

Born in Kishinev — the Banana Man who overthrew a Central American government and ran United Fruit

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sex and the City icon — her father Stephen Bar-Kahn carries Russian-Jewish heritage

Sasha Alex Sloan

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

Sasha Farber

Moscow-born Dancing with the Stars professional and fan favourite

Sasha Luss

Born in Magadan — the Russian Far East model who starred in Anna and became an international face

Sasha Pivovarova

Moscow-born Prada muse and avant-garde supermodel who redefined the early 2000s runway

Saul Bellow

His parents came from St. Petersburg — he won the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer and redefined the American novel

Savely Kramarov

Moscow's most beloved comic actor who defected to Hollywood and starred alongside Clint Eastwood

Scarlett Johansson

Hollywood titan with Russian Empire roots

Sean Penn

Two-time Oscar winner whose grandfather came from Merkinė, Lithuania (Russian Empire) — one of Hollywood's greatest actors

Selman Waksman

Born in Nova Pryluka, Ukraine — discovered streptomycin and won the Nobel Prize, saving millions from tuberculosis

Semyon Varlamov

Samara-born NHL goaltender and Vezina Trophy finalist with the New York Islanders

Serge Koussevitzky

Born in Vyshny Volochyok — the conductor who made the Boston Symphony Orchestra the greatest in America

Sergei Bobrovsky

Novokuznetsk-born goaltender — two-time Vezina Trophy winner and one of the NHL's greatest netminders

Sergei Dovlatov

Born in Ufa, failed to publish a single story in the USSR — then became America's most beloved Russian voice

Sergei Fedorov

Pskov-born genius who became the greatest two-way forward in NHL history and three-time Stanley Cup champion

Sergei Prokofiev

Born in Donetsk — composed Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, and returned to Stalin's USSR to his doom

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Born near Novgorod — the composer whose Second Piano Concerto is the most romantic music ever written

Sergei Zubov

Moscow-born defenceman — one of the most offensively gifted blueliners in NHL history and two-time Stanley Cup champion

Shecky Greene

Las Vegas comedy legend whose parents came from Russia — the greatest improvisational comedian of his era

Sheldon Adelson

His father came from Lithuania and Ukraine — the casino mogul who became America's most powerful political donor

Shemp Howard

The original third Stooge — his Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents also raised Moe and Curly

Sholem Aleichem

Born in Pereyaslav, Ukraine — the Mark Twain of Yiddish literature whose Tevye the Dairyman became Fiddler on the Roof

Sid Caesar

His parents came from Poland and Russia — the TV comedy genius who launched Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Carl Reiner

Sidney Lumet

Son of Warsaw-born actor Baruch Lumet — directed 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network

Simon Kuznets

Born in Pinsk, Belarus — invented GDP and won the Nobel Prize for measuring economic growth

Slava Fetisov

Moscow-born captain of the Soviet hockey dynasty who defected, won the Stanley Cup, and became Russia's sports minister

Slava Rubin

Born in Minsk — co-founded Indiegogo and pioneered the global crowdfunding industry

Sofia Kenin

Moscow-born WTA star who won the Australian Open at age 21 and represented the USA

Sol Hurok

Born in Pogar, Russia — became America's greatest impresario and brought Russian culture to the world

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

Stan Lee

The immigrant's son who built Marvel's universe

Stella Adler

Born in New York to Odessa-born Yiddish theatre king Jacob Adler — taught Brando, De Niro and Beatty

Stepan Pachikov

Born in Azerbaijan — pioneered handwriting recognition software and co-founded Evernote

Stephen Timoshenko

Born in Chernihiv, Ukraine — the father of engineering mechanics and the most important engineer of the 20th century

Steve Ballmer

His father's family came from Pinsk, Belarus — became Microsoft CEO and owns the LA Clippers

Steven Seagal

Action star with claimed Russian Cossack ancestry who became a Russian citizen and Putin ally

Sumner Redstone

His father came from Russia — built Viacom, CBS, and MTV into the world's largest media empire

Susanna Hoffs

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

Tad Szulc

Warsaw-born New York Times journalist who covered the Bay of Pigs and became one of America's greatest foreign correspondents

Tamara de Lempicka

Born in Warsaw — the Art Deco queen whose portraits of the jet set defined the glamour of the 1920s

Tatiana Patitz

Hamburg-born supermodel of Baltic-Russian origin — one of the original five supermodels of the 1990s

Tatiana Proskouriakoff

Born in Tomsk, Siberia — the archaeologist who cracked the Maya code and transformed ancient history

Tatyana Tolstaya

Leningrad-born writer and TV host — great-grandniece of Leo Tolstoy and Russia's sharpest satirical voice

Taylor Momsen

Gossip Girl actress turned rock frontwoman — her maternal grandmother has Russian Jewish roots

Theodore Bikel

Born in Vienna to Ukrainian Jewish parents — the original Tevye on Broadway and one of folk music's great voices

Theodore Kosloff

Born in Moscow — the Imperial Ballet dancer who became Cecil B. DeMille's choreographer and silent film star

Theodosius Dobzhansky

Born in Nemyriv, Ukraine — the geneticist who unified Darwin and Mendel and founded modern evolutionary biology

Timothée Chalamet

Hollywood's poet-prince with Russian roots

Timur Bekmambetov

Born in Kazakhstan, directed Night Watch — the biggest Russian blockbuster ever — then conquered Hollywood

Tony Curtis

Born to Hungarian-Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire — starred in Some Like It Hot and became Hollywood royalty

Totie Fields

Her parents came from Russia — the stand-up comedian who defined self-deprecating comedy before Joan Rivers

Téa Leoni

Madam Secretary actress whose mother has Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Val Chmerkovskiy

Odessa-born ballroom champion and Dancing with the Stars fan favourite — Maksim's brother

Val Kilmer

Top Gun's Iceman and Batman — his paternal grandmother had Russian-Swedish roots

Val Lewton

Born in Yalta — the producer who invented psychological horror and made RKO's greatest films

Valentin Gapontsev

Moscow physicist who founded IPG Photonics — the world's largest fibre laser company

Valentina Shevchenko

Bishkek-born UFC flyweight queen with Soviet athletic roots — one of MMA's all-time greats

Valentina Zelyaeva

Born in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia — the supermodel from Siberia's Buddhist heartland who walked for Chanel and Prada

Valeri Bure

Pavel Bure's younger brother — NHL forward and husband of figure skater Candace Cameron

Valeri Liukin

Born in Aktobe, Kazakhstan — Soviet Olympic champion who trained his daughter Nastia to Olympic gold

Valeri Nichushkin

Chelyabinsk sniper who became a Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner with Colorado

Vic Morrow

Combat! star whose parents came from the Russian Empire — the quintessential TV tough guy

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy

Vlada Roslyakova

Born in Omsk, Siberia — became one of the world's top supermodels and a Chanel muse

Vladimir Horowitz

Born in Berdychiv, Ukraine — the greatest pianist of the 20th century, who fled Russia with Nathan Milstein in 1925

Vladimir Ipatieff

Born in Moscow — the chemist who invented high-octane aviation fuel and enabled the Allied air forces to win WWII

Vladimir Nabokov

Exiled genius who reinvented the English novel

Vladimir Tarasenko

Yaroslavl sniper who became one of the NHL's most electrifying goal-scorers with the St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Voevodsky

Born in Moscow — won the Fields Medal for work so abstract it reshaped the foundations of mathematics

Vladimir Zworykin

Born in Murom — the father of television, who invented the iconoscope and kinescope

Vladislav Namestnikov

Volgograd-born NHL forward who has played for multiple teams across a decade in the league

Wallace Shawn

The Princess Bride's Vizzini — his Russian-Jewish grandfather shaped a playwright who became Hollywood's most quotable villain

Walter Koenig

Chekov on Star Trek — his parents came from Lithuania and the Russian Empire

Walter Matthau

Born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents on the Lower East Side — Oscar winner and the grumpiest genius in Hollywood

Warner Brothers

Born in Krasnosielc, Poland (Russian Empire) — the four brothers who built Hollywood's most socially conscious studio

Wassily Leontief

Born in St. Petersburg — won the Nobel Prize for input-output analysis, the model governments use to run economies

Waxey Gordon

William Fox

William Friedkin

His grandfather came from Russia — the director of The Exorcist and The French Connection

William Paley

His parents fled Russia — he built CBS into America's most powerful broadcast network

Woody Allen

Brooklyn neurosis rooted in Pale of Settlement grit

Xenia Deli

Yakov Sinai

Born in Moscow — won the Abel Prize for transforming ergodic theory and the mathematics of chaos

Yakov Smirnoff

Born in Odessa — the comedian who turned being a Soviet immigrant into America's best-loved joke

Yehudi Menuhin

His parents came from Gomel and Crimea — he became the greatest violinist of his generation and a human rights champion

Yip Harburg

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

Zac Efron

High School Musical star whose grandfather has Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Zeppo Marx

The 'straight man' Marx Brother — his parents came from Alsace and the Russian Empire

Zero Mostel

His parents came from Brody, Galicia — the original Tevye AND the original Max Bialystock

Zoë Kravitz

Hollywood heir with roots in the Russian Empire

Steven Tyler

Aerosmith frontman, roots in Belarusian shtetl

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn

The conscience of Russia, forged in the Gulag.

Mikhail Lukin

Moscow-born Harvard physics professor — one of the world's leading quantum computing scientists

Felix Zandman

Survived the Holocaust hidden in a pit for 17 months — then built Vishay Intertechnology, one of the world's largest electronics companies

Alexander Tamas

Post-Soviet-born Silicon Valley tech investor — backed SpaceX and co-founded Vy Capital

Nikita Kahn

Russian-born philanthropist and real estate developer — partner of Oracle founder Larry Ellison

Artem Milinchuk

Post-Soviet-born founder of FarmTogether — pioneering digital farmland investment for ultra-high-net-worth individuals