Famous Arians a to z

Director, producer and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola is best known for creating The Godfather film series starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.

Roger Corman is a film director and producer who helmed B-Movie classics and helped launch the careers of James Cameron, John Sayles, Ron Howard and others.

Howard Cosell was a sports broadcaster who had a distinctive and influential on-air personality.

Lucy Craft Laney was a school teacher and educator who opened a school for African-American students in the South in the late 1800s.

Joan Crawford was an Oscar-winning actress, dancer and executive. She was known for films like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Mildred Pierce.

In 1997 Erin Crocker became the youngest race car driver to win a feature at Whip City Speedway en route to Rookie-of-the-Year honors.

David Cross is a comedian and actor who has appeared on TV's Mr. Show, The Ben Stiller Show and Arrested Development.

Marcia Cross is best known for her role in Desperate Housewives as Bree Van De Kamp, opposite Terri Hatcher and Eva Longoria.

Actor Russell Crowe won an Oscar for his performance in the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator and a nomination for his 2001 role in A Beautiful Mind.

Jon Cryer is known for his Emmy-winning role as a single dad on TV's Two and a Half Men as well as his films, especially the '80s teen flick Pretty in Pink.

Donna D'Errico is an actress who shot to stardom as a lifeguard on TV's Baywatch.

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter and a genius in many realms of science. He is best known for two paintings: the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper."

Timothy Dalton is a versatile stage and film actor. He succeeded Roger Moore in the James Bond franchise in the 1980s and played Prince Barin in Flash Gordon.

Film and television actress Claire Danes began her critically acclaimed career as a 15-year-old star in the ABC series, My So Called Life.

Republican politician Mitch Daniels is the governor of Indiana and worked in the administrations of presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Bette Davis is remembered as one of Hollywood's legendary leading ladies, famous for her larger-than-life persona and for her nearly 100 film appearances.

Music executive and producer Clive Davis has worked with Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson among others.

Doris Day was a singer and actress most popular in the 1950s and early-1960s. She starred in a television sitcom called "The Doris Day Show" from 1968-1973.

Sometimes called the father of modern art, Spanish artist Francisco de Goya painted royal portraits as well as more subversive works in late 1700s and early 1800s.

Some people believe it was Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who really wrote the plays attributed to William Shakespeare.

Tom Delay was Republican majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives who was convicted of money laundering charges in 2010.

Philosopher and mathematician René Descartes is regarded as the father of modern philosophy for defining a starting point for existence, “I think; therefore I am.”

In 2009, singer Lee DeWyze beat out the American Idol judges' clear choice, Crystal Bowersox, thanks to the audience's majority vote.

Art critic Sergei Diaghilev started the artistic collaboration the Ballet Russes, which toured worldwide and was a forerunner of the Royal Ballet.

French-Canadian singer Celine Dion dominated the pop charts in the 1990s. She remains a popular entertainer and is the second-highest earning musician in history.

Dorothea Dix was an educator and social reformer whose devotion to the welfare of the mentally ill led to widespread international reforms.

Shannen Doherty is best known for her roles as Heather Duke in the film Heathers and on TV as Brenda in Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Prue in Charmed.

Actor Robert Downey, Jr. is known for his roles in a wide variety of films, including Iron Man, Chaplin, Soapdish, and Wonder Boys.

Jeff Dunham is a popular comedian and ventriloquist, known for his crass yet clever antics with his puppets.

Patricia Dunn served as a director and non-executive chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard before resigning in 2006, after receiving a criminal indictment stemming from a spying scandal.

Eadweard Muybridge's photography of moving animals captured movement in a way that had never been done before. His work was used by both scientists and artists.

Dancer and actor Buddy Ebsen performed on Broadway and films, but he’s best known for his role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, which ran for nine seasons.

J. Presper Eckert Jr. was the award-winning co-inventor of the first general purpose digital computer.

Hortense Ellis, younger sister of the "Godfather of Rock Steady" Alton Ellis, was a pop singer who was regarded as Jamaica’s first locally based female singing star.

Daniel Ellsberg strengthened public opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971 when he leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.

Filipino actor and politician Joseph Estrada served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001.

American feminist and journalist Susan Faludi wrote Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, which argues that the media distort news about women.

Actor Michael Fassbender has starred in the films 300, Inglorious Basterds, Centurion, Dangerous Method, Prometheus and the comic-book-based X-men: First Class.

Dodi Fayed was an Egyptian heir and film producer who dated and was dled with Princess Diana of Wales in a Paris car crash.

Kevin Federline, best known for his marriage to superstar Britney Spears in 2004, has performed as a backup dancer for such pop stars as Michael Jackson.

Roger Fenton was a British photographer best known for his 1855 documentation of the ravages of the war in Crimea.

Fergie is the lead singer of The Black Eyed Peas. Her solo album The Dutchess was also a hit. Her eclectic work ranges from ballads to dance tracks.

America Ferrera is a Honduran-American actress best known for her title role in the hit television series Ugly Betty.

Henry Ossian Flipper was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. As second lieutenant with the 10th Cavalry, he was framed for embezzlement.

Betty Ford became the First Lady when President Nixon resigned and made her Vice President husband, Gerald Ford, the acting President.

Writer John Fowles's works include The French Lieutenant's Woman and combine a respect for the Victorian novel and an interest in contemporary French novels.

Film and television actor James Franco starred in the NBC series Freaks and Geeks and won a Golden Globe for his role in 2001's TNT cable biopic James Dean.

Barney Frank is the first U.S. Congressman to voluntarily announce his homosexuality. He is also known for his work on the 2008 American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act.

Multiple Grammy winner and "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin is known for such hits as "Respect," "Freeway of Love" and "I Say a Little Prayer."

Lefty Frizzell is widely recognized as one of the most influential country singers in history. Willie Nelson and Randy Travis count him among their influences.

David Frost is an English media personality best known for his 1977 interviews with President Richard Nixon, which were adapted for a play and the critically acclaimed film Frost/Nixon. Frost hosted several television programs in the United States and Britain.

A four-time Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry, American Robert Frost depicted realistic New England life through language and situations familiar to the common man.

Jacques Futrelle was a journalist and mystery writer who created the character Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen, also known as "The Thinking Machine." He died in the Titanic disaster.

Agnetha Fältskog was a singer with the Swedish band ABBA, famous for hits like "Mamma Mia."

Matilda Joslyn Gage was an author and one of the leading figures in the women's rights and suffrage movement that began in the mid-1800s.

New York gangster Joey Gallo was both a hero and villain; a very public criminal who hung out with pop stars and was immortalized in the Bob Dylan song, Joey.

From The Untouchables to Stand and Deliver to Ocean's Eleven, Andy Garcia built an impressive acting resume.

Lucretia Garfield was the wife of President James Garfield and, thusly, first lady of the United States for nine months.

James Garner is an actor known for his lead role in the TV show Maverick and for films such as Murphy’s Romance and Decoration Day.

American Actress Jennifer Garner earned notice for her role on the hit show Felicity, and was subsequently cast as the star of the ABC television drama Alias.

Australian singer and political activist Peter Garrett is best known for his considerable contributions to both the environment and the music industry.

Phillip Garrido kidnapped 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard in 1991. Garrido held Dugard captive for 18 years, raping her repeatedly and impregnating her twice. He also committed several other crimes, including many rapes.

Jennie Garth is an actress notable for her long stint on TV's Beverly Hill 90210 in the 1990s, and her later appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

American actor and businessman John Gavin starred in such classic films as Psycho and Midnight Lace, and was also U.S ambassador to Mexico under Ronald Reagan.

Marvin Gaye was a soul singer-songwriter with Motown in the 1960s and 1970s. He produced his own records and often addressed controversial themes.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is an actress known for her lead role in the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as films like Cruel Intentions and The Grudge.

Leeza Gibbons is an entertainment personality. She's known for hosting the TV shows Entertainment Tonight and Extra, as well as her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential.

John Gielgud was a prolific Shakespearean actor known for his varied film and TV work as well, including Arthur and Prospero’s Books.

Vincent Gigante was an Italian-American mobster, known as "The Enigma in the Bathrobe," who led the Genovese crime family of New York City.

Vince Gill is an award-winning country musician known for such hits as 'What the Cowgirls Do' and 'Whenever You Come Around.'

Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor whose role as Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter films has made him known around the world.

Jane Goodall created one of the most trailblazing studies of primates in modern times when she dwelled with Tanzanian chimps to observe their behavior.

Al Gore was the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He is also known for his work regarding environmental issues.

Maxim Gorky was a Russian author who wrote about the lower depths of society. He was a critic of both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and died under mysterious circumstances.

Reality television star Kate Gosselin starred on TLC's Jon and Kate Plus 8, and went through a very public divorce as a result of the show's success.