Famous Arians a to z

Al Green is known for the hit song "Let's Stay Together," and for leaving his musical career at its height in the 1970s to become a reverend at his own church.

Jennifer Grey is an American actress, best-known for her role as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

Lita Grey Chaplin was an actress known mostly for her tumultuous marriage to screen legend Charlie Chaplin.

Journalist Arthur Griffith was a founder of the Irish nationalist movement (Sinn Féin) and briefly served as President of the Irish Republic in 1922.

Gus Grissom transitioned from successful Air Force test pilot to NASA astronaut, despite a controversial landing in the Liberty Bell 7.

Alec Guinness is an Oscar-winning British actor known for his roles in films like Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago and Star Wars.

Originally a troubled youngster who served time in San Quentin prison, Merle Haggard grew to become a country music legend.

MC Hammer brought rap music to the mainstream audience with his album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em, the biggest-selling rap album of all time.

Alyson Hannigan got her start by starring on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, followed by a recurring role in the American Pie movie trilogy. Since 2005, she has starred on TV's How I Met Your Mother.

Mass murderer Eric Harris and his friend Dylan Klebold killed themselves, 13 people and wounded more than 20 others at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.

"Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore became something of an anti-hero when he eluded the police for two years after committing a string of robberies, which he occasionally perpetrated while barefoot.

American actress Melissa Joan Hart starred on the television shows Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and began performing on the TV series Melissa & Joey in 2010.

Over the course of his 106 symphonies, Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn became the principal architect of the classical style of music.

Seamus Henry is a renowned Irish poet and professor who won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Hugh Hefner created the adult entertainment magazine Playboy. Today, the Playboy brand includes an extensive publishing, TV and internet empire.

Dorothy Height was a civil rights and women's rights activist focused primarily on improving the circumstances of and opportunities for African-American women.

Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater who won three Olympic gold medals. After retiring from skating, she acted in Hollywood films like The Thin Ice.

English poet George Herbert was an ordained priest. His book, The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, was published posthumously.

American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger created a brand of clothing that was extremely popular with several different communities in the 1990s.

Christopher Hitchens was a controversial, thought-provoking British-American writer who covered a range of serious topics, including art and atheism.

Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher in the 17th century, was best known for his book Leviathan (1651) and his political views on society.

German painter Hans Hofmann was an influential 20th century art teacher whose work paved the way for Abstract Expressionism.

William Holden was an actor who perfected the role of the cynic who acts heroically in spite of his scorn or pessimism.

Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction.

Harry Houdini's grand illusions and daring, spectacular escape acts made him one of the most famous magicians of all time.

A.E. Housman was an English scholar and poet whose poems were based on classical models and expressed a Romantic pessimism in a spare, simple style. He published two volumes of poetry: A Shropshire Lad and Last Poems.

Bernardo Alberto Houssay was an Argentinian doctor whose research on the role of pituitary hormones regulating blood sugar won him a Nobel Prize.

Kate Hudson is an actress and the daughter of actress-producer Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, a television comedian. She played Penny in the film Almost Famous.

Dolores Huerta is an activist and labor leader who co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers.

During his career, jurist Charles Hughes became the governor of New York, U.S. secretary of state and the 11th Supreme Court justice.

Linda Hunt is a diminutive actress best known for her role as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously.

Sam Huntington is an American actor who got his big break in 2006, playing Clark Kent’s sweet and innocent sidekick, Jimmy Olsen, in Superman Returns.

Samuel P. Huntington was a political scientist who wrote the influential book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.

A in-demand fashion model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has appeared in top magazines, countless ad campaigns and 2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie.

Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah and U.S. Ambassador to China became a candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President in 2012.

Kim Il-sung was the leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death in 1994, heading a communist and highly militaristic administration.

Michael Imperioli is an actor, writer and producer best known for his Emmy-winning performance on The Sopranos.

Washington Irving was a popular 19th century American author, best known for the stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

J.J. Jackson was disc jockey, television personality and one of the first VJs (video jockeys) on MTV.

Paris Michael Katherine Jackson is the second child and only daughter of pop legend Michael Jackson.

An American novelist and naturalized Englishman, Henry James was an important figure in transatlantic literary culture of the day.

Jesse James was CEO of West Coast Choppers before it closed in 2010, and was in a heavily publicized relationship with actress Sandra Bullock.

Porn star Jenna Jameson escaped a bad childhood by making dozens of X-rated movies. She parlayed that success into an adult media empire.

Thomas Jefferson was a draftsman of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president (1801-09). He was also responsible for the Louisiana Purchase.

Actor Richard Jeni was best known as a popular stand-up comedian, appearing often on television comedy shows, including a few of his own HBO comedy specials.

Haley Joe Osment is an American actor best known for his role in The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis.

Elton John is a British singer, pianist and composer who was one of the most popular musicians of the 20th century. Along with selling more than 250 million records he has found success on Broadway, composing the music score for the Tony award winning hit Billy Elliot (2008).

Jack Johnson, nicknamed "the Galveston Giant," was the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion.

Robert L. Johnson is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of the BET channel and as the country’s first African-American billionaire.

Shirley Jones is a singer and actress best known for her parts in movie musicals, and for her role as Mrs. Partridge on the 1970s television show The Partridge Family.

Star Jones is a lawyer and television personality best known for co-hosting ABC's The View from 1997 until 2006.

Actress Ashley Judd starred in films Kiss the Girls and Double Jeopardy. She is also the daughter and sister of country music duo The Judds.

Augustus D. Juilliard was a successful businessman whose 1919 bequest for music education led to the creation of the acclaimed Juilliard School.

African-American chemist Percy Julian was a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs such as cortisone, steroids and birth control pills.

Benito Juárez was a national hero and president of Mexico, who, for three years (1864-'67), fought against foreign occupation under Maximilian.

Architect Albert Kahn was known for his designs of American automobile factories. He was considered the world's foremost industrial architect at the time.

Kourtney Kardashian, sister of Kim Kardashian, has starred in the reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians and its spin-offs with boyfriend Scott Disick.

Catherine Keener is an American actress best known for her role Maxine in the 1999 film Being John Malkovich.

W.K. Kellogg founded the Kellogg Company, which makes cereal products that have become popular around the world.

Ethel Kennedy is best known as the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. Attorney General and New York Senator who was assassinated in 1968.

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev publicized Stalin's crimes, initiated the Cuban Missile Crisis and established a more open form of Communism in the USSR.

Professional basketball player Jason Kidd is one of the top point guards in the sport. He helped the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Championship in 2011.

New Zealand–born singer Kimbra is known for her fusion of musical styles and for her vocals on Gotye's hit "Somebody That I Used to Know."

Criminal Kenny Kimes and his mother, con artist Sante Kimes, jointly murdered lawyer Elmer Golmgren, banker Sayed Bilal Ahmed and businessman David Kazdin.

When a mostly white jury acquitted the police officers who were caught on video beating Rodney King, it set off the L.A. riots of 1992.

Rufus King was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts best known as one of the framers and signers of the constitution.

American novelist and social activist Barbara Kingsolver wrote the best-selling novel The Poisonwood Bible. She was awarded the National Humanities Medal.

Actress Keisha Knight Pulliam is best known for her portrayal of Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show.

Keira Knightley is a British actress who had her first major role in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace and became well-known for her role in Bend It Like Beckham.

Helmut Kohl served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1988, during which time he oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany.

Louis L'Amour was a prolific and hugely popular writer of mostly Western novels and short stories.

Pop icon Lady Gaga's debut album The Fame included hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face." Her follow-up, The Fame Monster, was nominated for six Grammys.

American Football Hall of Famer Curly Lambeau founded the Green Bay Packers and coached the team to six NFL championships.

Comedian Martin Lawrence got hist start hosting HBO's Def Comedy Jam before appearing in movies like Bad Boys and Big Momma's House.

Painter Ernest Lawson is known for his impressionistic urban landscapes using thick, intense color. His major work includes Spring Night, Harlem River.

Best known as Enron business executive who was convicted of conspiracy and fraud. 20,000 Enron employees lost their jobs and life savings.

David Lean was a British director and screenwriter best known for his spectacular cinematography and adaptations of Charles Dickens classics, including Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948).

Michael Learned is an Emmy Award-winning American actress best known for her role on the long-running television drama The Waltons.

Heath Ledger was an Academy Award-winning, Australian actor best known for his roles in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight. He died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008.

British-American actress Jane Leeves played Daphne on the Emmy Award-winning NBC sitcom Frasier, and began playing Joy on TV Land's Hot in Cleveland in 2010.