Famous Irish-Americans a to z

One of America's best-loved comediennes, Gracie Allen developed the Burns and Allen weekly radio program with husband George Burns.

Former Delaware Senator Joe Biden was elected the 47th U.S. vice president with President Barack Obama in 2008. He earned a second term as vice president when Obama was re-elected to the presidency in 2012.

Nellie Bly was an American journalist known for her investigative and undercover reporting. She earned acclaim in 1887 for her exposé on the conditions of patients at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and achieved further fame after the New York World sent her on a trip around the world in 1889.

The winner of three Super Bowls, Tom Brady is one of the top players in the NFL. He is married to model Gisele Bündchen.

Self-described ‘street reporter’ Jimmy Breslin wrote columns for a sequence of New York papers. Also a novelist, he won a 1986 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War.

William F. Buckley was a writer and political TV personality who helped make conservative politics popular in the 1950s-1970s.

James Cagney was an Academy Award-winning actor who was known for playing gangsters and short-fused tough guys.

With hits such as "Vision of Love" and "I Don't Wanna Cry," pop diva Mariah Carey holds the record for most No. 1 debuts in Billboard Hot 100 history.

Short-story writer and novelist Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening, a novel about a young mother who abandons her family, initially condemned but later acclaimed.

Tom Clancy is a New York Times Best Selling American author, best known for his thrillers that include themes of espionage, military, science, politics and technology.

Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States, and the second to be impeached. He oversaw the country's longest peacetime economic expansion.

People's sexiest man alive George Clooney is an Oscar-winning actor best known for playing Dr. Doug Ross on TV's ER and Danny Ocean in the Ocean's Eleven films.

Rosemary Clooney was a popular singer beginning in the 1950s and had a No. 1 hit with "Come On-a My House." She was aunt to actor George Clooney.

When the space shuttle Columbia blasted off on July 23, 1999, pilot Eileen Collins became NASA's first female shuttle commander.

A folk-pop singer, Judy Collins rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s with such hits as "Both Sides Now" and "Send In the Clowns."

Billy Corgan is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist in the alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins.

Bing Crosby sang such hit songs as the ever-popular holiday classic "White Christmas." The beloved crooner was also a star of radio, movies and television.

Walt Disney was an American motion-picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of cartoon films and as the creator of Disneyland.

Jimmy Dorsey was known for playing the clarinet and alto saxophone in the Dorsey Brothers, which performed with all the big names in big band and swing music.

Tommy Dorsey was an American trombonist and band leader who, with his brother Jimmy, was best known as one-half of The Dorsey Brothers during the Big Band and Swing eras.

American short-story writer and novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for his turbulent personal life and his famous novel The Great Gatsby.

One of America's foremost industrialists, Henry Ford revolutionized assembly-line modes of production for the automobile.

An Academy Award-winning director, John Ford is considered to be one of the best filmmakers of all time. He is best known for directing Westerns.

Actress and singer Judy Garland was the star of many classic musical films, and was known for her tremendous talent and troubled life.

Mel Gibson is a well-known film actor, director and producer, having starred in Braveheart, Hamlet, Maverick and both the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series.

A highly popular film actress in the 1950s, Grace Kelly starred in movies such as Dial M for Murder and To Catch a Thief. She married Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Ulysses S. Grant was U.S. general and commander of the Union armies during the late years of the American Civil War, and 18th president of the United States.

James Hetfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for heavy metal band Metallica, known for hits like "Enter Sandman" and "The Memory Remains."

Mary Higgins Clark is a bestselling author of mystery and suspense books, best known for the novel Where Are the Children?

Ron Howard is best known for his roles on the shows Happy Days and The Andy Griffith Show, and as the director for films, including A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.

Film director and screenwriter John Hughes directed a string of hit teen films, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He is known for founding the Democratic Party and for his support of individual liberty.

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

Comedian and director Buster Keaton was popular for his pioneering silent comedies in the 1920s.

Herb Kelleher is the founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, one of the first airlines to offer low-cost fares by eliminating unnecessary services.

Gene Kelly was a dancer whose athletic style transformed the movie musical and did much to change the American public's conception of male dancers.

Anthony Kennedy is an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court who was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, negotiated the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and initiated the Alliance for Progress. He was assassinated in 1963.

Billy the Kid is best known for his time as a thief and gunfighter, constantly on the run from law enforcement.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt wrote the biography Angela’s Ashes after retiring from teaching for 30 years in New York City.

John McEnroe is a world champion tennis player famous for his temperamental outbursts. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

One of the world's most popular country singers, Tim McGraw is married to fellow country crooner Faith Hill.

One of the most powerful hitters in baseball history, Mark McGwire briefly held the record for most home runs in a single season.

William McKinley is best known for being president when the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Comedian and actor Bill Murray is best known for his roles on Saturday Night Live and in the classic comedies Caddy Shack and Stripes. More recently, he was cast as FDR in the film Hyde Park on Hudson.

Richard Nixon was the 37th U.S. president and the only commander-in-chief to resign from his position, after the 1970s Watergate scandal.

Comedian and writer Conan O'Brien rose to fame as the host of the talk show Late Night and later the Tonight Show and Conan.

Flannery O'Connor is considered one of the best short story authors of the 20th century. She wrote about religious themes and southern life.

Rosie O'Donnell is a comedian who made the move to the big screen with 1992's A League of Their Own, going on to co-host TV's The View

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Georgia O'Keefe is a 20th century American painter best known for her flower canvases and southwestern landscapes.

Bill O'Reilly is best known for his cable news program, The O'Reilly Factor, which has been airing on Fox News since 2001, and is also a bestselling author of several books. Until 2009, he ran a popular radio show, The Radio Factor.

Danica Patrick is a female race car driver and has set several records for women drivers, including becoming the first woman to lead the Indy 500 and the first woman to win the pole position at the Daytona 500.

Gregory Peck is best known for his larger-than-life film roles, particularly as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Regis Philbin is a well-known TV personality who co-hosted his own daytime talk show for almost three decades, also working in prime time and writing several books.

James Polk was the 11th president of the United States, known for his territorial expansion of the nation chiefly through the Mexican-American War.

Tyrone Power was a stage and film actor known for his roles in such films as Witness for the Prosecution and The Mark of Zorro.

Anna Quindlen is the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and bestselling novelist who wrote the books One True Thing and Object Lessons.

President Ronald Reagan helped redefine the purpose of government and pressured the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. He solidified the conservative agenda for decades after his presidency.

Nolan Ryan played professional baseball until age 46. He pitched 3,509th career strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to surpass Walter Johnson's 1927 record.

Martin Sheen is an American actor best known for his roles in films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979). He has won numerous awards for his role as President Bartlet on the TV series The West Wing.

Sam Snead was an American pro golfer who won a record 82 PGA tournaments.

Ed Sullivan was a journalist, producer and TV host known for his successful variety program The Ed Sullivan Show.

Spencer Tracy was one of Hollywood's greatest film stars. He appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967 and was nominated for five Academy Awards, two of which he won.

John Walsh hosts the TV series America's Most Wanted, as a result of his son being abducted and murdered in 1981.

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. resident, led America through World War I and crafted the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points," the last of which was creating a League of Nations to ensure world peace. Wilson also created the Federal Reserve and signed the 19th Amendment, allowing women to vote.