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List of Hispanic and Latino Americans

This is a list of notable Hispanic and Latino Americans: citizens or residents of the United States with origins in Latin America or Spain. The following groups are officially designated as "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino": Mexican American, (Stateside) Puerto Rican, Cuban American, Dominican American, Costa Rican American, Guatemalan American, Honduran American, Nicaraguan American, Panamanian American, Salvadoran American, Argentine American, Bolivian American, Brazilian American, Chilean American, Colombian American, Ecuadorian American, Paraguayan American, Peruvian American, Spanish American, Uruguayan American, and Venezuelan American. However, Hispanic or Latino people can have any ancestry.

Arts

Dance

Actors

Cartoonists and animators

Directors, screenwriters and producers

  • Félix Enríquez Alcalá (born 1951) – American television and film director of Mexican descent
  • Kevin Alejandro (born 1976) – American actor and film director of Mexican descent
  • Natalia Almada (born 1974) – Mexican-born American documentary filmmaker
  • Cristela Alonzo (born 1979) – American comedian, actor, writer and producer of Mexican descent
  • John A. Alonzo (1934–2001) – American cinematographer of Mexican descent, Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner
  • Elisa Marina Alvarado – American director of Mexican and Cuban descent
  • Rafael Alvarez (born May 24, 1958) – American screenwriter. He is of Spanish partial descent
  • Robert Alvarez (born 1948) – American animator, television director, and writer of Mexican descent
  • Michael Arias (born 1968) – American anime filmmaker based in Japan. He is of Mexican descent
  • Eva Aridjis (born 1974) – American film director, screenwriter, TV writer of Mexican descent
  • Miguel Arteta (born 1965) – Puerto Rican director of film and television, known for his independent film Chuck & Buck (2000), for which he received the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, and Cedar Rapids. He is son of a Peruvian father and a Spanish mother
  • Ozzie Alfonso – Cuban American TV director, writer, producer; directed Sesame Street in the 1970s; senior producer, writer, and director of 3-2-1 Contact in the 1980s; freelanced for many clients; adjunct college professor at St. John's University
  • Elizabeth Avellán (born 1960) – Venezuelan-born American film producer
  • Ivonne Belén – Puerto Rican documentary film director and producer
  • Roberto Benabib (born 1959) – Mexican-born American television writer, producer, and film director, Emmy Award nominee
  • J. Robert Bren (1903–1981) – Mexican-born American screenwriter and producers, wrote 30 films between the '30s and '50s
  • Edward Carrere (1906–1984) – Mexican-born America art director, Academy Award winner and two-time nominee
  • Rafael Casal (born 1985) – American writer, actor, producer, and showrunner. He is of Irish, Spanish, and Cuban descent.
  • Natalie Chaidez (born 1950) – American writer and producer of Mexican and Irish descent, Emmy Award nominee
  • Migdia Chinea – Cuban American film director, writer, producer (When it rains..., The Incredible Hulk)
  • Fernanda Coppel – Mexican-born American screenwriter and playwright
  • Julio Hernández Cordón (born 1975) – American director and screenwriter of Mexican descent
  • Manny Coto – American of Cuban origin. He is executive producer (24), writer (24, ')
  • Terri Doty (born 1984) – American animation voice actress, voice director, and writer of Mexican descent
  • René Echevarria – American of Cuban origin. He is a writer (', ', Medium), co-creator of The 4400
  • Mike Elizalde (born 1960) – Mexican-born American special makeup effects artist, Academy Award nominee
  • Moctezuma Esparza (born 1949) – American producer of Mexican descent, Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee
  • Carlos López Estrada (born 1988) – Mexican-born American music video, commercial, and film director
  • Hampton Fancher (born 1938) – American producer and screenwriter of Mexican and Danish descent
  • America Ferrera (born 1984) – American actress, producer, and director of Honduran descent
  • William A. Fraker (1923–2010) – American cinematographer, director, and producer of Mexican descent, six-time Academy Award nominee
  • Andy García – Cuban-born American director (Lost City)
  • Dany Garcia – Cuban American film producer
  • Nick Gomez (born 1963) – American film director to a Chilean father
  • Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (born 1972) – American film and television director of Mexican descent, two-time Emmy Award nominee
  • Heather Hemmens – American actress, film director and producer; born to a Costa Rican mother
  • Silvio Horta – Cuban American. He is a creator and writer (Ugly Betty), writer (Urban Legends, Jake 2.0)
  • Leon Ichaso – Cuban American. He is a director/screenwriter (El Super), director (', Crossover Dreams, Piñero, El Cantante)
  • Valentina L. Garza – writer and producer for The Simpsons (Cuban American)
  • Neal Jimenez (born 1960) – American screenwriter and film director of Mexican descent
  • Emile Kuri (1907–2000) – Mexican-born American set decorator, won two Academy Awards and was nominated for six more in the category Best Art Direction
  • William Douglas Lansford (1922–2013) – American screenwriter, film producer, and author of English and Mexican descent
  • Paul Lerpae (1900–1989) – Mexican-born American special effects artist, Academy Award nominee
  • Lisa Loomer – playwright and screenwriter of Spanish and Romanian ancestry
  • Jenée LaMarque (born 1980) – American writer and director of Mexican descent
  • Bill Melendez (1916–2008) – Mexican-born American animator, director, and producer, eight-time Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee
  • Steven C. Melendez (born 1945) – American animator, director, and producer of Mexican descent, Emmy Award winner (son of Bill Melendez)
  • Linda Mendoza (born 1950) – American television and film director of Mexican descent
  • Joe Menendez – Cuban American; TV and film director (Ladrón que roba a ladrón, ', 12 Monkeys, Queen of the South)
  • Adrian Molina (born 1985) – American screenwriter, storyboard artist, and animation director of Mexican descent, Emmy Award nominee
  • Sylvia Morales (born 1943) – American director, writer, and producer of Mexican descent, Emmy Award nominee
  • S. J. Main Muñoz (born 1978) – American filmmaker to a Costa Rican mother
  • Gregory Nava (born 1949) – American director, producer and screenwriter of Mexican descent, Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee
  • Edward James Olmos (born 1947) – American director and actor of Mexican descent, Emmy and Golden Globe winner
  • Roberto Orci (born 1973) – Mexican-born American screenwriter and producer (Star Trek, The Proposal) and writer (Transformers, Eagle Eye, Star Trek)
  • Manuel Perez (animator) (1914–1981) – American animator and animation director of Mexican descent
  • Richard Peña – American film festival organizer, New York Film Festival; professor of film studies at Columbia University
  • Tony Plana (born 1952) – Cuban-born American actor and director (Ugly Betty)
  • Polish brothers – American screenwriters and producers to a mother of Mexican descent
  • Lourdes Portillo (born 1944) – Mexican-born American filmmaker
  • Gabby Revilla – Nicaraguan-born American film director and producer and writer
  • Georgina Garcia Riedel – American filmmaker and scriptwriter of Mexican descent
  • Jonas Rivera (born 1971) – American producer with Pixar films of Mexican descent, Academy Award winner
  • Robert Rodríguez (born 1968) – American director, producer and screenwriter of Mexican descent
  • Phil Roman (born 1930) – American animation director of Mexican descent, founder of Film Roman animation studio, six-time Emmy Award winner
  • George A. Romero – American film director, screenwriter and editor (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), creator of the Living Dead film series; son of a Cuban-born father of Castilian Spanish parentage and a Lithuanian American mother
  • Bernardo Ruiz – documentary filmmaker of Mexican origin
  • Craig Saavedra (born 1963) – American producer and director of Mexican descent, two-time Tony Award nominee
  • Victor Salva (born 1958) – American filmmaker of Mexican descent
  • Jesús Salvador Treviño (born 1946) – American television director of Mexican descent, three-time Emmy Award nominee
  • Eduardo Sánchez – Cuban-born American director (The Blair Witch Project)
  • Johnny Sanchez (born 1958) – American actor, writer, and film producer
  • Amy Serrano – director, cinematographer, and writer (The Sugar Babies), producer of documentary films, poet (Cuban American)
  • Jaume Collet-Serra (born March 23, 1974) – Spanish-born American film director and producer
  • Tony Taccone – American theater director; of Italian and a Puerto Rican descent
  • Jessy Terrero – Dominican-born American film and music video director
  • Carles Torrens (born 1984) – Spanish-born film and television director, screenwriter, editor, and producer
  • Gabriel Traversari (born 1963) – American actor and director of Nicaraguan descent
  • Rose Troche (born 1964) – American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter of Puerto Rican descent
  • Jose Luis Valenzuela – American theater and film director of Mexican origin
  • Jeff Valdez (born 1956) – American producer, writer, and studio executive of Mexican origin
  • Luis Valdez (born 1940) – American playwright and director of Mexican descent
  • Joseph Vasquez (1962–1995) – American independent filmmaker
  • Chris Weitz (born 1969) – American writer, producer, director; grandmother was Mexican actress Lupita Tovar
  • Paul Weitz (born 1965) – writer, producer, director; grandmother was Mexican actress Lupita Tovar
  • Hype Williams (born 1970) – American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is of African-American and Honduran descent
  • Rafael Yglesias (born May 12, 1954, New York) – American novelist and screenwriter. His parents were the novelists Jose Yglesias and Helen Yglesias.
  • Rudy Zamora (1910–1989) – Mexican-born American animator and animation director, Emmy Award nominee

Visual arts

Music

See Latin music in the United States

Alphabetized by surname

Groups

Reality show stars

Fashion

Business

Civil activists

Education

Religion

Architects

  • Mark Ríos (born 1956) (RIOS) is a Los Angeles-based design architecture collective with offices in London, Singapore, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Boulder, and Austin.
  • Monica Ponce de Leon, first Hispanic architect to receive the National Design Award in Architecture from the Smithsonian; has received over 12 Progressive Architecture Awards and the Design Award Medal from the Academy of Arts and Letters; first Hispanic dean at the University of Michigan
  • Joseph Martinez, first Mexican-American to receive a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University/GSD in the Twentieth Century; he has taught architecture and urbanism at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, and is the founding dean at the New School of Architecture/San Diego. In 1985, he was bestowed UC San Diego's Alumni of the Century; similarly, he has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from CRLA (2005) and Barrio Station (2015) for his dedication to the Mexican-American community. He is the recipient of more than a dozen awards, prizes, commendations and citations, including: a National AIA Presidential Citation for the Normal Heights Re-building Plan, National AIA Citation for Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School, and was the Program Chair for the National AIA/National School Board Association Conference " Sustainable Schools, Sustainable Communities". He has participated in more than 24 design competitions—partnering with Helmut Jahn, Romaldo Giurgola, and Robert A. M. Stern, among others—winning 10 first awards. Some of his built projects would include: the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Tower 2, The Mark, Lincoln High, San Ysidro High, Olympian High, Rancho del Rey Middle School and the Logan Heights Library. His Pacific Gateway Master Plan (2.9 million square feet, $1.5 Billion) is currently under construction. He has published numerous articles for BY DESIGN magazine, including "Oneness: The Architecture of Self" (vol. 26) and "The Story of Chicano/a Magic, Alchemy and Phenomenology" (vol. 29); his 300+ page manuscript on Chicanx Architecture lays out the theoretical basis for its aesthetics. Joseph was born in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.

Sports

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

American Football

Golf

Gymnastics

  • Jordan Chiles - artistic gymnast, Olympic gold and silver medalist
  • Laurie Hernandez - artistic gymnast, Olympic silver medalist; Puerto Rican
  • Hezly Rivera - artistic gymnast, Olympic gold medalist; Dominican American

Mixed martial artists

Soccer

Wrestlers

Other sports

Politics

Federal

State

Local

Others

Models

Scientists

Journalism

Literature

  • Mercedes de Acosta (1893–1968) – poet and playwright, also known for her lesbian affairs with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.
  • Felipe Alfau (1902–1999) – Catalan novelist and poet.
  • Rudolfo Anaya (1937–2020) – Mexican-American author of Bless Me, Ultima
  • Jaime de Angulo (1887–1950) – linguist, novelist, and ethnomusicologist in the western United States. He was born in Paris of Spanish parents.
  • Estelle Anna Lewis (1824–1880) – United States poet and dramatist. She was of English and Spanish descent.
  • Ivan Argüelles – American poet and brother of Jose Argüelles.
  • Alexander Argüelles – American linguist and son of Ivan Argüelles.
  • Miguel Algarín (1941–2020) – Puerto Rican author and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café
  • Julia Alvarez – writer; Dominican American
  • Jimmy Santiago Baca – poet; Mexican American
  • Hilario Barrero – Spanish poet and teacher.
  • Stephen Vincent Benét (July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) – American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist.
  • Giannina Braschi (b. 1953) – Puerto Rican author of Spanglish classic novel Yo-Yo Boing!
  • Fray Angelico Chavez – poet, historian, painter
  • Sandra Cisneros (b. 1954) – Mexican-American author of The House on Mango Street
  • Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952–2016) – Puerto Rican author of Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood
  • Angie Cruz (b. 1972) – Dominican-American author of Let It Rain Coffee
  • Nelson Denis (b. 1954) – Puerto Rican author of War Against All Puerto Ricans and former New York State Assemblyman
  • Junot Díaz – writer; Dominican American
  • Francisco Goldman – writer; Guatemalan American
  • Manuel Gonzales (1913–1993) – Spanish born-American Disney comics artist.
  • Jessica Hagedorn – Filipino-American playwright, writer, poet, storyteller, musician, and multimedia performance artist, to a Scots-Irish-French-Filipino mother and a Filipino-Spanish father.
  • Oscar Hijuelos – Cuban-American writer
  • Amber L. Hollibaugh – American writer, film-maker and political activist. She is the daughter of a Romany father of Spanish descent and an Irish mother.
  • Christianne Meneses Jacobs – publisher of the only U.S. Spanish-language children's magazine; Nicaraguan American
  • Andrew Jolivétte – American author and lecturer of Spanish partially descent.
  • Lynda Lopez – author and journalist based in New York City
  • Patricia Santos Marcantonio – Mexican-American novelist and short story writer
  • Odón Betanzos Palacios (1925–2007) – poet, novelist and Spanish literary critic.
  • Carmen M. Pursifull – English-language free verse poet and former New York City Latin dance and Latin American music figure in the 1950s. She is of Puerto Rican and Spanish descent.
  • Anaïs Nin – born Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell, was an American author born to Spanish-Cuban parents in France, where she was also raised.
  • Horacio Peña – professor, writer, and poet; Nicaraguan American
  • George Rabasa – American writer and author
  • Matthew Randazzo V – American true crime writer and historian. He is of Sicilian-American, Isleño, and Cajun descent.
  • Alberto Rios (b. 1952) – Mexican-American poet, Arizona's first poet first state poet laureate
  • Benjamin Alire Sáenz (b. 1954) – Mexican-American author of Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club
  • George Santayana (1863–1952) – Spanish born, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.
  • Luis Senarens (1865–1939) – Cuban-American science fiction author of The Frank Reade Library, the most popular sci-fi Dime Novel series of the 19th century.
  • Sergio Troncoso (b. 1961) – Mexican-American author of The Last Tortilla and Other Stories and '
  • Geovanny Vicente – political strategist, international consultant and columnist who writes for CNN.
  • Jose Yglesias (November 29, 1919 – November 7, 1995) – American novelist and journalist. Yglesias was born in the Ybor City section of Tampa, Florida, and was of Cuban and Spanish descent. His father was from Galicia.
  • Rafael Yglesias (born May 12, 1954, New York) – American novelist and screenwriter. His parents were the novelists Jose Yglesias and Helen Yglesias.

United States Armed Forces

  • Joseph B. Avilés (1897–1990), served in the U.S. Navy and later in the Coast Guard; in 1925, became the first Hispanic Chief Petty Officer in the US Coast Guard; Puerto Rican, lived in Maryland
  • Rafael Celestino Benítez (1917–1999), highly decorated submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS Cochino during the Cold War
  • José M. Cabanillas (1901–1979), Puerto Rican executive Officer of the USS Texas, which participated in the invasions of North Africa and the Battle of Normandy (D-Day) during World War II; died in Virginia
  • Iván Castro, U.S. Army officer who has continued serving on active duty in the Special Forces despite losing his eyesight; parents are Puerto Rican
  • Joseph H. De Castro (1844–1892), first Hispanic American to be awarded the Medal of Honor
  • Richard Carmona, American physician and public health administrator
  • Adolfo Fernández Cavada, captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War who later served as Commander-in-Chief of the Cinco Villas during Cuba's Ten Year War
  • Federico Fernández Cavada, colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later Commander-in-Chief of all the Cuban forces during Cuba's Ten Year War
  • Mercedes O. Cubria, lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army; first Cuban-born female officer in the US Army
  • Julius Peter Garesché, lieutenant colonel in the Union Army who served as Chief of Staff, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans
  • Ambrosio José Gonzales, colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War
  • José Manuel Hernández, popular Venezuelan caudillo, army general, congressman, presidential candidate and cabinet member who was also involved in numerous insurrections. Lived in exile in US from 1911 to his death in 1921
  • Narciso López, Venezuelan soldier and adventurer, known for four filibuster expeditions aimed at liberating Cuba from Spain in the 1850s
  • Carmen Contreras-Bozak (1919–2017), first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps, where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions; Puerto Rican; lives in Tampa, Florida
  • Linda García Cubero, former U.S. Air Force officer; of Mexican-American-Puerto Rican descent
  • Rubén A. Cubero, highly decorated member of the U.S. Air Force; first Hispanic graduate of the US Air Force Academy to be named Dean of the Faculty of the academy; parents were Puerto Rican
  • Alberto Díaz Jr., first Hispanic Director of the San Diego Naval District and Balboa Naval Hospital; Puerto Rican born and raised
  • Rafael O'Ferrall, United States Army officer; first Hispanic of Puerto Rican descent to become the Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
  • Salvador E. Felices (1923–1987), first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of major general (two-star) in the U.S. Air Force; died in Florida
  • Diego E. Hernández, retired US Navy officer; first Hispanic to be named Vice Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command; Puerto Rican resident of Miami
  • Lester Martínez López, MD, MPH (born 1955), first Hispanic to head the Army Medical and Research Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland
  • Carlos Lozada (1946–1967) member of the U.S. Army; one of five Puerto Ricans who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for their actions in combat; Puerto Rican born, raised in New York City
  • Ángel Méndez (1946–1967) U.S. Marine, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross
  • Virgil Rasmuss Miller (1900–1968), U.S. Army officer who served as Regimental Commander of the 442d Regimental Combat Team, a unit composed of "Nisei" (second generation Americans of Japanese descent), during World War II
  • Héctor Andrés Negroni, Puerto Rican historian, senior aerospace defense executive, author; first Puerto Rican graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy; lives in Vienna, Virginia
  • Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator; US Surgeon General
  • María Inés Ortiz (1967–2007), first American nurse to die in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom; first Army nurse to die in combat since the Vietnam War; parents were Puerto Rican
  • José Antonio Páez, Venezuelan leader who fought the War of Independence. President of Venezuela once it was independent of the Gran Colombia (1830–1835; 1839–1843; 1861–1863). He lived in New York City during his years in exile and died there in 1873
  • Patricia Spanic, captain in the US Army. She is sister of soap opera actress Gabriela Spanic.
  • Erneido Oliva, major general; former deputy commander of the D.C. National Guard
  • Marion Frederic Ramírez de Arellano (1913–1980), submarine commander in the US Navy; first Hispanic submarine commanding officer
  • Frederick Lois Riefkohl (1889–1969), Puerto Rican officer in the U.S. Navy; first Puerto Rican to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and to be awarded the Navy Cross; lived and died in Florida
  • Rudolph W. Riefkohl (1885–1950), U.S. Army officer; instrumental in helping the people of Poland overcome the 1919 typhus epidemic
  • Pedro N. Rivera, retired Puerto Rican US Air Force officer; in 1994 became the first Hispanic medical commander in the Air Force; lives in Alexandria, Virginia
  • Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith (1935–1967), U.S. Army soldier posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Augusto Rodríguez, Puerto Rican officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War; immigrated to the US in the 1850s
  • Pedro Rodríguez (1912–1999), earned two Silver Stars within a seven-day period during the Korean War; Puerto Rican; died in Washington, D.C.
  • Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas (1888–1932), Puerto Rican odontologist (dentist), scientist and a major in the US Army; discovered the bacteria which causes cavities; died in Washington, D.C.
  • Félix Rodríguez, U.S. Army helicopter pilot, former CIA officer known for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion and his involvement in the capture and interrogation of Che Guevara
  • Lola Sánchez, Confederate spy during the American Civil War; played an instrumental role in the Confederate victory in the Battle of Horse Landing
  • José Agustín Quintero, Cuban born Confederate diplomat to Mexico, based in Monterrey
  • Loreta Janeta Velazquez (1842 – c. 1902), aka Lieutenant Harry Buford, Cuban-born woman who claimed that she masqueraded as a male Confederate soldier during the American Civil War
  • Héctor E. Pagán, U.S. Army officer; first Hispanic of Puerto Rican descent to become Deputy Commanding General of the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
  • José M. Portela, retired officer of the U.S. Air Force; served in the position of Assistant Adjutant General for Air while also serving as commander of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard
  • Maritza Sáenz Ryan, U.S. Army officer; head of the Department of Law at the US Military Academy; first woman and first Hispanic West Point graduate to serve as an academic department head; Puerto Rican father, Spanish mother
  • Héctor Santiago-Colón (1942–1968), one of five Puerto Ricans posthumously presented with the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the U.S.; Puerto Rican from New York
  • Frances M. Vega (1983–2003), first female soldier of Puerto Rican descent to die in a combat zone, in Operation Iraqi Freedom
  • Pedro del Valle (1893–1978), U.S. Marine Corps officer; first Hispanic to reach the rank of lieutenant general; in 1900 his family emigrated to the US and became US citizens
  • Humbert Roque Versace (1937–1965), American U.S. Army officer of Puerto Rican-Italian descent; awarded the US' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions while a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War

Aviation

  • Linda Pauwels – First Latina Captain and First Latina Check Airman at American Airlines

See also

References