Updated September 30, 2026
Italian ancestry runs through American entertainment, from Hollywood filmmaking to pop music and television comedy. Sometimes the connection is visible in a surname. In other cases, a stage name or several generations of family history make it less obvious.
These 20 American celebrities have Italian roots, although their backgrounds and relationships with that heritage differ. Here, “Italian roots” refers to ancestry rather than citizenship, birthplace or fluency in Italian.
Their stories belong to the wider history of Italians in the world, shaped by migration, changing family names and connections that survive across generations.
Updated September 30, 2026.
1. Lady Gaga
Before becoming Lady Gaga, she was Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Her paternal family has roots in Naso, a town in northeastern Sicily, and she has publicly acknowledged that connection.
The New York-born singer and actress has built a career spanning pop, jazz and film. Her Italian ancestry is part of her family history; her portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci is a separate professional connection to Italy. Vanity Fair Italia
2. Steve Carell
Steve Carell’s Italian ancestry comes through his father’s family, whose surname was originally Caroselli before becoming Carell. His background also includes German and Polish ancestry.
Known for The Office, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and dramatic performances such as Foxcatcher, Carell is a useful example of how an Americanized surname can obscure a family’s origins. IMDb
Family names often change across generations. Our guide to Italian surnames, their origins and regional clues explains what they can reveal about ancestry.
3. Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has Italian ancestry on both sides of her family: Sicilian roots through her father, Edward Butera, and Abruzzese roots through her mother, Joan Grande.
Born in Florida, she became known through television before establishing herself as a major recording artist. Her family background connects two distinct parts of Italy, rather than a single ancestral region. abruzzomoliseheritagesociety
4. Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola. His father, August Coppola, was the brother of director Francis Ford Coppola, placing him within one of American cinema’s best-known families.
His Italian ancestry comes through his father. Early in his career, he adopted the surname Cage to establish an identity separate from his famous uncle; the name was inspired partly by Marvel’s Luke Cage. Hollywood Walk of Fame
5. Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper has Italian roots through his mother, Gloria Campano. The Philadelphia-area actor and filmmaker has spoken about his Italian-American background, including the connection he shared with Lady Gaga while making A Star Is Born.
Their conversations about family and homemade food offered a personal point of connection before their collaboration reached the screen. vanityfair.com
6. Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone’s Italian ancestry comes through her father, Silvio Ciccone. Contrary to a frequently repeated claim, Silvio was born in Pennsylvania; his parents were the immigrants from Italy.
Raised in Michigan, Madonna later made the Ciccone name internationally recognizable. Her family’s story illustrates the distinction between an immigrant ancestor and the American-born generations that followed. people.com
7. John Travolta
John Travolta’s father, Salvatore Travolta, was Italian-American, while his mother, Helen Burke, was Irish-American. Born in New Jersey, the actor grew up with both backgrounds.
Saturday Night Fever gave him one of cinema’s most recognizable Italian-American characters, Tony Manero. However, the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s biography notes that Travolta described his own household as predominantly Irish in culture. New Jersey Hall of Fame
8. Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio has Italian and German ancestry through his father, George DiCaprio. His mother was born in Germany, giving him a family background that extends beyond the Italian surname.
Known for Titanic, The Departed and The Revenant, DiCaprio is an American actor with Italian ancestry. His name alone does not establish a particular Italian hometown or region. IMDb
9. Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan’s surname does not immediately suggest Italy, but his family background includes substantial Italian ancestry. Three of his grandparents were of Italian descent, while his paternal grandfather was Irish.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rogan worked in stand-up comedy and television before becoming widely known for podcasting and mixed martial arts commentary. Wikipedia
10. Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone’s paternal family comes from Gioia del Colle in Puglia. The connection received renewed attention in September 2023, when Sylvester and his brother Frank visited the town and received honorary citizenship.
The actor and filmmaker behind Rocky and Rambo was born in the United States. His visit brought an American entertainment career back into contact with a specific place in his family’s Italian history. rainews.it
For readers considering a similar journey, our guide to ancestry travel in Italy explains how to plan a visit to an ancestral town.
11. Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa’s father, Francis Vincent Zappa, was born in Partinico, Sicily. The musician also had Italian ancestry through his mother, within a broader family background that included other Mediterranean and European roots.
Born in Baltimore, Zappa grew up in an Italian-American household where his grandparents often spoke Italian. His career crossed rock, jazz, orchestral composition and satire, resisting easy musical categories. Wikipedia
12. Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei was born in Brooklyn to parents of Italian descent. Her family history became the subject of a PBS Finding Your Roots episode that also featured John Turturro and Jimmy Kimmel.
The Oscar-winning actress is known for My Cousin Vinny, The Wrestler and her portrayal of Aunt May in the Spider-Man films. Her genealogy offers a documented example of the Italian-American experience across generations. IMDb
13. Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli’s Italian ancestry comes through her father, director Vincente Minnelli. His paternal family traced its origins to Sicily.
Although many audiences first associate her family with her mother, Judy Garland, the Minnelli side supplies another strand of her background. Liza established her own career in film, music and theater, including her celebrated performance in Cabaret. Wikipedia
14. Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese grew up in an Italian-American family in New York. His childhood, neighborhood and early encounters with cinema became central influences on his filmmaking.
Films such as Mean Streets examine the environment he knew, while his documentary Italianamerican turns the camera toward his parents and their family memories. His work provides a particularly direct connection between Italian-American experience and American film. PBS
Readers interested in the cinema behind that exchange can browse Italia Mia’s Italian cinema coverage.
15. Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci grew up in an Italian-American family with roots in Calabria. Cooking and family recipes have become a visible part of his public relationship with that heritage.
Alongside his acting career, his food and travel programs examine Italy through regional dishes and the people who prepare them. In interviews, he has also discussed how food eaten in Calabria differed from familiar versions made by his family in America. National Geographic
Continue through our Italian cuisine section for more about the country’s food traditions.
16. Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has Italian ancestry through his father, Tony Tarantino. Separately, Italian genre cinema has been an important influence on his filmmaking.
Spaghetti westerns and Italian horror are among the traditions reflected in his work. Keeping those connections distinct matters: his family background establishes ancestry, while his films reveal the directors and genres he chose to study and reinterpret. Wikipedia
17. Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo has Italian ancestry through both sides of his family. His paternal roots include Girifalco in Calabria, while his mother’s background combines Italian and French-Canadian ancestry.
Born in Wisconsin, Ruffalo is known for performances ranging from You Can Count on Me and Spotlight to the Marvel films. His heritage is a matter of family history, rather than an explanation for his personality or acting style. Wikipedia
18. Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano was born in Brooklyn and is of Italian descent. Television audiences know her particularly well from Who’s the Boss?, Melrose Place and Charmed.
Her surname makes the Italian connection relatively visible. However, without reliable documentation, it should not be used to assign her family to a specific Italian region or town. Wikipedia
19. Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito was born in Neptune, New Jersey, to Italian-American parents and grew up in nearby Asbury Park.
His career spans acting, directing and producing, with familiar roles in Taxi, Matilda and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. An interview with The Guardian described his parents as second-generation Italian-Americans, placing his family within an established community rather than a newly arrived immigrant household. IMDb
20. Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani’s Italian ancestry comes through her father, Dennis Stefani. Her mother’s background includes Irish and Scottish ancestry.
The California-born singer became famous with No Doubt before developing a solo career. Like several people on this list, she has a mixed family background in which Italian ancestry is one part of a larger story. vogue.com
What These Family Stories Reveal
There is no single way to be Italian-American. Some families preserve a language or recipes, others maintain contact with an ancestral town, and some rediscover their roots through research.
These connections become more meaningful when they are tied to people, places and records. A surname can provide a starting point, but documents are what establish the family relationships.
If this list has prompted questions about your own background, start with our guide to researching Italian ancestors, covering civil records, parish archives and the search for an ancestral comune.
External Sources
PBS: Finding Your Roots — Italian Roots
Hollywood Walk of Fame: Nicolas Cage
New Jersey Hall of Fame: John Travolta
National Geographic: Stanley Tucci on Food, Family and Italy
ANSA: Sylvester Stallone’s Visit to Italy
