List of Slovak Americans
This is a list of notable Slovak Americans , including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Slovak American or must have references showing they are Slovak American and are notable. Some of this list might have Slovak immigrant ancestors of German, Hungarian, or Romani descent.
List
Jon Bon Jovi – rock musician, singer-songwriter and actor (paternal grandmother of Slovak descent)David Boreanaz – actor (mother was half Slovak descent)Dove Cameron – singer, actressJim Caviezel – film actor (paternal grandmother of Slovak descent)[ 1] Scarlett Chorvat – film and television actressAlexandra Daddario – actressMatthew Daddario – actorLaco Déczi (Ladislav Déči) – jazz trumpeter and composer, leader of Jazz Celula New YorkSteve Ditko – comic book artist and writer, co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange David Dobrik – YouTuberJackie Evancho – singerFive for Fighting (Vladimir John Ondrasik III) – singer-songwriterMoritz Fuerst – artist employed with United States Mint in the 19th centuryGene Greytak – real estate broker who made a career as an actor by impersonating Pope John Paul IIDave Grohl – rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and film director, of part Slovak descentJames Haven – actor and producerAlois Havrilla – radio announcer and singerEma Horvath – actressSteve Ihnat – actor, directorJustin Jedlica – "human Ken doll"Angelina Jolie – actress, former fashion model and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency ; daughter of Jon Voight (paternal grandfather of Slovak descent)Bianca Kajlich – actress, her father, Dr. Aurel Jan "Relo" Kajlich, was a Slovak immigrantCandace Kroslak – actressAustin Mahone – singer-songwriterAdéla Jergová - singer-songwriter, dancerVictor S. Mamatey – professor of history, active in Slovak immigrant organizations in the United StatesLuba Mason – singer-songwriter, actress, dancerMatPat – YouTuber, internet personalityBrittany Murphy – actressPola Negri – actress, her father, Juraj Chalupec, was a Slovak immigrantPaul Newman – actor and film director (his mother was Slovak)[ 2] [ 3] Benjamin Orr , musician (Rusyn mother from present day Kojšov, Slovakia and Ukrainian father)[ 4] Anne Pitoniak – actressKiernan Shipka – actressEmil Sitka – actor, parents were Slovak immigrantsAllisyn Snyder – actressSara Tomko – actressRobert Urich – actorKatarina Van Derham – model, actress, and publisherJon Voight – actor (paternal grandfather was a Slovak immigrant from Košice; paternal grandmother was also of Slovak descent)Andy Warhol – (Andrew Warhola) pop-art painter, both parents were Rusins from Slovak part of CzechoslovakiaDoc Williams – country music bandleader and vocalistBusiness
John Dopyera – inventor, entrepreneurJohn D. Hertz – businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist, one of the earliest owners of The Hertz Corporation (born in small village in central Slovakia)iJustine – bloggerTravis Kalanick – founder of Uber (paternal grandfather was a Slovak immigrant from Valaškovce)[ 5] Frank Lowy – owner and manager of Westfield-branded shopping centersAnna Olson – restaurant ownerJohn Bugas – second in command at Ford Motor Company during the presidency and chairmanship reign of Henry Ford IILaw and politics
Michael Badnarik – software engineer, political figure, and radio talk show hostMark Critz – U.S. CongressmanWilliam T. Dzurilla – international attorney and law clerk to Justice Byron White of the United States Supreme Court Carolyn Forché – professor, poet, editor, and human rights advocateJohn Mica – Republican former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida Joseph M. Gaydos – Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Peter P. Jurchak – legal counsel for the United Mine WorkersJohn Katko – U.S. Representative from New YorkVincent Obsitnik – diplomat born in Slovakia, former Ambassador of the United States of America to SlovakiaTom Ridge – Republican , 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania and 1st Secretary of United States Department of Homeland Security John Roberts – Chief Justice of the United States Philip Ruppe – U.S. RepresentativeClaudine Schneider – U.S. Representative from Rhode IslandJoe Sestak – U.S. Representative , Democrat , Pennsylvania 7th District; retired US Naval vice-admiral ; democratic presidential candidate in 2020 electionSteve Sisolak – 30th governor of NevadaJohn Slezak – U.S. Under Secretary of the Army from 1954 to 1955Judy Baar Topinka – Republican politician in Illinois Jesse Ventura – 38th Governor of Minnesota , wrestler, television personalityPete Visclosky – U.S. Representative for Indiana's 1st congressional districtAnn M. Yastishock – American diplomat who is serving as the United States ambassador to Papua New Guinea, along with the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.Jozef Lettrich – writer and politicianNick Wasicsko – American politician from New York and the youngest-ever mayor of Yonkers, New York.Science and medicine
Ruzena Bajcsy – engineer and computer scientist specializing in robotics, director emerita of CITRIS (the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society)Gene Cernan – NASA astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilotJohn Dopyera – inventor of the resonator acoustic guitarMike Fincke – NASA astronaut, International Space Station commanderDaniel Carleton Gajdusek – co-recipient of 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for early work on kuru (his father was Slovak)Ivan Alexander Getting – electrical engineer , inventor of GPS Lars Krutak – anthropologist, writer, photographer, and curatorJozef Murgaš – inventor, architect, botanist, painter, US patriot, and Roman Catholic priestDouglas D. Osheroff – physicistJán Vilček – biomedical scientist, educator, inventor and philanthropist; currently a professor in the Department of Microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine and President of the Vilcek FoundationThomas David Jones – former United States astronaut, he works as a planetary scientist, space operations consultant, astronaut speaker, and authorSports
Joe Baksi – former professional boxer, heavyweightJohn Grimek – bodybuilder, never defeated in his entire professional career, the son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek, peasants from the village Ústie nad Oravou in northern SlovakiaChuck Bednarik – former professional American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL George Blanda – former quarterback and kicker for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers Jeff Bzdelik – basketball coach; currently an assistant with the Houston Rockets , former assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies , and former head coach of the Denver Nuggets , U.S. Air Force Academy , University of Colorado , and Wake Forest University Robbie Ftorek – former professional ice hockey playerBill Hartack – jockeyElle Hartje – ice hockey playerMike Holovak – football player, coach, and executiveAl Hostak – former professional boxer, middleweightScott Kazmir – MLB playerMatthew Knies – ice hockey playerAndy Kosco – former baseball playerJack Kralick – former pitcher for Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians Leslie Krichko – Olympic skierJohnny Kucab – pitcher for Philadelphia Athletics in 1940s and 1950sKyle Kuric – professional basketball player in Spain , currently with Gran Canaria John Kundla – professional NBA coach, member of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . (His father Ján was Slovak immigrant)Joseph Lapchick – former basketball player and coachPete Latzo – boxerBethanie Mattek-Sands – professional tennis playerStan Mikita – former professional ice hockey playerStephen Nedoroscik — gymnast, 2024 Olympic medal winnerAndy Pafko – baseball center fielder for the Chicago Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52) and Milwaukee Braves (1953–59)Kelly Pavlik – undefeated WBO /World Boxing Council middleweight boxing champion[ 6] Mike Piazza – professional baseball playerNicole Rajičová – figure skaterGeorge Shuba – former outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers [ 7] Brian Sikorski – baseball relief pitcherPaul Stastny – professional ice hockey playerPeter Šťastný – former professional ice hockey playerYan Stastny – professional ice hockey playerDean Talafous – former professional ice hockey playerBrett Tomko – former MLB pitcherScott Touzinsky – volleyball playerAlex Tuch – professional ice hockey playerElmer Valo – right fielder, coach and scout in Major League BaseballElmer Vasko – hockey legend for the Chicago Blackhawks, where he played for 10 seasons.1961 Stanley Cup Winner
