List of Welsh Americans

This is a list of notable Welsh 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 Welsh American or must have references showing they are Welsh American and are notable.

List

Fine art

• Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), western artist, sculptor, and inventor; "cowboy of cowboy artists"; "father of modern rodeo" ^[1]

Entertainment

• Jessica Alba (born 1981), movie actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Alexis Arquette (1969–2016), movie actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• David Arquette (born 1971), movie actor and TV director, distant Welsh ancestry
• Patricia Arquette (born 1968), movie and TV actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Rosanna Arquette (born 1959), movie actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Michael Aston (born 1964), born in Cornelly, musician
• Andrea Bowen (born 1990), actor
• Erika Christensen (born 1982), actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Kelly Clarkson (born 1982), singer, distant Welsh ancestry ^[2]
• Daniel Craig (born 1969), actor
• Miley Cyrus (born 1992), singer and actress
• Bette Davis (1908–1989), two-time Academy Award-winning actress of stage, screen and television; distant Welsh ancestry ^[3]
• Billy De Wolfe (1907–1974), actor, mother was Welsh
• Thomas Dekker (born 1987), actor, mother is Welsh
• Michael Douglas (born 1944), actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Leslie Easterbrook (born 1949), actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Bill Evans (1929–1980), jazz pianist / composer ^[4]
• Chris Evans (born 1981), actor, Welsh paternal great-great grandfather
• Sara Evans (born 1971), country music singer
• Alice Eve (born 1982), actress
• Glenn Ford (1916–2006), film actor ^[5]
• G-Eazy, (born 1989), rapper
• Carson Grant (born 1950), actor ^[6]
• D. W. Griffith (1875–1948), early film director ^[7]
• Teri Hatcher (born 1964), actress and writer, distant Welsh ancestry
• Sitara Hewitt (born 1981), actress
• Bob Hope (1903–2003), actor/comedian, mother was Welsh ^[8]
• Anthony Hopkins (born 1937), born in Port Talbot, Glamorgan; Academy Award-winning film/stage actor ^[9]
• John Houseman (1902–1988), film producer
• Anjelica Huston (born 1951), actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• John Goodman (born 1952), actor & voice actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• John Huston (1906–1987), film director, screenwriter and actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Quincy Jones (1933–2024), record producer, conductor, arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter, Welsh paternal grandfather ^[10]
• Rashida Jones (born 1976), actress, Welsh paternal great-grandfather ^[10]
• Tommy Lee Jones (born 1946), actor, Welsh father ^[11]
• Jon Langford (born 1957), musician and artist
• Tommy Lee (born 1963), drummer for hard rock/heavy metal band Mötley Crüe
• Zachary Levi (born 1980), actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Ted Levine (born 1957), actor, mother was part Welsh ^[12]
• Blake Lewis (born 1981), American Idol contestant and singer ^[13]
• Juliette Lewis (born 1973), actress and singer ^[14]
• Harold Lloyd (1893–1971), actor ^[15]
• Myrna Loy (1905–1993), actress ^[16]
• Marco Marenghi, animator, born in Rhondda
• Kelly McGillis (born 1957), actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Ray Milland (1905–1986), actor ^[17]
• Wayne Newton (born 1942), distant Welsh ancestry
• Leslie Nielsen (1926–2010), actor, Welsh mother
• Ninja (Tyler Blevins) (born 1991), Twitch streamer, distant Welsh ancestry
• The Osmonds, including Donny Osmond (born 1957), half of the brother-sister singing act Donny & Marie; of part Welsh descent, traced their ancestry back to Merthyr Tydfil ^[18]
• Karyn Parsons (born 1966), actress, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Welsh descent on father's side
• Michelle Pfeiffer (born 1958), actress, distant Welsh ancestry ^[19]
• Brian Pillman (1962–1997), professional wrestler, mother was Welsh ^[20]
• Chris Pine (born 1980), actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Kim Richards (born 1964), actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Kyle Richards (born 1969), actress, distant Welsh ancestry ^[21]
• Monica Richards (born 1965), author and musician
• Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 1969), born in Swansea, Glamorgan; actress
• Katherine Jenkins (born 1980), born in Neath, Glamorgan; singer
• Jason Robards (1922–2000), actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Eric Roberts (born 1956), actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Julia Roberts (born 1967), actress, distant Welsh ancestry ^[22]
• Coco Rocha (born 1988), Canadian model of Welsh, Irish, and Russian descent
• Gena Rowlands (1930–2024), actress, father was of Welsh descent
• Susan Sarandon (born 1946), Oscar-winning actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Brooke Shields (born 1965), actress and model, distant Welsh ancestry
• Esperanza Spalding (born 1984), singer/songwriter, distant Welsh ancestry ^[23]
• Tiffani Thiessen (born 1974), actress, distant Welsh ancestry ^[24]
• Henry Thomas (born 1971), actor, distant Welsh ancestry
• Lynda Thomas (born 1981), musician, singer-songwriter
• Scott Walker (1943–2019), singer, distant Welsh ancestry
• Tuc Watkins (born 1966), actor
• Betty White (1922–2021), actress, distant Welsh ancestry ^[25]
• Michelle Williams (born 1980), actress, distant Welsh ancestry
• Robin Williams (1951–2014), actor, distant Welsh ancestry ^[26]
• Chris Williams (actor), African-American, English and Welsh descent
• Vanessa Williams (born 1963), African-American, English and Welch descent
• Cassandra Wilson (born 1955), née Cassandra Fowlkes, jazz vocalist; distant Welsh ancestry through her father
• Patrick Wilson (born 1973), actor, distant Welsh ancestry ^[27]

Literature

Sinclair Lewis

• Ben Bradlee (1921–2014), author, Executive Editor of the Washington Post
• Ben Bradlee, Jr. (born 1948), author, journalist, newspaper editor at the Boston Globe
• Quinn Bradlee, (born 1982), author
• William Dean Howells, realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters" ^[28]
• Grover Jones (1893–1940), playwright, screenwriter
• Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951), novelist/playwright ^[29]
• Jack London (1876–1916), author ^[30]
• Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950), poet/biographer/dramatist ^[31]
• Hillary Monahan, author
• Lorin Morgan-Richards (born 1975), author and illustrator ^[32]
• Ogden Nash (1902–1971), poet, humorist
• Sally Quinn (born 1941), author, first anchorwoman in America

Politics

• John Adams (1735–1826), President of the United States, Vice President of the United States ^[33]
• John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), President of the United States, Secretary of State ^[33]
• John Henry Bowen (1780–1822), U.S. Representative from Tennessee
• Martha Hughes Cannon (1857–1932), physician, Utah women's rights advocate and suffragist, first female state senator elected in the United States, member of the Utah Senate from the 6th district (1897–1901)
• Bill Cassidy (born 1957), United States Senator from Louisiana ^[34]
• Dick Cheney (born 1941), Vice President of the United States (2001–2009)
• Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810–1903), abolitionist
• Hillary Clinton (born 1947), Secretary of State, U.S. Senator from New York, former First Lady ^[35]
• James S. Conway (1796–1855), Governor of Arkansas (1836–1840) ^[36]
• Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933), President of the United States, Vice President of the United States ^[35]
• John J. Crittenden (1787–1863), Governor of Kentucky
• James J. Davis (1873–1947), Secretary of Labor and U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania ^[37]
• Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), President of the Confederate States (1862–1865) ^[35]
• Alvin Evans (1845–1906), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania; United States Senator from Iowa
• John Floyd (1783–1837), Governor of Virginia
• John B. Floyd (1806–1863), Governor of Virginia
• William Floyd (1734–1821), United States Declaration of Independence signatory ^[38]
• James Garfield (1831–1881), President of the United States ^[33]
• Nicholas Gilman (1755–1814), United States Senator from New Hampshire
• Button Gwinnett (1735–1777), United States Declaration of Independence signatory ^[39]
• Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), President of the United States ^[35]
• William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), President of the United States ^[33]
• Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), Chief Justice of the United States, Governor of New York ^[40]
• Andrew Humphreys (1821–1904), U.S. Representative from Indiana
• Andrew A. Humphreys (1810–1883), United States Army officer and Union General in the American Civil War
• E. Howard Hunt (1918–2007), CIA Intelligence Officer; a key figure in organizing and participating in the Watergate burglaries
• Arthur James (1883–1973), Governor of Pennsylvania
• Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), President of the United States; Vice President of the United States ^[33]
• Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), Confederate general ^[41]
• Francis Lewis (1713–1802), United States Declaration of Independence signatory ^[38]
• Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), President of the United States ^[33]
• James Madison (1751–1836), President of the United States ^[35]
• John Marshall (1755–1835), statesman, Chief Justice of the United States ^[29]
• George Mathews (1739–1812), Governor of Georgia
• Henry M. Mathews (1834–1884), Governor of West Virginia
• John G. McCullough (1835–1915), Governor of Vermont
• James Monroe (1758–1831), President of the United States ^[33]
• James Morgan (1756–1822), United States Congressman from New Jersey
• Lewis Morris (1726–1798), United States Declaration of Independence signatory ^[38]
• Robert Morris (1734–1806), United States Declaration of Independence signatory ^[29]
• Patty Murray (born 1950), United States Senator from Washington
• Richard Nixon (1913–1994), President of the United States; Vice President of the United States ^[33]
• Barack Obama (born 1961), President of the United States ^[42]
• P.B.S. Pinchback (1837–1921), Governor of Louisiana
• Hugh H. Price (1859–1904), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
• Rodman M. Price (1816–1894), Governor of New Jersey
• John H. Pugh (1827–1905), U.S. Representative from New Jersey
• Thomas Rees (1925–2003), U.S. Congressman, parents/grandparents from Wales
• Ann Romney (born 1949), wife of American businessman and politician Mitt Romney
• Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), President of the United States; Vice President of the United States ^[33]
• Isaac Shelby (1750–1826), Governor of Kentucky ^[43]
• Daniel Webster (1782–1852), United States Senator and Secretary of State ^[44]
• Thomas Wynne (1627–1691), physician to William Penn; speaker of the first Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly ^[45]

Industry and business

Howard Hughes

J. P. Morgan

• Thomas Henry Blythe (1822–1883), born in Wales, immigrated to San Francisco, best known for using the Colorado River to irrigate large areas of the California and Mexican deserts
• Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel (1849–1911), Tennessee-born founder of Jack Daniel's whiskey
• Bob Evans (1918–2007), founder of Bob Evans Restaurants
• William Fargo (1818–1881), pioneer expressman
• Howard Hughes (1905–1976), pioneering aviator, engineer, industrialist, and film producer
• Willard F. Jones (1890–1967), naval architect, Gulf Oil executive
• Reese J. Llewellyn (1862–1936), born in Brynamman, Wales, immigrated to San Francisco, later settling in Los Angeles, co-founder and president of Llewellyn Iron Works
• J. P. Morgan (1837–1913), banker
• Junius Spencer Morgan (1813–1890), banker
• Jonathan I. Schwartz (born 1965), president and chief executive officer of CareZone
• Howard Stringer (born 1942), businessman and chief executive officer of Sony Corporation ^[46]
• Lloyd Tevis (1824–1899), banker
• David Thomas (1794–1882), prominent ironmaster and philanthropist during the Industrial Revolution in Pennsylvania ^[47]

Other

Daniel Boone

Meriwether Lewis

Frank Lloyd Wright

• Mervyn S. Bennion (1887–1941), Congressional Medal of Honor recipient killed during the Attack on Pearl Harbor; grandfather was a Welsh immigrant
• James Bowie (1796–1836), pioneer and Texas revolutionary ^[48]
• Daniel Boone (1734–1820), American pioneer ^[49]
• Mary Katherine Campbell (1905–1990), Miss America titleholder 1922 and 1923, first runner-up 1924 ^[50]
• Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, serial killer; father has Welsh ancestry
• Hiram Wesley Evans (1881–1966), Imperial Wizard of the "second" Ku Klux Klan, 1922–1939
• Lewis Evans (1700–1756), colonial surveyor and geographer ^[51]
• Cowboy Morgan Evans (1903–1969), Texas rancher; 1928 World Series Rodeo Bulldogging champion; competition bull rider; oil production roughneck; drilling foreman; oilman
• Oliver Evans (1755–1819), inventor ^{[29] [52]}
• Murray Humphreys (1899–1965), Chicago mobster, chief political and labor racketeer in the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition ^[53]
• Frank James (1843–1915), cowboy/outlaw
• Jesse James (1847–1882), cowboy/outlaw
• George Jones (1811–1891), New-York Daily Times co-founder ^[29]
• John L. Lewis (1880–1969), organized labor union leader ^[29]
• Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809), explorer ^{[49] [54]}
• Chelsea Manning (born 1987), mother was Welsh
• Nate Marquardt (born 1979), MMA fighter, partially Welsh on his mother's side
• Daniel Morgan (1736–1802), Brigadier General in the American Revolution in the Continental Army; served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia
• Michael Phelps (born 1985), Olympian swimmer, distant Welsh ancestry ^[55]
• William Farrand Prosser (1834–1911), Union Colonel in the American Civil War; served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Tennessee
• Herbert M. Sauro (born 1960), scientist (UW, Seattle), born in Dyfed
• Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904), journalist/explorer
• George Henry Thomas (1816–1870), Union General during the American Civil War ^[56]
• Joe Watts (born 1942), gangster and associate of the Gambino crime family; partially Welsh on his father's side
• Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), one of the most prominent and influential architects of the first half of the 20th century ^{[29] [57]}
• Elihu Yale (1649–1721), first benefactor of Yale University ^{[29] [58]}

References

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3. "Bette Davis, just one of the many famous Welsh actors... Bette Davis has Welsh connections from her father Harlow Davies whose family hail from Wales. She even visited Wales when in Britain acting to trace her family roots".
4. Mandel, Howard (2017-01-15). "All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
5. The Dragon Entertains ~100 Welsh Stars~; mentioned as one of "100 Welsh Stars"
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8. "Welsh Affairs Office, Cardiff", Embassy of the Unite.d States, London, UK Archived 2006-07-20 at the Wayback Machine "Welsh Americans have helped settle the American frontier, build our cities, and defend our liberty... to the sharp wit of Bob Hope"
9. "classically trained and highly regarded Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins". Gewertz, Ken (February 15, 2001), "Anthony Hopkins hams it up for Hasty", Harvard University Gazette. Archived 2006-09-04 at the Wayback Machine "Later, at a brief press conference, Hopkins, who was born in Wales, was asked why he recently became an American citizen. 'I've lived here some years. I feel at home in America. I suppose it was a pretty bold decision, but America has been very generous to me. There was a bit of an outburst in the British press. I was branded as some sort of turncoat, but so be it.'"
10. "Mr Jones... discovered his father was half Welsh around 15 years ago...." "It's a very special occasion for me because... [it has been] discovered that my father was half-Welsh."
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14. ^[ permanent dead link ] "She often refers to her Welsh ancestry."
15. "Paternal great-grandparents were from Wales". Archived from the original on 2012-07-24.
16. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine included in the book "100 Great Welsh Women" "Although she is of Scotch and Welsh descent, she has been accused of being Egyptian, Chinese, Eurasian and other nationalities."
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31. "22. Indignation Jones. Masters, Edgar Lee. 1916. Spoon River Anthology". Bartleby.com. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
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37. "James J. Davis, a Welsh-born puddler who served as US Secretary of Labor from 1921–1930"
38. 1 2 3 Archived 2006-06-26 at the Wayback Machine "Of the four New York signatories, three were Welsh; Lewis Morris, Francis Lewis and William Floyd."
39. "AmericanHeritage.com / WHO'S GOT BUTTON'S BONES?". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2006-07-04.
40. mentioned as one of several "Welsh Americans" at , "James A. Henretta | Charles Evans Hughes and the Strange Death of Liberal America | Law and History Review, 24.1 | the History Cooperative". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2013-11-24. "The only child of a pious American Baptist mother and an immigrant Welsh minister"
41. "Robert E. Lee... also were Welsh Americans..."
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45. Wynne Family history
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47. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-12-28. Retrieved 2005-01-04.
48. Robin Turner (2016-01-20). "The Welsh roots of America's Wild West gunslingers revealed". Wales Online. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
49. "Meriwether Lewis himself was Welsh American, as was frontiersman Daniel Boone" Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine "Daniel Boone’s mother, Sarah Morgan, was a member of a Welsh family that came to Pennsylvania in 1683 and later settled in Gwynedd"
50. [^ "New Beauty Queen Ideal". New York Times. 1922-09-10. "The Ideal Beauty Queen"]
51. "GENUKI: National Library of Wales journals". Archived from the original on December 30, 2008.
52. "A Welsh-American invented the first automobile"
53. "No Gangster More Bold: Murray Humphreys, the Welsh Political Genius Who Corrupted America"
54. "His great grandfather, Robert Lewis, a Welsh officer in the British Army... The Meriwether family was also Welsh, well connected, and land-rich with sizable holdings near Charlottesville. Lucy's father was a respected friend of Thomas Jefferson."
55. "michael phelps". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
56. Broadwater, Robert P (2009). General George H. Thomas: a biography of the Union's "Rock of Chickamauga". McFarland. p. 5. ISBN   978-0-7864-3856-3 . Retrieved 27 April 2011.
57. "Frank Lloyd Wright was of Welsh ethnic heritage"
58. "Elihu Yale - The Great Welsh American"