French Americans are U.S. citizens or nationals of French descent and heritage. The majority of Franco-American families did not arrive directly from France, but rather settled French territories in the New World (primarily in the 17th and 18th centuries) before moving or being forced to move to the United States later on (see Quebec diaspora and Great Upheaval). Also, the largest French territory in North America was sold to the U.S., absorbing their French citizens (see Louisiana Purchase). About thirteen million U.S. residents are of French descent, and about 1.5million of them speak the French language at home. Being isolated, mixed with different cultures, or ignored, the French-Americans developed particular cultures that reflect varying degrees of adaptation of their environments. This gave birth to streams of French-Americans like the Acadians, the Cajuns (an Anglicization of the autonym Cadien, from the French word for Acadian, Acadien), Louisiana Créoles and many others.
The following is a list of notable French Americans by occupation, 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 French American or must have references showing they are French American and are notable.
Augustus D. Juilliard (1836–1919), businessman whose philanthropy built the renowned conservatory of dance, music, and theater in New York City that bears his name
Philippe Kahn (born 1952), mathematician and entrepreneur known as the inventor of the camera phone, a pioneer in the wireless industry, and the founder of Borland[1]
Frank Perdue & Associates, the Perdue family is of French Huguenot ancestry, and can be traced back to Anjou, France; the family created the Perdue Chicken Company
Ross Perot (1930–2019), entrepreneur, philanthropist and candidate for the Presidency of the United States
Jessica Alba, actress; mother is of partial French-Canadian ancestry
Cliff Arquette (1905–1974), American actor was of part French-Canadian descent, and his family's surname was originally "Arcouet"
Lewis Arquette (1935–2001), American actor, was of French-Canadian descent
Patricia Arquette (born 1968), American actress, is of French-Canadian descent
Alexis Arquette (July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016), was an American actress, cabaret performer, underground cartoonist, and activist. Alexis was of French-Canadian descent.
René Auberjonois (1940–2019), Tony Award-winner, American character actor (and grandson of the painter), best known for his early 1980s role as Clayton Endicott III on the television show Benson and his role as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Tina Aumont, California-born actress; father was an immigrant from France
Alec Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
Daniel Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
Stephen Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
William Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
Lucille Ball (1911–1989), actress; mother was of partial French heritage[5]
Adrienne Barbeau (born 1945), 1980s B-movie actress; father was of part French-Canadian ancestry[6]
Timothée Chalamet (born 1995), French-American actor; born to a French father, of French and British descent, and an American Jewish mother, holds both passports[10][11]
Lon Chaney Sr., silent film actor, of part French descent
Lon Chaney Jr., actor and son of Lon Chaney Sr.; of part French descent
Bette Davis, film actress, born in Lowell, Massachusetts; father was of English descent and mother was of French-Canadian descent
Robert De Niro, one of the most acclaimed actors of all time; two-time Academy Award winner; mother had small amount of French ancestry
Ellen DeGeneres, actress, talk-show host; father was of part French descent[14]
Johnny Depp (born 1963), actor; He is descended from a French Huguenot immigrant (Pierre Dieppe, who settled in Virginia around 1700)
Lily-Rose Depp, French-born American actress and model. She is the daughter of American actor, producer, and musician Johnny Depp and French singer, actress, and model Vanessa Paradis.
Minka Kelly (born 1980), American actress; known for role of Lyla Garrity on NBC's Friday Night Lights; biological father is aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay, born in France, to American parents
Rod La Rocque (1898–1969), film actor of French Canadian descent
Shia LaBeouf (born 1986), actor, Cajun (French) father
Brie Larson, (born 1989), film actress. Larson was born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers. Her father is French Canadian, and in her childhood, Larson spoke French as her first language
Eva LaRue (born 1966), actress best known for portraying Natalia Boa Vista on CSI: Miami; was on a soap opera for many years; ovarian cancer spokesperson
Tyrone Power, actor, mother was of part French-Canadian descent, father was of partial French Huguenot ancestry
Dennis William Quaid (born 1954), American film actor. Quaid has English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Cajun (French) ancestry.
Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born 1950), American film actor. Quaid has English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Cajun (French) ancestry.
Maggie Quigley (born 1979), Euro-Asian American actress and former fashion model, known for Mission Impossible III and Balls of Fury, father of part French-Canadian descent
Don LaFontaine (1940–2008), voiceover artist; recorded more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers; his nicknames include "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God"
Allie LaForce (born 1988), beauty queen from Vermilion, Ohio; Miss Teen USA 2005
Brook Mahealani Lee (born 1971), Miss USA and Miss Hawaii USA prior to winning the Miss Universe 1997 pageant; of mixed Korean, Portuguese, French, Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929–1994), First Lady and wife of the late John F. Kennedy; maiden name is Bouvier and she is usually referred to by all three of her surnames together; father was of French descent
Jean-Paul Poulain (died 2007), Maine Franco-American cabaret recording artist
Carrie Prejean, model and beauty pageant contestant; father is of French descent
Joe Biden (born 1942), American politician and the 46th president of the United States. Joseph Sr.'s parents, Mary Elizabeth (née Robinette) and Joseph H. Biden (an oil businessman from Baltimore, Maryland) were of English, French, and Irish descent.
James Carville, French-American (Cajun) from Louisiana; outspoken Democrat and served in the Clinton administration; has been a political commentator for many years
Hillary Clinton (born 1947), United States Secretary of State, former Democratic member of the United States Senate from New York; wife of William Jefferson Clinton; former first lady of the US[52]
Davy Crockett (1786–1836), folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and Congressman from Tennessee
Tom DeLay (born 1947), former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas, the former House Majority Leader, prominent member of the Republican Party[53]
Robert M. La Follette Sr. (1855–1925), politician who served as a U.S. Congressman, the 20th Governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906, and Senator from Wisconsin from 1905 to 1925 as a member of the Republican Party[8][nb 1]
John Sevier (1745–1815), served four years as the only governor of the State of Franklin and twelve years as governor of Tennessee, and as a US Representative from Tennessee from 1811 until his death[55]
Joanne Verger, mayor of Coos Bay, serving four terms; served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004; elected to the Oregon State Senate in 2004
P. G. T. Beauregard, civil servant, politician, inventor, author, and the first prominent general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
Jonathan Blanchard, lawyer, statesman; delegate for New Hampshire to the Continental Congress in 1784
Michael Raoul Duval, investment banker and lawyer; had Senior White House positions while serving under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, where he rose to the position of Special Counsel to the President
Christopher Emery (born 1957), author, Chief Enterprise Architect, and former White House Assistant Chief Usher
Pierre Soulé, U.S. politician and diplomat during the mid-19th century, best known for writing the Ostend Manifesto in 1854 as part of an attempt to annex Cuba to the United States
Joanne Verger, Mayor of Coos Bay, serving four terms; served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004; elected to the Oregon State Senate in 2004
P. G. T. Beauregard, author, civil servant, politician, inventor, and the first prominent general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), author of many articles and essays, development critic, naturalist, transcendentalist, pacifist, tax resister and philosopher; known for Walden, Civil Disobedience, Resistance to Civil Government[8][66]
Gerald Vizenor (born 1934), poet, novelist and literary theorist;t known as an Anishinaabe writer, but he has written extensively about his French ancestors in texts such as Wordarrows (the narrative persona, "Clement Beaulieu", was the name of his uncle)[67][68]
Benjamin Bonneville, French-born officer in the United States Army, fur trapper, and explorer in the American West[71]
Mitch Bouyer (1837–1876), interpreter/guide in the Old West following the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876
Davy Crockett, American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. The earliest known paternal ancestor was Gabriel Gustave de Crocketagne, whose son Antoine de Saussure Peronette de Crocketagne was given a commission in the Household Troops under French King Louis XIV.
William G. Fournier, Army soldier and a recipient of the military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Rene Gagnon (1925–1979), one of the U.S. Marines immortalized in the famous World War II photograph (by Joe Rosenthal) of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima
Robert C. Macon, Army General during World War II; commanded the 83rd Infantry Division during the drive across Europe and served as military attaché in Moscow
Benjamin McCulloch (1811–1862), Texas Ranger, military officer, California 49er, sheriff, U.S. Marshall, U.S. Peace Commissioner ending the Utah War of 1857–58, a descendant of Nicolas Martiau
Henry Eustace McCulloch (1816–1895), Texas Ranger, military officer in the Texas Revolution as well as the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War, a descendant of Nicolas Martiau
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), aristocrat, considered a national hero in both France and the United States for his participation in the French and American revolutions, for which he became an honorary citizen of the United States[8]
Alfred Mouton, Confederate general in the American Civil War
John Joseph Pershing (1860–1948), General of the Armies – commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front in World War I, 1917–18. Pershing's great-great-grandfather, Frederick Pershing, whose name originally was Pfoerschin, emigrated from Alsace in 1749
William Beaumont, surgeon in the Army; known as the "father of gastric physiology"
P. G. T. Beauregard, inventor, author, civil servant, politician, and the first prominent general for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War
René Dubos (1901–1982), microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, humanist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author[8][75]
William C. Durant, leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry, co-founder of Chevrolet cars with Louis Chevrolet
William F. Durand, forerunner of NASA, first civilian chair of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, naval officer and pioneer mechanical engineer
Jim Thorpe (1888–1953), Hall of Fame football player; 1/2 Native American, 1/4 Irish, and 1/4 French; also a star baseball, basketball, and an Olympic star
Jean Lafitte, sometimes spelled Laffite (c. 1780–c. 1826), Gulf of Mexico pirate, who provided critical support and expert artillery gunners to the American forces under Gen. Andrew Jackson in January 1815, at the Battle of New Orleans[8]
"robert_clary.htm". libranpoet. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2013. From stage performer to singer to painter, the French actor..."
Harvie, Ian (2008). The Ian Harvie Show (Television production). Ian Harvie on YouTube. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
Lipton, Brian Scott (August 16, 2005). "A View from the Gate". New York City: TheaterMania.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
Bernard, Shane K. "Ali Landry". cajunculture.com. Blogger. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2013. A Cajun and Breaux Bridge native, Ali Landry was crowned Miss USA in February 1996 at age twenty-two— the first Miss Louisiana to win the pageant since 1961. Ali is now a full time mother and a 'Celebrity Mom' on Yahoo.
"Maria McBane Nude". Playboy. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013. Francophiles will be pleasantly surprised to learn that despite the unmistakably Celtic ring to her name, May Playmate Maria McBane is every bit as French as croissants and the cancan. Born in Avignon, in the heart of the French wine region of Provence, our 19-year-old May miss was reared in the traditions of the provincial petite francaise until the age of ten, when her family sold their small vineyard and came to America.
Described as French-Canadian at Gambit. Both parents, Medore Moisant and Josephine Fortier, were French Canadian immigrants to the United States. Archived November 26, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
"In Louisiana, Concerns Over France-Bashing". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. March 14, 2003. Retrieved July 1, 2013. 'So many people in Louisiana actually speak French every day and feel French, and I think they're a little disappointed about the situation,' says Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a French Acadian whose maiden name was Babineaux. 'We're looking at a 200-year historical time when France was our greatest ally.'
"14748231.htm". DFW.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2013. 'I trust that you do know Mr. DeLay is French,' she said.
Schneider, Bridgett Edwards (1995–2000). "A Little History of Tennessee". Bridgett's Gene Joint. MomNDoc Online Services. Archived from the original on February 4, 2003. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
"James Carville". Anchors/Reporters. CNN. 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2013. Often referred to as the "Ragin' Cajun" for his animated and colorful debating style ...
"Kate Chopin– A Woman Ahead of Her Time". Angelfire. 1999. Retrieved July 1, 2013. Kate Chopin was born Katherine O'Flaherty on February 8, 1850, of an Irish and French descent in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dufresne, John (April–June 2005). "Interview with John Dufresne" (Interview). Interviewed by Nathan Leslie. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013. ... I write from being a French Canadian/American who grew up on what had been called French Hill until the Irish and Italians muscled us out.
Asher, Levi (July 23, 1994). "Jack Kerouac". Literary Kicks. Retrieved July 1, 2013. Jack Kerouac was born Jean-Louis Kerouac, a French-Canadian child on March 12, 1922, in working-class Lowell, Massachusetts.
"Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years". The City Review. 2001. Retrieved July 1, 2013. The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient [French] heritage.
"John James Audubon". Aubudon. New York City: Audubon Magazine. 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2013. Audubon was born in Saint Domingue (now Haiti), the illegitimate son of a French sea captain and plantation owner and his French mistress. Early on, he was raised by his stepmother, Mrs. Audubon, in Nantes, France, and took a lively interest in birds, nature, drawing, and music.
"Rodrigue and Guidry Honored as Outstanding Alums". Rodrigue Studio. 2003. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2013. Just like George, he's a nice, country, Cajun guy, who left Louisiana to follow his dream and continued that dream by returning to his roots.
Westberg, Quentin (June 1, 2006). "YA Best XI: Quentin Westberg". Yanks Abroad. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2013. ... I do have an idea about being the son of an American father and a French mother.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
"Nice native sworn in during Vegas ceremony". Olympic Sports. Las Vegas: ESPN. Associated Press. January 9, 2004. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013. French figure skating champion Surya Bonaly has become a U.S. citizen during a ceremony Friday in Las Vegas.
Rodrigue, George (January 21, 2006). "Rodrigue Studio– From Cajun Roots to Blue Dog Fever"(PDF) (Press release). Rodrigue Studio. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 18, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2007. George Rodrigue, a Cajun from New Iberia, Louisiana ...