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

Arts Performance

Paul Abrahamian (born 1993), reality television personality, of Russian and Armenian descent Odessa Adlon (born 2000), actress, has Russian Jewish ancestry through her mother Dianna Agron (born 1986), actress, father of Russian Jewish ancestry Monique Alexander (born 1982), pornographic actress, actress and model Woody Allen (born 1935), actor, writer, director, and musician, his mother was of Russian Jewish ancestry. Alan Arkin (1934–2023), actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, grandparents were Russian Jewish, Ukrainian Jewish and German Jewish immigrants René Auberjonois (1940–2019), Tony Award-winning 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 Olga Baclanova (1893–1974), Russian-born actress "They called her the Russian Tigress. Olga Baclanova (pronounced bahk-LAH-no-vah), sultry Russian actress of stage and film..." Eric Balfour (born 1977), actor, portraying Milo Pressman in 24, of Russian Jewish descent Sasha Barrese (born 1981), actress of Irish, Dutch, American Indian, and Russian descent Anna Baryshnikov (born 1992), actress, daughter of Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Baryshnikov (born 1948), dancer and actor "One night in June 1974, the Russian dancer stepped from a stage in Toronto where he was appearing as a guest star with the Bolshoi Ballet concert group and literally ran to freedom. He stepped outside, followed by a crowd of confused fans, and sprinted to a waiting car that spirited him away from Soviet agents into a life of independence in the United States." Shura Baryshnikov (born 1981), dancer, choreographer, actress Michael Bay (born 1965), film director and producer, grandfather was a Russian Jewish immigrant Irving Berlin (1888–1989), composer and songwriter, Russian Jewish immigrant Emma Berman (born 2008), actress, of Russian Jewish descent Jack Black (born 1969), actor, comedian, musician, mother of Russian Jewish descent Michael Bolton (born 1953), singer, all of his grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia Jon Bon Jovi (born 1962), singer-songwriter, mother of partial Russian descent Alexey Brodovitch (1898–1971), the pioneer of graphic design, created a prototype of the modern glossy magazine about fashion Agnes Bruckner (born 1985), actress, mother has Russian background Yul Brynner (1920–1985), Russian-born actor and Academy Award winner Cheryl Burke (born 1984), professional dancer known for starring on the television series Dancing with the Stars, father of Russian Jewish descent Semyon Bychkov (born 1952), conductor Amanda Bynes (born 1986), actress, mother of Russian Jewish descent Dove Cameron (born 1996), actress, has partial Russian descent Eddie Cantor (1892–1964), actor and dancer, parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Timothée Chalamet (born 1995), actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent Michael Chekhov (1891–1955), Russian-born actor and dancer Lily Collins (born 1989), actress, maternal grandfather of Russian Jewish descent Jennifer Connelly (born 1970), actress, mother of Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent David Copperfield (born 1956), illusionist and stage magician, paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants Lydia Cornell (born Lydia Korniloff, 1953), actress, father of Russian descent Eric Dane (1972-2026), actor, of partial Russian-Jewish descent Gavin DeGraw (born 1977), musician, mother of Russian Jewish descent Alexis Denisof (born 1966), actor, father of mostly Russian ancestry Kat Dennings (born 1986), actress, grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants Leonardo DiCaprio (born 1974), actor, Academy Award winner, maternal grandmother was Russian Jim Downey (born 1952), comedy writer Michael Dudikoff (born 1954), actor, father was an immigrant from Russia Aaron Eckhart (born 1968), actor, father of Volga German descent Ansel Elgort (born 1994), actor, father of Russian-Jewish descent Val Emmich (born 1979), singer-songwriter and actor of Italian, Russian, and German ancestry Evidence, real name Michael Perretta (born 1976), American hip hop musician, Russian mother Peter Falk (1927–2011), actor, born to a Polish Jewish father and a Russian Jewish mother Tina Fey (born 1970), actress and comedian, father of part-Russian descent Larry Fine (1902–1975), actor, comedian, musician and member of the Three Stooges, parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Carrie Fisher (1956–2016), actress, father of Russian Jewish descent Michel Fokine (1880–1942), dancer and choreographer Olga Fonda (born 1982), actress and model Harrison Ford (born 1942), actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent Dave Franco (born 1985), actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent James Franco (born 1978), actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent Crispin Freeman (born 1972), voice actor, father of Russian Jewish descent Cassidy Freeman (born 1982), actress and musician, sister of voice actor Crispin Freeman, father of Russian Jewish descent Isabelle Fuhrman (born 1997), actress (mother, Elena Fuhrman, is a Russian Jewish immigrant, father is of Russian Jewish descent) Drew Fuller (born 1980), actor of Russian, Scottish and English heritage Edward Furlong (born 1977), actor, the star of such film as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Pet Sematary Two and American History X, father of Russian origin George Gaynes (1917–2016), actor and singer of Dutch (father), Russian and Finnish (mother) descent Galen Gering (born 1971), actor of Russian Jewish (father) and Basque Spanish (mother) descent George Gershwin (1898–1937), composer and pianist, author of Rhapsody in Blue, Russian Jewish and Ukrainian Jewish ancestry Alexander Godunov (1949–1995), dancer and choreographer Katerina Graham (born 1989), actress, singer, record producer, dancer, and model, mother of Russian Jewish ancestry Seth Green (born 1974), actor, part Russian Jewish ancestry Jake Gyllenhaal (born 1980), mother Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal of Russian Jewish descent Maggie Gyllenhaal (born 1977), mother Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal of Russian Jewish descentUK Entertainment News - British Film, TV and Music | HuffPost UK Kyle Gallner (born 1986) actor whose paternal grandparents were both from Russian Jewish immigrant families. Armie Hammer (born 1986), actor, father of part Russian Jewish/Russian descent Juliana Harkavy (born 1985), actress, has Russian ancestors Ben Harper (born 1969), singer-songwriter, Jewish mother of Russian and Lithuanian ancestry Barbara Hershey (born 1948), actress, father of Russian Jewish and Hungarian Jewish descent Damian Hurley (born 2002), actor Fedor Jeftichew (1868–1904), freak show attraction nicknamed "Jojo the dog-faced man" and a star of the Barnum Circus Kidada Jones (born 1974), actress, model, and fashion designer, daughter of actress Peggy Lipton and musician Quincy Jones; mother of Russian Jewish descent Rashida Jones (born 1976),Stated on Who Do You Think You Are?, 4 May 2012 actress, model, and musician, daughter of actress Peggy Lipton, mother of Russian Jewish descent Milla Jovovich (born 1975), actress and model, born in Kyiv to a Russian mother and a Serbian father Stacy Kamano (born 1974), actress of German, Russian, Polish and Japanese descent Lila Kedrova (1909–2000), Russian-born French-American actress, won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Olga Kern (born 1975), Russian-born classical pianist, won the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, direct family ties to both Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky Justin Kirk (born 1969), stage and film actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent Charles Klapow (born 1980), choreographer and dance instructor, Emmy Award winner, father of Russian origin Christopher Knight (born 1957), actor Walter Koenig (born 1936), actor and screenwriter, parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Theodore Kosloff (1882–1956), dancer and choreographer Lenny Kravitz (born 1964), singer, father of Russian Jewish descent Zoë Kravitz (born 1988), actress, singer and model daughter of Lenny Kravitz, both parents of half Russian Jewish descent Feodor Lark (born 1997), Russian-born television actor Jennifer Jason Leigh (born 1962), actress, father of Russian Jewish descent Logan Lerman (born 1992), actor, of Russian Jewish, Polish Jewish, and Lithuanian Jewish descent Margarita Levieva (born 1980), actress and professional gymnast, Russian Jewish immigrant Peggy Lipton (1946–2019), actress, of Russian Jewish ancestry Karina Lombard (born 1969), actress and singer of Lakota Sioux, Russian, Italian and Swiss descent Annet Mahendru (born 1985), actress, mother of Russian descent James Maslow (born 1990), actor and singer of Scots-Irish, English, and Russian Jewish descent Marlee Matlin (born 1965), Academy Award-winning actress of Russian Jewish descent Mikey Madison (born 1999), Academy Award-winning actress of three quarters Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry (from Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and Germany). Kayla Maisonet (born 1999) American actress of Russian and Puerto Rican descent Walter Matthau (1920–2000), actor and comedian, parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Blake Michael (born 1996), actor of Russian Jewish descent Wentworth Miller (born 1972), actor, mother of partial Russian descent Eugene Mirman (born 1974), actor, Russian Jewish immigrant Taylor Momsen (born 1993), actress, musician and model, fronts the rock band The Pretty Reckless Mandy Moore (born 1984), actress, singer, of Russian Jewish descent (from her maternal grandfather) Vic Morrow (1929–1982), actor, parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Sarah Natochenny (born 1987), voice actress Alla Nazimova (1879–1945), theater and film actress, Russian Jewish immigrant Alexander Nevsky (born 1971), actor, producer, writer, bodybuilder, immigrant from Russia Nancy Novotny (born 1963), voice actress, radio personality Pat O'Brien (born 1965), guitarist, half Russian Wyatt Oleff (born 2004), actor of Russian Jewish ancestry. His surname, originally spelled Olefsky, comes from his Russian Jewish heritage. Larisa Oleynik (born 1981), actress (Mad Men, 3rd Rock from the Sun), father of Russian descent Piotr Pakhomkin (born 1985), guitarist, half Russian Mandy Patinkin (born 1952), actor and singer, of Russian Jewish descent Sean Penn (born 1960), two-time Academy Award winning actor, paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish and Lithuanian Jewish immigrants Lee Philips (1927–1999) (born Leon Friedman), parents were Russian Jewish immigrants Joaquin Phoenix (born 1974), actor, mother has Russian Jewish and Hungarian Jewish ancestry River Phoenix (1970–1993), actor, mother has Russian Jewish and Hungarian Jewish ancestry Bronson Pinchot (born 1959), actor, best known for Perfect Strangers; father, born Henry Poncharavsky, is of Russian ancestry Alexander Polinsky (born 1974), actor, father is of Russian Jewish descent Natalie Portman (born 1981), Israeli-born actress, of Russian Jewish, Polish Jewish, Romanian Jewish, and Austrian Jewish ancestry Mike Portnoy (born 1967), musician, founding member of American heavy metal band Dream Theater Ryan Potter (born 1995), actor, mother of Russian Jewish descent Princess Superstar (born 1971), musician, father of Russian Jewish descent Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943), Russian-born composer who immigrated to the US in 1918 and lived there until his death in 1943; acquired U.S. citizenship in 1943 Sam Raimi (born 1959), Jewish American film, producer, actor and writer, whose parents came from Russia and Hungary