List of Welsh Americans explained

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
• 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

• 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
• Jack London (1876–1916), author^[29]
• Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950), poet/biographer/dramatist^[30]
• Hillary Monahan, author
• Lorin Morgan-Richards (born 1975), author and illustrator^[31]
• 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^[32]
• John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), President of the United States, Secretary of State^[32]
• 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^[33]
• 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^[34]
• James S. Conway (1796–1855), Governor of Arkansas (1836–1840)^[35]
• Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933), President of the United States, Vice President of the United States^[34]
• John J. Crittenden (1787–1863), Governor of Kentucky
• James J. Davis (1873–1947), Secretary of Labor and U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania^[36]
• Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), President of the Confederate States (1862–1865)^[34]
• 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^[37]
• James Garfield (1831–1881), President of the United States^[32]
• Nicholas Gilman (1755–1814), United States Senator from New Hampshire
• Button Gwinnett (1735–1777), United States Declaration of Independence signatory^[38]
• Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), President of the United States^[34]
• William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), President of the United States^[32]
• Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), Chief Justice of the United States, Governor of New York^[39]
• 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^[32]
• Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), Confederate general^[40]
• Francis Lewis (1713–1802), United States Declaration of Independence signatory
• Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), President of the United States^[32]
• James Madison (1751–1836), President of the United States^[34]
• John Marshall (1755–1835), statesman, Chief Justice of the United States^[41]
• 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^[32]
• James Morgan (1756–1822), United States Congressman from New Jersey
• Lewis Morris (1726–1798), United States Declaration of Independence signatory
• Robert Morris (1734–1806), United States Declaration of Independence signatory
• Patty Murray (born 1950), United States Senator from Washington
• Richard Nixon (1913–1994), President of the United States; Vice President of the United States^[32]
• 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^[32]
• 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

• 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

• Jim Jones - Cult leader and mass murderer
• 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^[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
• John L. Lewis (1880–1969), organized labor union leader
• Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809), explorer^[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^[57]
• Elihu Yale (1649–1721), first benefactor of Yale University^[58]

Notes and References

1. 150 Famous Welsh Americans, W. Arvon Roberts, 2008
2. News: Kelly Clarkson Biography . Fox News . 1 August 2007.
3. http://www.famouswelsh.com/01_actors/profiles/Bette_Davis.shtml "Bette Davis
4. Web site: Mandel . Howard . All About Jazz . All About Jazz . 2017-01-15 . 2017-05-04.
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20030904111000/http://www.walesbooks.com/wb_book4.htm The Dragon Entertains ~100 Welsh Stars~
6. Web site: Bio . carsongrant.net . 2021-06-22.
7. Web site: WalesOnline: News, sport, weather and events from across Wales. icwales.icnetwork.co.uk.
8. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/wales/stdvd2005.html "Welsh Affairs Office, Cardiff"
9. http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9311727
10. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/quincy-jones-tells-sadness-michael-2092261
11. Web site: March 31, 2013 . Ancestry site set to trigger visitor boom . March 27, 2023 . WalesOnline.
12. Web site: Kelly . Dan . Ted Levine is not a bad guy. | Miscellany . 28 February 1991 . Chicago Reader . 2017-05-04.
13. http://www.blakelewisfans.org/interview.html blakelewisfans.org
14. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/juliette_lewis/biography.php
15. Web site: Paternal great-grandparents were from Wales. https://archive.today/20120724133810/http://www.alphadragondesign.com/final_project/pages/others/harold.html. dead. 2012-07-24.
16. http://www.hiraethcelticgoods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1729
17. http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9372151/Ray-Milland
18. Web site: South East Wales - BBC News. BBC News.
19. Web site: Michelle Pfeiffer. IMDb.
20. Book: Wilken . Dennis . Cincinnati Magazine . 1984 .
21. Web site: Drama in the City | The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Blog . Bravotv.com . 2010-11-11 . 2017-05-04.
22. News: Julia Roberts Isn't a Roberts . Huffington Post . Megan . Smolenyak . 27 February 2011.
23. Web site: In Conversation with Esperanza Spalding – Jazz.com | Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News . 2008-06-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110918095912/http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2008/5/28/in-conversation-with-esperanza-spalding . 2011-09-18 .
24. Web site: On Air with Ryan Seacrest - News & More from the Live Radio Show . Ryanseacrest.com . 2017-05-04.
25. News: Betty White: White-Hot in Cleveland or Not . Huffington Post . Megan . Smolenyak . 16 June 2010.
26. Web site: Robin Williams talks about rehab and alcoholism . Monsters and Critics . 2012-11-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121012040753/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1206619.php/Robin_Williams_talks_about_rehab_and_alcoholism . 2012-10-12 .
27. Web site: The Hill Family History. genealogy.kathihill.com.
28. Book: . 1917 . First published 1916 . Years of My Youth . I . https://www.gutenberg.org/files/47060/47060-h/47060-h.htm#page_001 . Harper & Brothers . January 23, 2024 . On my father’s side my people were wholly Welsh, except his English grandmother.
29. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0830206.html
30. Web site: 22. Indignation Jones. Masters, Edgar Lee. 1916. Spoon River Anthology . Bartleby.com . 2017-05-04.
31. http://www.walesartsreview.org/the-welsh-in-america/
32. News: The American Presidents with family links to Wales. Williamson. David. October 27, 2017. walesonline.co.uk. Media Wales. Cardiff, Wales, UK. May 23, 2020.
33. Web site: 2016-04-17 . bill cassidy . 2024-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160417130552/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/cassidy.htm . 2016-04-17 .
34. Web site: The Welsh in America. 2016. nawf.wales. North America Wales Foundation. Penarth, Wales, UK. May 23, 2020. May 21, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200521015711/http://www.nawf.wales/the-welsh-in-america/4594061642. dead.
35. Book: . Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas. Illustrated. Chicago and Nashville. The Southern Publishing Company. 108–109. 1891. rc01001245. 1041626718. 23338025M. Internet Archive.
36. http://www.appaltree.net/aba/education/historical/ironworks/ironworks1.htm
37. http://www.britainusa.com/consular/articles_show_nt1.asp?i=34008&L1=34000&L2=34008&a=36368
38. Web site: AmericanHeritage.com / WHO'S GOT BUTTON'S BONES?. 2006-07-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20070311094355/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1966/2/1966_2_28.shtml. 2007-03-11. dead.
39. mentioned as one of several "Welsh Americans" at http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Welsh-Americans.html, Web site: James A. Henretta | Charles Evans Hughes and the Strange Death of Liberal America | Law and History Review, 24.1 | the History Cooperative . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120309152859/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lhr/24.1/henretta.html . 2012-03-09 . 2013-11-24. "The only child of a pious American Baptist mother and an immigrant Welsh minister"
40. http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Welsh-Americans.html
41. http://www.idahowelshsociety.org/welshamerican.htm
42. Web site: Plante. Bill. Surprising link found in Obama's family tree. July 30, 2012. cbsnews.com. May 24, 2020.
43. http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Welsh-Americans.html
44. Web site: Welsh Americans - History, Significant immigration waves, Settlement patterns, Settlement patterns. www.everyculture.com.
45. http://members.aol.com/lunetta595/drthomas/drtwelsh.htm
46. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9403594
47. Web site: Archived copy . 2005-01-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20041228102030/http://www.welshdragon.net/resources/Historical/wales_timeline2.shtml . 2004-12-28 .
48. Web site: Robin Turner . The Welsh roots of America's Wild West gunslingers revealed . Wales Online . 2016-01-20 . 2017-05-04.
49. http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Welsh-Americans.html
50. ^ "New Beauty Queen Ideal". New York Times. 1922-09-10. "The Ideal Beauty Queen"
51. Web site: GENUKI: National Library of Wales journals. https://web.archive.org/web/20081230135158/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/NLWjournals.html. dead. December 30, 2008.
52. http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts5.html
53. http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/No_Gangster_More_Bold-Murray_Humphreys,_the_Welsh_Political_Genius_Who/0340263873/
54. http://www.inn-california.com/articles/biographic/meriwetherlewis.html
55. Web site: michael phelps . Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com . 2017-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120808192320/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/olympics08/phelps.htm . 2012-08-08 . dead .
56. Book: Broadwater, Robert P . General George H. Thomas: a biography of the Union's "Rock of Chickamauga" . 5 . McFarland . 2009 . 978-0-7864-3856-3 . 27 April 2011.
57. https://web.archive.org/web/20091028071308/http://www.geocities.com/soho/1469/flw_life.html
58. http://www.wrecsam.com/yale.html