Greek-American
A Greek-American is a citizen of the United States who has significant Greek heritage. Greek-Americans have a heavy concentration in New York City (most notably in Astoria ) and Chicago . Tarpon Springs , Florida is also home to a large Greek-American community.
List of Famous Greek-Americans
Helene Alexopoulos , Ballet dancer.
Ernie Anastos , WCBS -New York co-anchorman .
Jennifer Aniston , Actress.
John Aniston , Actor.
Peter Angelos , owner of the Baltimore Orioles .
George Argyros , U.S. ambassador to Spain .
Michael Bilirakis , Congressman from Florida .
Vasili Bogazianos , actor.
Tom Carvel , founder of the Carvel Ice Cream franchise.
John Cassavetes , movie director.
Nick Cassavetes , movie director.
Bob Costas , NBC Sportscaster.
Christos Cotsakos , co-founder of E*Trade .
Nick the Greek Dandolos, gambler.
Frank Dicopoulos , Actor.
Michael Dukakis , Former Governor of Massachusetts , and Democratic Presidential Candidate.
Christopher Georges , journalist, the Wall Street Journal .
George Gekas , Congressman from Pennsylvania .
Arianna Huffington , Author and Columnist.
Iakovos , former Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America.
George Kariotis , businessman, ran against Michael Dukakis for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986.
Robert Karvelas , actor; portrayed Larrabee on Get Smart .
Melina Kanakaredes , Actress.
Elia Kazan , movie director.
Alex Karras , Actor.
Anthony Kiedis , lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers .
Alexi Lalas , soccer player.
Tommy Lee , heavy metal drummer .
Greg Louganis (Greek by adoption; ethnically Samoan and Swedish). Athlete.
Andy Manatos , Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
John Negroponte , United States Director of National Intelligence nominee.
Nicholas Negroponte , Scientist.
John Allen Paulos , Mathematician
Alexander Payne , Academy award winning movie director.
Jack Pierce , acclaimed make up artist.
John Rigas , founder of Adelphia Communications Corporation
Pete Sampras , Tennis Player.
Paul Sarbanes , U.S. Senator representing the state of Maryland .
George Savalas , actor.
Telly Savalas , actor.
John Sitilides , Executive Director of the Western Policy Center .
Olympia Snowe , Republican Senator from Maine .
Alex Spanos , Owner of the San Diego Chargers
John Stamos , Actor.
George Stephanopoulos , Political Commentator, Former White House Communications Director.
George Tenet , Former Director of the U.S. CIA .
Paul Tsongas , Former Senator from Massachusetts
TAKI 183 , Graffiti artist.
Frances Fragos Townsend , Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor.
Rita Wilson , actress.
Billy Zane , Actor.
Popular Culture
The popular 1970s show Kojak featured Telly Savalas as Greek-American police detective Theo Kojak, and his brother George as Detective Stavros. Kojak was originally supposed to be Polish (hence the name), but this was changed to match Savalas' profile.
The 2002 comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding portrayed the love story of a Greek-American woman (portrayed by Greek-Canadian Nia Vardalos ) and a non-Greek American man. It also examines the protagonist's troubled love/hate relationship with her cultural heritage and value system. The movie spawned an unsuccessful TV series, My Big Fat Greek Life .
The Famous Teddy Z was a acclaimed but short-lived TV series about a fictional talent agent named Teddy Zakalakis, portrayed by Jon Cryer .
The TV series Full House was about a family that included Greek-American Uncle Jesse , portrayed by John Stamos . Jesse's Greek dad was also recurring character.
The Greek Restaurant was a recurring sketch in the early years of Saturday Night Live . More recently, Tina Fey has often joked about her Greek heritage on the show.
Tom's Restaurant , a Greek-American owned business, has become one of the symbols of urban New York life.
Elektra Natchios is a Marvel Comics superhero, portrayed by Jennifer Garner in the 2005 movie Elektra .
