Cinema & TV

Anton Yelchin

Leningrad-born star who redefined a generation

Ben Whishaw

Q's voice actor, shaped by Russian Empire roots

David Duchovny

Actor and writer with Ukrainian Jewish roots

Gwyneth Paltrow

Oscar winner with roots in the Russian Empire

Harrison Ford

Han Solo's grandfather fled the Russian Empire

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren, royalty with Russian roots

Kirk Douglas

Hollywood titan forged from Belarusian immigrant roots

Leonardo DiCaprio

Oscar-winning actor with Russian Imperial roots

Marina Vlady

French cinema icon born of Russian émigré nobility

Mila Kunis

Hollywood star born in Soviet Chernivtsi, Ukraine

Milla Jovovich

Kyiv-born action icon who conquered Hollywood

Natalie Portman

Oscar-winning actress with Lithuanian-Jewish roots

Ornella Muti

Italian screen icon, Baltic-Russian sculptor's granddaughter

Palina Rojinski

Leningrad-born queen of German pop culture

Pamela Anderson

Baywatch icon with Mennonite roots in the Russian Empire

Peter Ustinov

Polyglot actor-playwright with Russian imperial roots

Seth Rogen

Canadian comedy star with roots in the Russian Empire

Steven Spielberg

Hollywood titan, roots in the Russian Empire

Sylvester Stallone

Rocky's roots run through Odessa

William Shatner

Captain Kirk, rooted in the Russian Empire

Winona Ryder

Hollywood icon with roots in the Russian Empire

Yul Brynner

Vladivostok-born king of Hollywood's golden age

Zedd (Anton Zaslavski)

Grammy-winning producer born in Saratov, USSR

Adolph Zukor

The Hungarian-Jewish immigrant who built Hollywood.

Agnes Bruckner

Hollywood actress born in Germany to Russian-German immigrant parents

Akim Tamiroff

Tbilisi-born scene-stealer of Hollywood's golden age

Alan Arkin

Comic genius rooted in the Russian Empire's diaspora.

Albert Brooks

Hollywood's sharpest neurotic, rooted in the Pale.

Alejandro Jodorowsky

Surrealist visionary born of empire's diaspora.

Alicia Silverstone

Gen-X icon shaped by Empire-era roots

Alla Nazimova

Yalta-born actress who reinvented Hollywood stardom

Alma Zack

Israeli singer with Polish-German Jewish roots — winner of HaKokhav HaBa

Amanda Bynes

Nickelodeon star with Russian-Jewish roots on her mother's side

Amanda Seyfried

Mamma Mia actress with partial Russian ancestry through her mother's German-Russian family

Anatole Litvak

Kyiv-born auteur who mastered Hollywood noir

Andrea Martin

SCTV comedy legend who became a two-time Tony Award winner on Broadway

Andrew Garfield

Spider-Man shaped by Empire's diaspora

Andrey Zvyagintsev

Siberian filmmaker who made Russia indict itself.

Ania Bukstein

Israeli actress with Russian immigrant roots who starred in Game of Thrones

Annet Mahendru

Moscow-born actress who made espionage bilingual

Ari Folman

Animated trauma into the Beirut massacre

Armie Hammer

Hollywood heir to an Odessa oil dynasty

Ben Stiller

Comic royalty with roots in the Pale of Settlement.

Bernard Delfont

Soviet-born theatre impresario who became Britain's greatest entertainment mogul

Billy Wilder

Galician émigré who reinvented Hollywood cynicism

Boris Grebenshchikov

The USSR's most subversive bard, hiding in plain sight.

Brandon Cronenberg

Body horror's second generation

Bronson Pinchot

Perfect Strangers star with Russian-descended father who became a beloved sitcom icon

Carl Reiner

Bronx comedian who co-created The Dick Van Dyke Show and shaped American comedy for six decades

Carrie Fisher

Princess Leia and fearless memoirist with Russian-Jewish roots through her father Eddie Fisher

Chulpan Khamatova

Russia's greatest stage actress who fled Putin's Russia to Latvia after opposing the Ukraine war

Costa Ronin

Russian-born actor who played a KGB spy in The Americans and became a Hollywood fixture

Curly Howard

The Three Stooges' most beloved Stooge, son of Lithuanian-Russian Jewish immigrants

Dan Levy

Schitt's Creek co-creator and Emmy winner, son of Eugene Levy, grandson of Russian-Bulgarian immigrants

Daniel Radcliffe

Harry Potter star whose mother carries Russian and Polish Jewish ancestry

Danila Kozlovsky

Russia's most celebrated young actor and director, famous in Russia and globally for Vampire Academy

Danny Kaye

Brooklyn comedian and UNICEF ambassador born to parents from the Russian Empire

Darren Aronofsky

Brooklyn auteur with Russian-Ukrainian Jewish roots who made Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Whale

Dasha Nekrasova

Minsk-born actress and Red Scare podcast host who became a cult voice of millennial disillusionment

Dave Franco

Hollywood actor with Russian-Jewish roots on his mother's side

Daveed Diggs

Hamilton Tony winner with Russian-Jewish roots on his mother's side

David Cronenberg

Canadian auteur with Russian-Jewish roots who invented body horror

David O. Selznick

Son of a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca

David Schwimmer

Friends star with Ukrainian-Russian Jewish roots who played Ross Geller for a decade

Dianna Agron

Glee actress with a Ukrainian-Russian Jewish family name that traces to Novgorod-Siversky

Dustin Hoffman

Hollywood titan forged from immigrant roots

Edward G. Robinson

Romanian-born Hollywood gangster icon whose family came from the Russian Empire

Emilia Schüle

Born in Blagoveshchensk, Russia, she became one of Germany's most celebrated young actresses

Erich von Stroheim

Born in Vienna with Russian Empire connections, became Hollywood's greatest director and most hated villain

Eugene Levy

SCTV comedy legend with Russian-Bulgarian Jewish roots who found global fame in Schitt's Creek

Eugenie Leontovich

Moscow-born actress who electrified Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1970s

Ezra Miller

The Flash actor with Russian-Jewish roots who became one of Hollywood's most unconventional stars

Feodor Lark

Russian-born actor who became a character actor fixture in Hollywood

Fred Zinnemann

Born in Rzeszow in the Russian Empire, directed High Noon and A Man for All Seasons

Fyvush Finkel

Yiddish theatre legend from Brooklyn with Russian-Polish roots who found new fame in Picket Fences

Gene Wilder

Willy Wonka actor whose father emigrated from Russia and who defined gentle comic genius

Genndy Tartakovsky

Moscow-born animation auteur who created Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Primal

George Sanders

St. Petersburg-born actor who played the perfect cad in All About Eve and won an Oscar doing it

Gideon Raff

Israeli showrunner with Russian roots who created Prisoners of War — the Israeli series that became Homeland

Gilda Radner

SNL's original queen of comedy with Russian-Lithuanian Jewish roots

Goldie Hawn

Oscar-winning actress whose mother had Russian-Jewish roots stretching to Hungary

Gregory Ratoff

St. Petersburg actor and director who played every European rogue in 1930s Hollywood

Hagai Levi

Israeli showrunner with Russian roots who created BeTipul — the series that became HBO's In Treatment

Harry Warner

Born in the Russian Empire, co-founded Warner Bros and brought sound to cinema

Harvey Fierstein

Torch Song Trilogy playwright with Russian-Jewish roots who reshaped LGBTQ+ visibility on Broadway

Harvey Keitel

Brooklyn's raw nerve, forged in Minsk & Iaşi

Hector Babenco

Argentine-Brazilian director with Ukrainian-Russian roots who made Kiss of the Spider Woman

Hedy Lamarr

Hollywood's most beautiful star co-invented spread spectrum technology that underpins Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Herschel Bernardi

Broadway and Hollywood actor with Ukrainian-Russian Jewish roots who voiced Charlie the Tuna

Igor Jijikine

Moscow-born actor who played the villain in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Ilya Naishuller

Moscow director who made the first-person action film Nobody and the viral Hardest Button to Button video

Inbar Lavi

Israeli actress with Polish-Moroccan Jewish roots who starred in Imposters and Prison Break

Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė

Vilnius-born actress who starred in Mission: Impossible and became a star across three cultures

Irving Thalberg

Son of Russian Jewish immigrants who became Hollywood's greatest producer before dying at 37

Ivan Mosjoukine

Penza-born silent film star who became the face of European cinema in the 1920s

Ivan Reitman

Czech-born Canadian director with Russian roots who produced Animal House and directed Ghostbusters

J.J. Abrams

Creator of Lost and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens — grandfather emigrated from Russia

Jack Black

Tenacious D rocker and comedic force whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Jack Kirby

Son of Austrian-Russian Jewish immigrants who co-created Captain America, the Fantastic Four and the Marvel Universe

Jack Warner

Born to Russian-Empire parents in Canada, became the longest-serving Warner Brother and Hollywood royalty

Jake Gyllenhaal

Hollywood star whose mother Naomi Foner has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

James Franco

Oscar-nominated actor and polymath whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Janet Suzman

South African actress with Lithuanian-Russian Jewish roots who became a Dame of British theatre

Janusz Kamiński

Polish-born cinematographer who shot Schindler's List and became Spielberg's visual eye

Jason Alexander

George Costanza on Seinfeld — his parents have Russian-Jewish roots from the Pale of Settlement

Jason Isaacs

Lucius Malfoy actor with Eastern European Jewish roots who became one of British film's finest character actors

Jason Reitman

Director of Juno and Up in the Air — son of Ivan Reitman, grandson of Czech-Russian Jewish refugees

Jason Segel

How I Met Your Mother star and Muppets writer with Russian-Jewish roots on his father's side

Jeff Goldblum

Jurassic Park icon whose grandparents came from Russia and Austria-Hungary

Jeffrey Tambor

Arrested Development and Transparent star with Hungarian-Ukrainian Jewish ancestry

Jennifer Connelly

Oscar-winning actress whose mother carries Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Jennifer Jason Leigh

The Hateful Eight actress with Austrian-Russian Jewish roots through her mother's family

Jenny Slate

SNL comedian and Obvious Child star with Russian-Jewish roots on her father's side

Joaquin Phoenix

Oscar-winning actor whose mother Arlyn Dunetz has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

John Garfield

The Bronx's great Russian-Jewish actor who invented the working-class screen hero and was destroyed by McCarthy

Jonah Hill

Superbad star and Oscar-nominated actor whose family traces to Russia and Austria

Joseph Cedar

New York-born Israeli director with Russian roots who received two Oscar nominations for Beaufort and Footnote

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Inception and 500 Days of Summer star whose grandparents came from Russia and Romania

Joseph Schenck

Born in Rybinsk — became one of Hollywood's founding fathers and co-founded 20th Century Fox

Judy Garland

Born Frances Gumm — her parents came from Russia and Poland, she became Hollywood's most beloved star

Juliana Margulies

ER and The Good Wife Emmy winner with Galician-Russian Jewish roots

Kat Dennings

2 Broke Girls star with Russian-Jewish immigrant grandparents

Kate Hudson

Almost Famous Oscar nominee whose grandmother Laura Steinhoff has Hungarian-Russian Jewish roots

Kevin Kline

Oscar-winning actor whose father had Russian-Jewish roots and whose comedy is pure immigrant wit

Kirill Serebrennikov

Rostov-born theatre and film director placed under house arrest by Putin — now in exile in Paris

Konstantin Khabensky

Leningrad-born actor who starred in Night Watch and became the face of modern Russian cinema internationally

Ksenia Solo

Riga-born Canadian actress who starred in Lost Girl and Black Swan

Kyra Sedgwick

Emmy-winning The Closer star whose mother has Russian and German-Jewish roots

Lana Wood

Natalie Wood's sister — born to Russian immigrant parents, played a Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever

Larry Fine

The Three Stooges' middle Stooge — son of Russian-Jewish immigrants from Philadelphia

Larry King

Brooklyn broadcaster with Belarusian-Austrian Jewish roots who interviewed every world leader for 25 years

Lauren Bacall

The sultry voice and the Look — Hollywood icon whose parents came from Romania and Belarus

Lee J. Cobb

The original Willy Loman — Russian-Romanian Jewish actor who defined American theatrical realism

Lee Philips

American actor and director with Russian Empire Jewish roots

Lee Strasberg

Born in Ukrainian Galicia, invented Method Acting and taught Brando, Dean, Pacino, and De Niro

Leonard Nimoy

The son of Iziaslav who became Spock

Lev Gorn

Stavropol-born actor who became a fixture of American film and television

Lewis Milestone

Born in Chisinau (Moldova), directed All Quiet on the Western Front — the greatest anti-war film ever made

Liev Schreiber

Ray Donovan star whose mother has Ukrainian-Polish Jewish roots — one of Hollywood's finest actors

Lily Collins

Emily in Paris star whose maternal grandfather was Russian-Jewish — Phil Collins's daughter

Lior Raz

Creator and star of Fauda — the Israeli Netflix thriller that became a global phenomenon

Lisa Bonet

Cosby Show breakout star whose mother has Russian-Jewish ancestry

Lisa Edelstein

House MD's Dr. Cuddy — her Russian-Jewish grandparents shaped a family of achievers

Lisa Kudrow

Phoebe Buffay on Friends — her grandmother came from Ilya, Belarus (Russian Empire)

Liza Minnelli

EGOT winner and Cabaret icon whose grandmother came from Russia and Poland

Logan Lerman

Percy Jackson star whose family traces Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Lorne Michaels

Toronto-born creator of Saturday Night Live — his parents came from Russia

Louis B. Mayer

Born in Minsk, built MGM into the most powerful studio in Hollywood history

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Secretary actress and The Deuce star whose mother Naomi Foner has Russian-Jewish roots

Mandy Moore

This Is Us star and pop singer whose maternal grandfather has Russian-Jewish roots

Mandy Patinkin

Inigo Montoya and Saul Berenson — his grandparents came from Lithuania and Russia

Maria Ouspenskaya

Born in Tula, brought Stanislavski's Method to America and trained the golden age of Hollywood actors

Marina Maximilian

Dnipro-born Israeli pop star who brought Russian musical soul into Hebrew music

Mark Ivanir

Chernivtsi-born actor who appeared in Schindler's List and The Terminal

Marty Feldman

The goggle-eyed comic genius of Young Frankenstein — his parents came from Kyiv

Matthew Broderick

Ferris Bueller actor whose mother has Russian-Jewish roots

Matthew Weiner

Mad Men creator with Russian-Jewish roots who gave American TV its greatest portrait of the 1960s

Maya Rudolph

SNL star whose father Richard Rudolph has Lithuanian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Mayim Bialik

Big Bang Theory and Blossom actress with Ukrainian-Polish Jewish roots who also has a PhD in neuroscience

Melvyn Douglas

Son of a Riga-born concert pianist — twice Academy Award-winning Hollywood legend

Michael Chekhov

Anton Chekhov's nephew — born in St. Petersburg, trained Hollywood's greatest actors in his Method

Michael Douglas

Hollywood royalty, rooted in the Russian Empire

Michael Dudikoff

American Ninja star whose father emigrated from Russia — an unexpected action hero of the 1980s

Michel Hazanavicius

French director with Lithuanian-Russian Jewish roots who won 5 Oscars for The Artist

Mike Nichols

Born in Berlin, father from Siberia — the only person to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony AND the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Mike Todd

Born to Ukrainian-Polish Jewish immigrants — the showman who made Around the World in 80 Days and married Elizabeth Taylor

Mila Jovovich

Born in Kyiv, raised between Moscow and Los Angeles — became The Fifth Element and Resident Evil icon

Mischa Auer

Born in St. Petersburg, became Hollywood's greatest comic supporting actor of the 1930s

Moe Howard

The boss Stooge — born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents, the driving force behind The Three Stooges

Molly Picon

The Queen of Second Avenue — her parents came from Kyiv, she became the greatest Yiddish theatre star in history

Natalia Oreiro

Uruguay's biggest pop star — not Russian-born, but an honorary Russian cultural phenomenon

Natalie Wood

Born to Russian immigrants from Barnaul — became one of Hollywood's greatest stars

Nehemiah Persoff

Jerusalem-born character actor with Russian-Jewish parents who became a Hollywood legend

Nicholas Schenck

Born in Rybinsk alongside his brother Joseph — became president of MGM's parent company Loew's Inc.

Noah Wyle

ER's Dr. Carter — his father Stephen Wyle has Russian-Jewish roots from the Russian Empire

Oleg Taktarov

Born in secret Soviet nuclear city Sarov — became UFC champion and Hollywood actor

Oleg Vidov

Soviet heartthrob who defected from the USSR — became a Hollywood actor and freedom symbol

Olga Fonda

Born in Ukhta, Komi Republic — Russian actress who built a Hollywood career in action and thriller films

Olga Kurylenko

Born in Berdyansk, Ukraine — became a Bond girl, starred in Oblivion and relocated to France

Otto Preminger

Born in Chernivtsi — the Hollywood director who fought censorship and made Anatomy of a Murder

Patricia Arquette

Oscar and Emmy winner whose mother Brenda has Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Paul Muni

Born in Lviv, became one of Hollywood's greatest actors and the conscience of 1930s cinema

Paul Reiser

Mad About You star whose family came from Russia and Romania — a quintessential New York Jewish comedian

Paul Rudd

Ant-Man and Clueless star whose parents came from Russia and Belarus — the most likeable man in Hollywood

Peter Falk

Columbo — his parents came from Russia and Poland, he became the most beloved detective on television

Rade Šerbedžija

Croatian actor who plays the definitive Hollywood Russian — Eyes Wide Shut, Batman Begins, 24

Raj Kapoor

India's greatest showman — the Bollywood legend who was more famous in the Soviet Union than in Hollywood

Rashida Jones

Parks and Recreation star whose great-grandfather came from Latvia (Russian Empire)

Regina Todorenko

Odessa-born presenter who became one of Russia's most popular TV hosts — now in exile

Renata Litvinova

Moscow's most theatrical actress and screenwriter — an unforgettable presence in Russian cinema

René Auberjonois

Odo from Star Trek DS9 — his grandfather was a celebrated Russian-born painter

Rick Moranis

Ghostbusters' Louis Tully — his grandparents came from Russia and Ukraine

River Phoenix

Stand By Me actor whose maternal family had Russian-Jewish roots — died at 23 leaving an extraordinary legacy

Rob Reiner

Son of Carl Reiner — directed When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride, carries Russian-Jewish heritage

Robert Downey Jr

Iron Man forged from Empire-era roots

Robert Hossein

French actor and director whose father came from Samarkand — starred in Angélique and directed stadium spectacles

Roger Vadim

His father fled Kyiv — the director who launched Brigitte Bardot and married Jane Fonda

Rosanna Arquette

Desperately Seeking Susan star — shares Polish-Russian Jewish roots with sisters Patricia and David

Rouben Mamoulian

Born in Tiflis — the Armenian-Georgian director who invented the moving camera and directed the first Technicolor film

Sacha Baron Cohen

Borat's roots run deeper than Kazakhstan

Sam Raimi

Evil Dead creator and Spider-Man director — his family came from Russia and Hungary

Samuel Goldwyn

Born Schmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw — co-founded Hollywood itself and produced its golden age

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sex and the City icon — her father Stephen Bar-Kahn carries Russian-Jewish heritage

Sasha Demidov

Tashkent-born Israeli entrepreneur and investor in deep technology

Sasha Luss

Born in Magadan — the Russian Far East model who starred in Anna and became an international face

Saul Rubinek

Canadian actor born in a German DP camp to Polish-Russian Jewish survivors — Unforgiven, Warehouse 13

Savely Kramarov

Moscow's most beloved comic actor who defected to Hollywood and starred alongside Clint Eastwood

Scarlett Johansson

Hollywood titan with Russian Empire roots

Sean Penn

Two-time Oscar winner whose grandfather came from Merkinė, Lithuania (Russian Empire) — one of Hollywood's greatest actors

Sergei Diaghilev

Born near Novgorod — founded the Ballets Russes and changed art, music, dance and fashion forever

Shemp Howard

The original third Stooge — his Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents also raised Moe and Curly

Sidney Lumet

Son of Warsaw-born actor Baruch Lumet — directed 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network

Sol Hurok

Born in Pogar, Russia — became America's greatest impresario and brought Russian culture to the world

Sophie Winkleman

British actress with Russian-Jewish grandmother who married into the British royal family

Stan Lee

The immigrant's son who built Marvel's universe

Stella Adler

Born in New York to Odessa-born Yiddish theatre king Jacob Adler — taught Brando, De Niro and Beatty

Steven Seagal

Action star with claimed Russian Cossack ancestry who became a Russian citizen and Putin ally

Svetlana Khodchenkova

Moscow-born actress who played Viper in The Wolverine and became Russia's most internationally recognised star

Taika Waititi

Thor: Ragnarok director whose father has Russian-Jewish ancestry — Oscar winner and New Zealand's greatest filmmaker

Taylor Momsen

Gossip Girl actress turned rock frontwoman — her maternal grandmother has Russian Jewish roots

Theodore Bikel

Born in Vienna to Ukrainian Jewish parents — the original Tevye on Broadway and one of folk music's great voices

Timothée Chalamet

Hollywood's poet-prince with Russian roots

Timur Bekmambetov

Born in Kazakhstan, directed Night Watch — the biggest Russian blockbuster ever — then conquered Hollywood

Tomar Kapon

Israeli actor with Russian-Iraqi Jewish roots who starred in When Heroes Fly

Tony Curtis

Born to Hungarian-Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire — starred in Some Like It Hot and became Hollywood royalty

Topol (Chaim Topol)

Israeli actor who played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof on film — his family came from Russia and Poland

Téa Leoni

Madam Secretary actress whose mother has Polish-Russian Jewish roots

Val Kilmer

Top Gun's Iceman and Batman — his paternal grandmother had Russian-Swedish roots

Val Lewton

Born in Yalta — the producer who invented psychological horror and made RKO's greatest films

Vic Morrow

Combat! star whose parents came from the Russian Empire — the quintessential TV tough guy

Victor Garber

Canadian actor with Russian-Jewish roots who starred in Titanic, Alias, and won multiple Tony Awards

Vladimir Mashkov

Wallace Shawn

The Princess Bride's Vizzini — his Russian-Jewish grandfather shaped a playwright who became Hollywood's most quotable villain

Walter Koenig

Chekov on Star Trek — his parents came from Lithuania and the Russian Empire

Walter Matthau

Born to Lithuanian-Russian Jewish parents on the Lower East Side — Oscar winner and the grumpiest genius in Hollywood

Warner Brothers

Born in Krasnosielc, Poland (Russian Empire) — the four brothers who built Hollywood's most socially conscious studio

William Fox

William Friedkin

His grandfather came from Russia — the director of The Exorcist and The French Connection

Woody Allen

Brooklyn neurosis rooted in Pale of Settlement grit

Yael Grobglas

Yevgeni Aryeh

Yuliya Snigir

Yuri Shevchuk

Born in Magadan — frontman of DDT, Russia's most politically fearless rock band

Zac Efron

High School Musical star whose grandfather has Russian and Polish Jewish roots

Zero Mostel

His parents came from Brody, Galicia — the original Tevye AND the original Max Bialystock

Zoë Kravitz

Hollywood heir with roots in the Russian Empire

Daniel Donskoy

Moscow-born actor who became a major German TV star and a passionate advocate for Ukraine

Maximilian Mundt

Lead of Netflix's How to Sell Drugs Online Fast — Germany's biggest streaming star with Russian paternal roots

Katharina Thalbach

Berlin theatrical legend with Russian theatrical roots — the most beloved actress on the German-speaking stage

Mark Waschke

Star of Dark (Netflix) — Germany's most internationally recognised dramatic actor with Russian family roots

Kostja Ullmann

Russian-born German actor known for Sommersturm and major German romantic comedies