List of Slovak Americans

This is a list of notable Slovak 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 Slovak American or must have references showing they are Slovak American and are notable. Some of this list might have Slovak immigrant ancestors of German, Hungarian, or Romani descent.

List

Arts, culture, and entertainment

Jon Bon Jovi – rock musician, singer-songwriter and actor (paternal grandmother of Slovak descent)
David Boreanaz – actor (mother was half Slovak descent)
Jim Caviezel – film actor (paternal grandmother of Slovak descent)^[1]
Scarlett Chorvat – film and television actress
Alexandra Daddario – actress
Matthew Daddario – actor
Laco Déczi (Ladislav Déči) – Slovak-American jazz trumpeter and composer, leader of Jazz Celula New York
Steve Ditko – comic book artist and writer, co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange
David Dobrik – YouTuber
Jackie Evancho – singer
Moritz Fuerst – artist employed with United States Mint in the 19th century
Dave Grohl – rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and film director, of part Slovak descent
James Haven – actor and producer
Steve Ihnat – actor, director
Justin Jedlica – "human Ken doll"
Angelina Jolie – actress, former fashion model and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency; daughter of Jon Voight (paternal grandfather of Slovak descent)
Bianca Kajlich – actress, her father, Dr. Aurel Jan "Relo" Kajlich, was a Slovak immigrant
Candace Kroslak – actress
Austin Mahone – singer-songwriter
Victor S. Mamatey – professor of history, active in Slovak immigrant organizations in the United States
Luba Mason – singer-songwriter, actress, dancer
Pola Negri – actress, her father, Juraj Chalupec, was a Slovak immigrant
Paul Newman – actor and film director (his mother was Slovak)^[2]^[3]
John Ondrasik – musician, performing as "Five for Fighting"
Benjamin Orr, musician (Rusyn mother from present day Kojšov, Slovakia and Ukrainian father)^[4]
Emil Sitka – actor, parents were Slovak immigrants
Robert Urich – actor
Katarina Van Derham – model, actress, and publisher
Jon Voight – actor (paternal grandfather was a Slovak immigrant from Košice; paternal grandmother was also of Slovak descent)
Kiernan Shipka
Dove Cameron
Melanie Gaydos (of partial Slovak descent)
Andy Warhol – (Andrew Warhola) pop-art painter, both parents were Rusins from Slovak part of Czechoslovakia

Business

John Dopyera – inventor, entrepreneur
John D. Hertz – businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist, one of the earliest owners of The Hertz Corporation (born in small village in central Slovakia)
iJustine – blogger
Travis Kalanick – founder of Uber (paternal grandfather was a Slovak immigrant from Valaškovce)^[5]
Frank Lowy – owner and manager of Westfield-branded shopping centers
Anna Olson – restaurant owner

Law and politics

Michael Badnarik – software engineer, political figure, and radio talk show host
Mark Critz – U.S. Congressman
William T. Dzurilla – international attorney and law clerk to Justice Byron White of the United States Supreme Court
Carolyn Forché – professor, poet, editor, and human rights advocate
John Mica – Republican former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida
Joseph M. Gaydos – Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Peter P. Jurchak – legal counsel for the United Mine Workers
John Katko – U.S. Representative from New York
Vincent Obsitnik – diplomat born in Slovakia, former Ambassador of the United States of America to Slovakia
Tom Ridge – Republican, 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania and 1st Secretary of United States Department of Homeland Security
John Roberts – Chief Justice of the United States
Philip Ruppe – U.S. Representative
Claudine Schneider – U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
Joe Sestak – U.S. Representative, Democrat, Pennsylvania 7th District; retired US Naval vice-admiral; democratic presidential candidate in 2020 election
John Slezak – U.S. Under Secretary of the Army from 1954 to 1955
Judy Baar Topinka – Republican politician in Illinois
Jesse Ventura – 38th Governor of Minnesota, wrestler, television personality
Pete Visclosky – U.S. Representative for Indiana's 1st congressional district

Military

Štefan Banič – constructor of a parachute-like device which he donated to the US Army, but was not used
Joseph E. Durik – Seaman Apprentice of United States Naval Reserve
Matej Kocak – Sergeant of the United States Marine Corps; double Medal of Honor recipient in World War I
Richard Marcinko – U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of SEAL Team 6
Michael Strank – Sergeant of the United States Marine Corps, one of the six flag-raisers who helped raise the second U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945

Religion

Joseph Victor Adamec – bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown
David A. Bednar – member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
Teresa Demjanovich – Roman Catholic nun
John Hardon – priest, author, theologian, community leader
Michael Novak – American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat
Jaroslav Pelikan – scholar of the history of Christianity, Christian theology and medieval intellectual history
David Allen Zubik – twelfth and current bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Science and medicine

Gene Cernan – NASA astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot
John Dopyera – inventor of the resonator acoustic guitar
Mike Fincke – NASA astronaut, International Space Station commander
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek – Nobel Prize winner for discovery of viruses with prolonged incubation periods
Ivan Alexander Getting – electrical engineer, inventor of GPS
Lars Krutak – anthropologist, writer, photographer, and curator
Jozef Murgaš – inventor, architect, botanist, painter, US patriot, and Roman Catholic priest
Douglas D. Osheroff – physicist
Ján Vilček – biomedical scientist, educator, inventor and philanthropist; currently a professor in the Department of Microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine and President of the Vilcek Foundation

Sports

Joe Baksi – former professional boxer, heavyweight
John Grimek – bodybuilder, never defeated in his entire professional career, the son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek, peasants from the village Ústie nad Oravou in northern Slovakia
Chuck Bednarik – former professional American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL
George Blanda – former quarterback and kicker for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers
Jeff Bzdelik – basketball coach; currently an assistant with the Houston Rockets, former assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies, and former head coach of the Denver Nuggets, U.S. Air Force Academy, University of Colorado, and Wake Forest University
Robbie Ftorek – former professional ice hockey player
Bill Hartack – jockey
Al Hostak – former professional boxer, middleweight
Scott Kazmir – MLB player
Matthew Knies – ice hockey player
Andy Kosco – former baseball player
Jack Kralick – former pitcher for Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians
Leslie Krichko – Olympic skier
Johnny Kucab – pitcher for Philadelphia Athletics in 1940s and 1950s
Kyle Kuric – professional basketball player in Spain, currently with Gran Canaria
John Kundla – professional NBA coach, member of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. (His father Ján was Slovak immigrant)
Joseph Lapchick – former basketball player and coach
Pete Latzo – boxer
Bethanie Mattek-Sands – professional tennis player
Stan Mikita – former professional ice hockey player
Andy Pafko – baseball center fielder for the Chicago Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52) and Milwaukee Braves (1953–59)
Kelly Pavlik – undefeated WBO/World Boxing Council middleweight boxing champion^[6]
Mike Piazza – professional baseball player
Nicole Rajičová – figure skater
George Shuba – former outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers^[7]
Brian Sikorski – baseball relief pitcher
Paul Stastny – professional ice hockey player
Peter Šťastný – former professional ice hockey player
Yan Stastny – professional ice hockey player
Dean Talafous – former professional ice hockey player
Scott Touzinsky – volleyball player
Elmer Valo – right fielder, coach and scout in Major League Baseball
Jason Varitek – former captain and catcher for Boston Red Sox (1997–2011)

References

^ USA WEEKEND Magazine^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Newsletter – Fall 2002 Archived July 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Reader feedback: Don't forget Czechoslovak films". The Slovak Spectator. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
^ Milliken, Joe (2019). Let's Go! Benjamin Orr and the Cars. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-5381-4318-6.
^ "Zakladatel Uberu ma Sloveske korene" (in Slovak). dennikn.sk. March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^ Scalzo, Joe (September 30, 2007). "Pavlik credits Valley support for victory". The Vindicator. p. 1.
^ "Having a hand in baseball history". Chicago Tribune. April 17, 2006.