Americans who were not born in America
by coralpanther | created - 02 Jul 2011 | updated - 22 Dec 2011 | PublicAlthough these celebs were not born in the USA, they were raised their whole life in the USA and are very much American. :)
1. Lily Collins
Actress | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Lily Jane Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England. Her father is English musician Phil Collins, while her mother, Jill Tavelman, who is from Los Angeles, California, was president of the Beverly Hills Women's Club for three terms. Lily moved with her mother to LA at the age of five, after ...
Born in UK, raised in California.
2. Natalie Portman
Actress | Black Swan
Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an ...
Born in Israel, raised in New York.
3. Elizabeth Taylor
Actress | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was considered one of the last, if not the last, major star to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system. She was known internationally for her beauty, especially for her violet eyes, with which she captured audiences early in her youth and kept the world hooked ...
Born in UK, raised in California.
4. Wentworth Miller
Actor | Prison Break
Wentworth Miller is a compelling and critically acclaimed actor whose credits span both television and feature film.
Wentworth Earl Miller III was born June 2, 1972 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, to American parents, Joy Marie (Palm), a special education teacher, and Wentworth Earl Miller...
Born in UK, raised in New York.
5. Sasha Pieterse
Actress | Pretty Little Liars
Sasha Pieterse was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She immigrated over to the United States with her professional dancer parents in 2000. She started acting at the age of four in modeling and commercials and moved to theatrical work starring as "Buffy" in her first TV show, Family Affair (2002)...
Born in South Africa, raised in Nevada.
6. Amy Adams
Actress | Arrival
Amy Lou Adams was born in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy, to American parents, Kathryn (Hicken) and Richard Kent Adams, a U.S. serviceman who was stationed at Caserma Ederle in Italy at the time. She was raised in a Mormon family of seven children in Castle Rock, Colorado, and has English, as well as ...
Born in Italy, raised in Colorado.
7. Mischa Barton
Actress | The O.C.
Mischa Barton is a versatile actress with a passion for storytelling and an impressive career spanning over two decades. Working with such acclaimed directors and writers as M. Night Shyamalan, James Lapine and Naomi Wallace, she is known for her magnetic on-screen presence and natural acting ...
Born in UK, raised in New York.
8. Jeri Ryan
Actress | Star Trek: Voyager
Jeri Ryan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmerman on February 22, 1968 in Munich, West Germany, to Gerhard Florian Zimmerman, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker. She and her older brother Mark grew up on several military bases, including Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii,...
Born in Germany, raised in Kentucky.
9. Bruce Willis
Actor | Die Hard
Actor and musician Bruce Willis is well known for playing wisecracking or hard-edged characters, often in spectacular action films. Collectively, he has appeared in films that have grossed in excess of $2.5 billion USD.
Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany,...
Born in Germany, raised in New Jersey.
10. Tamera Mowry-Housley
Actress | Sister, Sister
Tamera Darvette Mowry was born on July 6, 1978, two minutes before her twin sister, Tia Mowry, in Gelnhausen, Hesse, Germany, to Darlene Mowry and Tim Mowry, who was serving in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police ...
Born in Germany, raised in California.
11. Tia Mowry
Actress | Sister, Sister
Tia Mowry was born on July 6, 1978 in Gelnhausen, Hesse, Germany. She is an actress and producer, known for Sister, Sister (1994), The Hot Chick (2002) and The Game (2006). She was previously married to Cory Hardrict.
Born in Germany, raised in California.
12. Anton Yelchin
Actor | Star Trek
Anton Yelchin was an American actor, known for playing Bobby in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Chekov in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night (2011) remake, and Jacob in Like Crazy (2011).
He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, USSR, to a Jewish family. His ...
Born in Russia, raised in California.
13. Noah Mills
Actor | Sex and the City 2
Noah Mills is an actor born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He then moved to the United States where he was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Noah started his career has a model while transitioning into acting. In 2017 he starred on the NBC Drama 'The Brave' as 'Joseph 'McG' McGuire' and can next been ...
Born in Canada, raised in Maryland.
14. Steve-O
Writer | Jackass Forever
Steve graduated from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1997. He says the program was more like boot camp than college. Out of 2000 applicants, only 33 were accepted and Steve-O was one of them. However, after graduation, 10 were selected for the circus and this didn't include ...
Born in UK, raised in New Mexico and Florida.
15. Joaquin Phoenix
Actor | Walk the Line
Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Arlyn (Dunetz) and John Bottom, and is the middle child in a brood of five. His parents, from the continental United States, were then serving as Children of God missionaries. His mother is from a Jewish family from New ...
Born in Puerto Rico, raised in California.
16. Joel McHale
Actor | Community
Joel Edward McHale was born in Rome, Italy, to a Canadian-born mother, Laurie (Jackson), and an American-born father, Jack McHale. His father, from Chicago, is of Irish descent, and his mother, from Vancouver, has Norwegian, Finnish, and English ancestry. Joel was raised in Seattle, Washington, and...
Born in Italy, raised in Washington.
17. Catherine Bell
Actress | Bruce Almighty
Catherine was born in London, but she moved to California with her Iranian mother at the age of two. Her mother still acts as her personal assistant. As a girl, she acted in various TV advertisements. She went to UCLA to study biology/ pre-medicine, but she dropped out to become a model in Japan. ...
Born in UK, raised in California.
18. Giuliana Rancic
Actress | 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Giuliana DePandi was born in Naples, Italy in 1975. Her family moved to the United States, namely Washington D.C., during her childhood. Fluent only in Italian, Giuliana prides herself on the fact that she taught herself English by watching day-time soaps and other television shows.
After graduating...
Born in Italy, raised in Washington DC.
19. Michael Vartan
Actor | Alias
Michael Vartan came to international acclaim with his starring role as 'Agent Michael Vaughn' on the worldwide hit ABC series, "Alias," which ran for five seasons. With upcoming film and television roles, he continues to explore the different facets of his talent and versatility.
Vartan currently ...
Born in France, raised in California.
20. Allison Miller
Actress | A Million Little Things
Allison Miller was born in Rome, Italy, to American parents, Margo and John Winn Miller. She grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, where her father worked as a journalist.
The family eventually settled in Tallahassee, Florida, where she studied dance, piano, acting and singing while still at high school ...
Born in Italy, raised in Florida.
21. Daniel Tosh
Actor | The Love Guru
Daniel Tosh was born on May 29, 1975 in Germany. He is a producer and writer, known for The Love Guru (2008), Daniel Tosh: Happy Thoughts (2011) and Tosh.0 (2009). He has been married to Carly Hallam since April 15, 2016.
Born in Germany, raised in Florida.
22. Giada De Laurentiis
Producer | Giada at Home
Giada De Laurentiis was born on August 22, 1970 in Rome, Italy. She is a producer and actress, known for Giada at Home 2.0 (2008), Giada Entertains (2016) and Young & Hungry (2014). She was previously married to Todd Thompson.
Born in Italy, raised in California.
23. Ian Harding
Actor | Pretty Little Liars
Ian Harding was born on September 16, 1986 in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He is an actor and producer, known for Pretty Little Liars (2010), Ford v Ferrari (2019) and Love & Other Drugs (2010). He has been married to Sophie Hart since October 2019.
Born in Germany, raised in Virginia.
24. Elisabeth Röhm
Actress | American Hustle
Elisabeth Rohm will next be seen in the Roger Ailes biopic FAIR AND BALANCED for Lionsgate and director Jay Roach, portraying Fox News host Martha MacCallum, as well as Ted Melfi's THE STARLING opposite Melissa McCarthy.
Elisabeth recently wrapped production on the Lifetime feature FAMILY PICTURES ...
Born in Germany, raised in New York and Tennessee.
25. Mila Kunis
Actress | Black Swan
Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis is a Ukrainian-American actress born to a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.
Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher, her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer, and she has an older brother named Michael. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991. ...
Born in Ukraine, raised in California.
26. Daniel Dae Kim
Actor | Insurgent
Daniel Dae Kim has made a career of creating multifaceted and stereotype-breaking roles as an actor, director and now, producer. Prior to his seven-season portrayal of Chin Ho Kelly on "Hawaii Five-0," Kim was best known for his role as Jin Soo Kwon on the hit TV series "Lost," for which he shared ...
Born in South Korea, raised in Pennsylvania.
27. Samaire Armstrong
Actress | It's a Boy Girl Thing
Samaire Rhys Armstrong is an American actress and fashion designer. She is known for her roles in Stay Alive, The O.C., It's a Boy Girl Thing, and as Juliet Darling in the ABC television series, Dirty Sexy Money. She has appeared on television as Elaine Richards in the ABC fantasy-drama ...
Born in Japan, raised in Arizona.
28. Milla Jovovich
Actress | Le Cinquième Élément
Milla Jovovich is a Ukrainian-American actress, supermodel, fashion designer, singer and public figure, who was on the cover of more than a hundred magazines, and starred in such films as The Fifth Element (1997), Ultraviolet (2006), and the Resident Evil (2002) franchise.
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich...
Born in Ukraine, raised in California.
29. Alexa Davalos
Actress | The Chronicles of Riddick
Alexa most recently starred as "Special Agent Gaines" on FBI: MOST WANTED on CBS, alongside Dylan McDermott. She also starred in Amazon's Emmy-award winning drama series, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. Her other television work includes Marvel's THE PUNISHER and Frank Darabont's MOB CITY.
Alexa's film ...
Born in France, raised in New York.
30. Cole Sprouse
Actor | Riverdale
Cole Mitchell Sprouse was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy to American parents, Melanie (Wright) and Matthew Sprouse, and was raised with his older identical twin Dylan Sprouse in Long Beach, in their parents' native California. Cole began his acting career alongside Dylan at the tender age of six ...
Born in Italy, raised in California.
31. Dylan Sprouse
Actor | Beautiful Disaster
Sprouse was born August 4, 1992, in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, to American parents, Melanie (Wright) and Matthew Sprouse. Dylan and his younger identical twin Cole Sprouse were raised in their parents' Long Beach, California. He has acted from the age of six months, initially with Cole, and continues ...
Born in Italy, raised in California.
32. Jerry Springer
Actor | Domino
Jerry Springer was born on February 13, 1944 in Highgate, London, England, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for Domino (2005), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Ringmaster (1998). He was married to Margaret 'Micki' JoAnn Velten. He died on April 27, 2023 in Evanston, Illinois,...
Born in UK, raised in New York.
33. Martin Lawrence
Actor | Martin
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an African-American comedian, producer, writer, director and actor. He is known for his roles in the Bad Boys trilogy, Martin, Def Comedy Jam, Big Momma's House, Open Season, House Party, Boomerang, Wild Hogs, What's Happening Now!!, Nothing to Lose, Life and Blue ...
Born in Germany, raised in Maryland.
34. Jenn Proske
Actress | Vampires Suck
In late 2009, after graduating from Boston University, Jenn moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming an actor. Only four months later, she landed her first role, the starring role in Vampires Suck (2010), a big-budget FOX & New Regency movie. She led the film to gross nearly $100 ...
Born in Canada, raised in California.
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