Famous Greeks without a Greek name

Do you know how many Famous Greeks without a Greek name have made a huge career in their field?

It is most likely that you have heard many times of someone being a Greek without having a typical Greek name. There are many famous Greeks, actors, singers or politicians that have changed their given Greek name or surname, therefore you cannot really tell that they come from Greece.

This is a nice opportunity to read  about some people you might not know they are Greeks ; all of them have offered something to the world, whether this was a book, a poem, a song, a world record or a political theory, they all have something to be acknowledged about.

Here is a list of Famous Greeks without a Greek Name, along with a short description of their profession or the reason they are famous!

Famous Greeks Without a Greek Name

• Aniston, Jennifer (Anastasakis) – Actress
• Aniston, John (Yannis Anastasakis) – Actor
• Azaria, Hank – Actor. Famous for voicing characters in the Simpsons series.
• Buckley, Jeff – Musician
• Bulgari family – Famous Jewelers.
• Callas, Maria (Kalogeropoulos) – Opera singer
• Carasso, Isaac – Founder of the Danone yoghurt Company (Dannon in US)
• Cassavetes, John – Actor & Director
• Chakiris, George – Actor (known for his role in West Side Story)
• Chiklis, Michael – Actor.
• Clarkson, Kelly – Musician
• Davatzes, Nick – Television Executive. Creator of A&E Network and The History Channel.
• DiScala Jamie-Lynn – Actress, musician.
• Dukakis, Michael – Politician
• Dukakis, Olympia – Actress
• El Greko (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) – Painter
• Fey, Tina – Head writer of Saturday Night Live
• Gage, Nicolas (Gatzoyiannis) – Journalist, Writer (Writer of “Eleni”)
• Galas, Diamanda – Avant-garde performance artist, vocalist, and composer.
• Galifianakis, Zach – Comedian, actor, and writer. Born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, US.
• Hajiioannou, Stelios – Entrepreneur.
• Henner, Marilu – Actress and producer. Born in Chicago, IL.
• Huffington, Arianna (Stassinopoulos) – Journalist and editor of Huffington Post
• Issigonis, Alec – Designer of the Mini car.
• Kanakarides, Melina – Actress ( CSI NY)
• Karmanos, Peter – Software magnate, Owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricane
• Kazan , Elias – Director
• Koteas, Elias – Actor.
• Lazaridis, Mike – Founder of Research In Motion (RIM), creator and manufacturer of BlackBerry.
• Lee, Tommy – Musician
• Leonsis, Ted – AOL Executive, Owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals
• Louganis, Gregory-Efthimis – Diver – Olympic Athlete
• Menounos, Maria –
• Michael, George – Singer/Songwriter (of Cypriot descend)
• Negroponte, John Dimitri – Diplomat
• Negroponte, Nicholas – Architect and computer scientist.
• Otis (Viliotis), Johnny – Musician, blues and rythm and blues.
• Papanikolaou, George – Nikolas – Physiologist (Pap test)
• Papathanassiou, Evangelos (Vangelis) – Musician & Composer
• Perkins, Elizabeth – Actress.
• Pilates Joseph – Pilates, The man behind the Pilates method
• Sampras, Pete – Tennis player
• Sarbanes, Paul – Former US Senator. Lend his name to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
• Savalas, Telly (Aristotle) – Actor
• Snyder, Jimmy – Gambler, TV Commentator
• Spheeris, Penelope – Director, producer, and screenwriter.
• Stamos, John (Stamatopoulos) – Actor
• Stephanopoulos, George – Diplomat, Former Presidential Advisor
• Suvari, Mena – Actress
• Tatopoulos, Patrick – Production designer.
• Tavoulareas, William Peter – President of Mobil Oil Corporation
• Vardalos, Nia – Actress & Writer
• Von Karajan, Herbert (Karayiannis) – Famous Conductor of Macedonian descent, born in Austria
• Wilson, Rita – Actress, producer (Wife of Tom Hanks)
• Yanni (Yannis Chrysomallis) – Composer
• Zane, Billy (Zanetakos) – Actor known from his part in the Titanic
• Zappa, Frank – Musician, Composer, Satirist