List of Danish Americans
This is a list of notable Danish Americans , including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American-born descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Danish American or must have references showing they are Danish American and are notable.
List
Actors
Jessica Alba
Scarlett Johansson
Viggo Mortensen
Jessica Alba , actress, mother is of part Danish descent
Bridgette Andersen , actress[ 1]
Robert Anderson , actor, make-up artist and director
Gwili Andre , actress, immigrant from Denmark
Earl W. Bascom , actor, maternal grandfather was from Denmark
Rowan Blanchard , American actress[ 2]
Alexis Bledel , actress, paternal grandfather of Danish descent[ 3]
Michael Bowen , actor, son of actress Sonia Sorel (née Henius), who is the daughter of Danish-American biochemist Max Henius
Keith Carradine , actor, Danish maternal great-grandfather Max Henius , Danish maternal great-grandmother the sister of historian Johan Ludvig Heiberg
Robert Carradine , actor, brother of actor Keith Carradine
Erika Christensen , actress, father is of part Danish descent[ 4]
Hayden Christensen , actor, father is part Danish
Tove Christensen , producer and actor, father is part Danish
Ellen Corby , actress, maiden name was Hansen[ 5]
Jamie Lee Curtis , actress, maternal grandmother was born to Danish immigrants
Kelly Curtis , actress, sister of actress Jamie Lee Curtis
Karl Dane , comedian and actor
Eliza Dushku , actress, mother is of mostly Danish descent[ 6]
Buddy Ebsen , actor, father was of Danish ancestry[ 7]
Ann Forrest , actress, immigrant from Denmark
Lilie Hayward , actress and screenwriter, sister of Danish American actress Seena Owen
Florence Henderson , actress, daughter of Danish American mother
Jean Hersholt , actor, immigrant from Denmark
Maren Jensen , actress and model, father was of Danish ancestry
Scarlett Johansson , actress, father is an immigrant from Denmark[ 8]
Ashley Johnson , actress and voice actress
Janet Leigh , actress, mother (Helen Westergaard), was born to Danish immigrants
Deanna Lund , actress
Michael Madsen , actor, father was of Danish ancestry[ 9]
Virginia Madsen , actress, father was of Danish ancestry[ 10]
John Melendez , entertainer[ 11]
Kristine Miller , actress
Viggo Mortensen , actor, father is from Denmark[ 12]
Brigitte Nielsen , Danish-born actress
Leslie Nielsen , Danish father
Connie Nielsen , actress
Nica Noelle , pornographic film actress/director (father)[ 13]
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen , fashion designers and former actresses (father is of partial Danish and partial Norwegian descent)
Merlin Olsen , actor
Susan Olsen , actress
William Orlamond , actor, immigrant from Denmark
Heather O'Rourke (1975–1988), child actress, mother is of Danish descent
Seena Owen , actress, parents were immigrants from Denmark
William Petersen , actor, paternal grandfather was of Danish ancestry[ 14]
Anders Randolf , actor, immigrant from Denmark
AnnaSophia Robb , actress, one or two of her great-grandmothers were Danes
Bodil Rosing (1877–1941), Danish-born actress who had roles in both silent and talkie Hollywood films
Peter Sarsgaard , actor, paternal great-great-grandparents were born in Denmark
Gale Sondergaard , actress[ 15]
Amandla Stenberg , actress, Danish father [ 16]
Sven-Ole Thorsen , actor and stuntman, immigrant from Denmark
Uma Thurman , actress, mother is of partial Danish descent
Vanessa Trump , actress and former model, mother of Danish origin
Betty White , actress, Danish paternal grandfather
Elijah Wood , American actor, maternal great-grandmother was of Danish ancestry[ 17]
Moon Zappa , actress, mother is of partial Danish ancestry
Architects
Artists
Earl W. Bascom , painter and sculptor of the American and Canadian West, "Cowboy of Cowboy Artists", "Dean of Canadian Cowboy Artists"
Gutzon Borglum , sculptor of Mount Rushmore[ 18]
Solon Borglum , sculptor of the American West[ 19]
C. C. A. Christensen , painter
Floyd Gottfredson , cartoonist, creator of The Phantom Blob and Eega Beeva in the Mickey Mouse universe
Christian Gullager , painter
Antonio Jacobsen , maritime painter
George Jensen , painter
Eric Larson , animator
Ib Penick , paper engineer
Ferdinand Richardt , landscape painter
Olaf Wieghorst , painter, "Dean of Western Art"[ 20]
Athletics
Chris "Birdman" Andersen , NBA player, father was a Danish immigrant
Morten Andersen , NFL kicker
Thomas William Asmussen , Major League Baseball catcher
Earl W. Bascom , rodeo pioneer, rodeo champion, rodeo hall of fame inductee, "Father of Modern Rodeo"
Julia Boserup , tennis player, Danish parents
Jay DeMerit , professional soccer player
Niko Hansen , professional soccer player
Jim Jensen , football player
Vern Mikkelsen , basketball player[ 21]
Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery , fencing and boxing master[ 22]
Battling Nelson , professional boxing world lightweight champion 1905–1906, 1908–1910
Josef Newgarden , IndyCar driver, Indianapolis 500 winner
Greg Olsen , football player
Merlin Olsen , football player for Los Angeles Rams, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, older brother to Orrin and Phil
Orrin Olsen , football player for Kansas City Chiefs
Phil Olsen , football player for L.A. Rams, Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills
Anton Peterlin , soccer player
Henrik Rummel , Danish-born olympic rower
Reed Sorenson , NASCAR driver
Noah Syndergaard , current MLB pitcher for the New York Mets
Alan Voskuil , basketball player for the Danish national team
Kid Williams , professional boxing world bantamweight champion 1914–1917
Journalism
Jacob Riis
Music
Dinah Jane
Peter Blegvad , musician
Victor Borge , musician and comedian
Julian Casablancas , The Strokes vocalist
Mose Christensen , symphony conductor[ 24]
Alf Clausen , film and television composer
King Diamond , King Diamond lead vocalist
Lars Frederiksen , Rancid vocalist and guitarist[ 25]
Dinah Jane , member of Fifth Harmony
Taylor Hanson , musician
Zac Hanson , musician
Otto Harbach , lyricist
Gunnar Johansen , pianist and composer
Morten Lauridsen , composer
Anita Lerche , singer-songwriter and composer
Lauritz Melchior , opera singer
M. P. Møller , pipe organ builder
Rick Nielsen , Cheap Trick guitarist
Oh Land (Nanna Øland), singer-songwriter
Iggy Pop , singer-songwriter
Matthew Santos , rock and folk singer-songwriter, musician and painter, mother Danish-born
Thomas Søndergård , Music director of the Minnesota Orchestra[ 26]
Tinashe , singer
Mads Tolling , violist and composer
Mike Tramp , singer-songwriter
Lars Ulrich , Metallica drummer
Eddie Vedder , Pearl Jam singer-songwriter
Politics and law
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen , former Democratic senator from Texas , Treasury Secretary, and vice presidential nominee[ 27]
Marius Dueholm , Danish born American farmer and politician
Hans Peter Mareus Neilsen Gammel , author of The Laws of Texas 1822–1897 [ 28]
Newt Gingrich , former Republican Congressman from Georgia from 1979 to 1999, and Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999.
Leo Hoegh , Decorated U.S. Army officer, lawyer, and politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Iowa from 1955 to 1957
Steny Hoyer , House Minority Whip and former House Majority Leader [ 29]
Roger Jepsen , former Republican senator from Iowa
Jo Jorgensen , Libertarian vice presidential candidate of 1996, and presidential candidate of 2020.
Chris Madsen , United States Marshals Service
Janet Reno , Attorney General[ 30]
Ted Sorensen , speechwriter and president advisor[ 31]
Religious personalities
Anton Marius Andersen , founding President of Trinity Seminary at Dana College[ 32]
Kristian Anker , first president of the combined Trinity Seminary and Dana College [ 33]
Gottlieb Bender Christiansen , founding President of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church [ 34]
Claus Lauritz Clausen , first President of the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America [ 35]
Theodore Marcus Hansen , President of Dana College and Trinity Seminary
Kristian Ostergaard , Lutheran pastor, educator and author[ 36]
Peter Sørensen Vig , President and Professor of Theology at Trinity Seminary at Dana College [ 37]
Russell M. Nelson , heart surgeon; President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [ 38]
D. Todd Christofferson , member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [ 39]
Neil L. Andersen , member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [ 40]
Ronald A. Rasband , member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [ 41]
Science
Jens Clausen , evolutionary biologist
Erik Erikson , psychologist
Philo Farnsworth , inventor and television pioneer[ 42]
Niels Ebbesen Hansen , Head of the Horticultural Department at South Dakota State University
William Webster Hansen , physicist and one of the founders of microwave electronics technology
Max Henius , biochemist and founder of the Rebild National Park in Denmark [ 43]
Theo Holm , botanist
Christine Korsgaard , philosopher
Otto Larsen , sociologist known for academic work in mass hysteria and public positions on obscenity and pornography
Dale T. Mortensen , economist
Jørgen Slots , American professor and researcher, immigrant from Denmark
Holger Thiele , astronomer[ 44]
Writers
Poul Anderson , science fiction author
Erik Christian Haugaard , author of children's books
Axel Madsen , writer
Ib Melchior , Danish born film director, science fiction author and screenwriter
Joel Skousen , American author
Mark Skousen , American economist and author
Royal Skousen , American professor
W. Cleon Skousen , American author
Brad Torgersen , science fiction author
Sophus Keith Winther , professor and novelist
Other
Jeff Bezos , founder of Amazon, biological father Ted Jorgensen, son of Danish immigrants
Alma de Bretteville Spreckels , philanthropist
John Wayne Gacy (1942–1994), serial killer
Robert Hansen (1939–2014), serial killer known as the "Butcher Baker".
Peter L. Jensen , engineer, inventor and entrepreneur and co-creator of the first moving-coil loudspeaker
Johnson Outboards was founded by the Johnson brothers. Their father, Soren, was born in Denmark.
Semon Knudsen , executive with Ford Motor Company and General Motors
William S. Knudsen , Lieutenant general and executive with Ford Motor Company and General Motors
Christian Mortensen , Danish-born supercentenarian, was longest-lived man on record at the time of his death
Arthur Nielsen , American market analyst of Danish descent who founded the ACNielsen company and Nielsen Media Research , best known for the Nielsen ratings
George Nissen , inventor of the trampoline, was the son of Danish immigrants
Charles E. Sorensen , production engineer and executive with Ford Motor Company
Claus von Bülow , Danish-born socialite accused of killing his wife Sunny
References
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