Famous Armenians

Scattered all over the world as refugees, the Armenians have made their mark in many places and many fields. For other, not so famous Armenians, click here.

	Andre Agassi	Tennis	Ranked #1 in the world in 1995. Has won the Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and an Olympic Gold Medal.
	Ivan Aivazovsky	Painter	Famous for his seascapes. Paintings are featured on numerous postage stamps around the world.
	Charles Aznavour	Singer	French Singer and Actor with worldwide popularity. Listen to his Greatest Golden Hits, and his Autobiographie
	Ross Bagdasarian	Cartoonist	Creator of "The Chipmunks". Alvin Simon and Theodore, a popular children's cartoon. The "Chipmunks Christmas Album" is a classic.
	Eric Bogosian	Writer/Actor	Known for Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll and Talk Radio .
	Cher (Cherylin Sarkissian)	Actress, Singer	Sonny & Cher Show, The Witches of Eastwick, Songs I Got You Babe, Believe. Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck.
	Princess Diana	Princess of Wales	1/64th Armenian! The most widely known living person in the world before the fatal car accident, she was well loved for not being aloof. She made removal of landmines worldwide her cause.
	Dr. Raymond Damadian	Inventor	MRI diagnosis machine. Magnetic Resonance Imaging allows the insides of the body to be viewed without actually using surgery.
	Atom Egoyan	Director	Won 1997 Cannes Grand Prize & 2 Oscar Nominations for "The Sweet Hereafter". This Cairo-born and Canadian-bred director also produced award winning "The Adjustor", "Exotica", "Ararat" and others.
	Arshile Gorky	Painter	Gorky has been called both the last of the great Surrealists and the first of the Abstract Expressionists. His work was vital to the emergence of a specifically American school of abstract art
	Calouste Gulbenkian	Oil Baron	"Mr. 5%" Made his fortune in Iraqi oil earlier this century after gaining 5% ownership of BP, and 3 other major companies. Set up a large enduring foundation.
	George Gurdjieff	Spiritual Leader	Gurdjieff's basic teaching is that human life is lived in waking sleep; transcendence of the sleeping state requires a specific inner work, which is practiced in private quiet conditions, and in the midst of life with others
	Viktor Hambartsumian	Astrophysicist	Developed theories of young star clusters, and computing the mass ejected from nova stars. Headed Byurakan Observatory in Armenia, & International Astrophysicist Organization.
	Kevork Hovnanian	Homebuilder	One of top 10 US homebuilders
	Steve Jobs	Computers	Co-founder of Apple Computer
	Kim Kardashian	Celebrity	From sex tape to reality show to jewelry line, she's all over the news.
	Garry Kasparov	Chess	Ranked #1 in world. Serving in Russian Parliament. Was defeated for the first time by a chess computer built by IBM.
	Howard Kazanjian	Producer	Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark
	Dr. Varaztad Kazanjian	Doctor	A Father of Plastic Surgery and Harvard Professor. Pioneer of new techniques to repair damage to WWI soldiers. Known in his day as the "Miracle Man of the Western Front."
	Kirk Kerkorian	Businessman, Investor	Founded airlines, built worlds largest casinos, owned MGM studios and still owns MGM Grand, plus large share of Diamler-Chrysler. Funds Lincy Foundation.
	Dr. Jack Kevorkian	Physician	"Dr. Death". Proponent of assisted suicide. Helped dozens of terminally ill patients end their lives with his suicide machine. In Michigan jail for his work.
	Aram Khachaturian	Composer	Gayane, Spartacus, The Battle of Stalingrad / Othello, The Sabre Dance
	Emile Lahoud	President	Former President of Lebanon, former Lebanese general who united the religious factions of the Lebanese army.
	Alex Manoogian	Inventor, Businessman	Invented single handle faucet, founded Masco. Huge philanthropist during his life, with strong ties to the Armenian General Benevolent Union.
	Rouben Mamoulian	Director	First to use a mobile camera, Technicolor and a multiple channel sound track. Directed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Mark of Zorro, and Silk Stalkings.
	Artem Mikoyan	Aircraft Designer	Creator and namesake of "MiG" Fighters of the Soviet Union and Russia.
	David Nalbandian	Tennis	Former world #3.
	Sergei Parajanov	Surrealist Artist/Producer	Soviet Armenian Surrealist Producer. Works include: Fire Horses/The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, The Color of Pomegranates/Sayat Nova, The Legend of the Suram Fortress, Ashik Kerib
	Ara Parseghian	Coach	Previous Notre Dame Football Coach, national championships in 1966 and 1973
	Alain Prost	Race Car Driver	Won Formula 1 Race 4 Times
	Raffi (Cavoukian)	Songwriter/Singer	Children's Songwriter. Probably the most popular in the world. Albums include Singable Songs for the children, More Singable Songs for the children Raffi's Christmas Album, Baby Beluga, and others.
	William Saroyan	Novelist, Playwright	Won a Pulitzer Prize for the play "The Time of Your Life" which he turned down. Wrote "The Human Comedy", "My Name is Aram", and directed a prize winning movie.
	Andy Serkis	Actor	Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, Adventures of Tintin, and two Star Wars episodes.
	Luther Simjian	Inventor	Inventor of Medical photography systems, Autofocus camera, Automatic Developing machine, ATM, Military flight simulator, Postage Meter.
	Seymour Skinner (Armen Tamzarian)	Principal	Bart and Lisa's Principal on the "Simpson's". On one episode he relates he is not actually Seymour Skinner, but actually Armen Tamzarian. The town decides to never discuss his dark past again.
	System of a Down	Music Group	Music Group with growing popularity. Performed on one track of the Southpark CD, and Ozzfest. Proud Armenians, as their System of a Down album shows.
	Jerry Tarkanian	Coach	"Tark the Shark". Turned the UNLV basketball team, the "Runnin Rebels" into a west coast powerhouse, reaching the finals and winning a few times. Then coached his hometown Fresno State team.
	Steven Zaillian	Screenwriter	Received Oscar for Schindlers List, also screen wrote: Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, Awakenings.
	Zildjian Family	Manufacturers	Worlds Largest Cymbal Manufacturer, by using secret family production technique that produces excellent sound and very strong metal. The two brothers founded the Sabian cymbal factory, in Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada, before an argument led one brother to quit the company and form a rival brand carrying the family name, Zildjian.