List Of Danish Americans

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.

Actors

 

 

 

• Jessica Alba, actress, mother is of part Danish descent
• Bridgette Andersen, actress
• 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
• Alexis Bledel, actress, paternal grandfather of Danish descent
• 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
• Hayden Christensen, actor, father is part Danish
• Tove Christensen, producer and actor, father is part Danish
• Ellen Corby, actress, maiden name was Hansen
• 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
• Buddy Ebsen, actor, father was of Danish ancestry
• 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
• 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
• Virginia Madsen, actress, father was of Danish ancestry
• John Melendez, entertainer
• Kristine Miller, actress
• Viggo Mortensen, actor, father is from Denmark
• Brigitte Nielsen, Danish-born actress
• Leslie Nielsen, Danish father
• Connie Nielsen, actress
• Nica Noelle, pornographic film actress/director (father)
• 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
• 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
• Amandla Stenberg, actress, Danish father
• 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
• Moon Zappa, actress, mother is of partial Danish ancestry

Architects

• Jens Jensen, landscape architect

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
• Solon Borglum, sculptor of the American West
• 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"

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
• Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery, fencing and boxing master
• 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

 

• Jack Anderson, journalist
• Chris Hansen, television journalist
• Sophus Frederik Neble, Danish born editor of Den Danske Pioneer
• Jacob Riis, Danish born journalist

Music

 

• Peter Blegvad, musician
• Victor Borge, musician and comedian
• Julian Casablancas, The Strokes vocalist
• Mose Christensen, symphony conductor
• Alf Clausen, film and television composer
• King Diamond, King Diamond lead vocalist
• Lars Frederiksen, Rancid vocalist and guitarist
• Dinah Jane, member of Fifth Harmony
• Taylor Hanson, musician
• Zac Hanson, musician
• Otto Harbach, lyricist
• Gunnar Johansen, pianist and composer
• Morten Lauridsen, 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
• Tinashe, singer
• Mike Tramp, singer-songwriter
• Lars Ulrich, Metallica drummer
• Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam singer-songwriter

Politics and law

 

• Lloyd Bentsen, former Democratic senator from Texas, Treasury Secretary, and vice presidential nominee
• Marius Dueholm, Danish born American farmer and politician
• Hans Peter Mareus Neilsen Gammel, author of The Laws of Texas 1822–1897
• 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
• 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
• Ted Sorensen, speechwriter and president advisor
• Lis Wiehl, Fox News legal analyst and author^{[citation needed]}

Religious personalities

• Anton Marius Andersen, founding President of Trinity Seminary at Dana College
• Kristian Anker, first president of the combined Trinity Seminary and Dana College
• Gottlieb Bender Christiansen, founding President of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church
• Claus Lauritz Clausen, first President of the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
• Theodore Marcus Hansen, President of Dana College and Trinity Seminary
• Kristian Ostergaard, Lutheran pastor, educator and author
• Peter Sørensen Vig, President and Professor of Theology at Trinity Seminary at Dana College
• Russell M. Nelson, heart surgeon; President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• D. Todd Christofferson, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Neil L. Andersen, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Ronald A. Rasband, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Science

• Jens Clausen, evolutionary biologist
• Erik Erikson, psychologist
• Philo Farnsworth, inventor and television pioneer
• 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
• 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

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