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Franco-American Flag[citation needed]

French Americans are U.S. citizens or nationals of French descent and heritage. The majority of Franco-American families did not arrive directly from France, but rather settled French territories in the New World (primarily in the 17th and 18th centuries) before moving or being forced to move to the United States later on (see Quebec diaspora and Great Upheaval). Also, the largest French territory in North America was sold to the U.S., absorbing their French citizens (see Louisiana Purchase). About 26 million U.S. residents are of French descent, and about 1.5 million of them speak the French language at home. Being isolated, mixed with different cultures, or ignored, the French-Americans developed particular cultures that reflect varying degrees of adaptation of their environments. This gave birth to streams of French-Americans like the Acadians, the Cajuns (an Anglicization of the autonym Cadien, from the French word for Acadian, Acadien), Louisiana Créoles and many others. In the 2020 United States census, French Americans (25.8 million or 7.4% of the population) were the 4th most common ancestral group, followed by German Americans (45 million), Irish Americans (38.5 million) and Mexican Americans (37.4 million) but ahead of English Americans (25.5 million), based on the self-reporting ancestry data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The following is a list of notable French Americans by occupation, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

Lists of Americans
By US state
By ethnicity

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are French American or must have references showing they are French American and are notable.

Business

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General

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Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834)
William C. Durant (1861–1947) co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet

Entertainment

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Actors

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  • Renée Adorée, French-born American actress
  • Jessica Alba, actress; mother is of partial French-Canadian ancestry
  • Cliff Arquette (1905–1974), American actor was of part French-Canadian descent, and his family's surname was originally "Arcouet"
  • Lewis Arquette (1935–2001), American actor, was of French-Canadian descent
  • Patricia Arquette (born 1968), American actress, is of French-Canadian descent
  • Alexis Arquette (July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016), was an American actress, cabaret performer, underground cartoonist, and activist. Alexis was of French-Canadian descent.
  • René Auberjonois (1940–2019), Tony Award-winner, American character actor (and grandson of the painter), best known for his early 1980s role as Clayton Endicott III on the television show Benson and his role as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
  • Tina Aumont, California-born actress; father was an immigrant from France
  • Alec Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
  • Daniel Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
  • Stephen Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
  • William Baldwin, actor, one of the four brothers; mother had part French-Canadian ancestry
  • Lucille Ball (1911–1989), actress; mother was of partial French heritage[5]
  • Adrienne Barbeau (born 1945), 1980s B-movie actress; father was of part French-Canadian ancestry[6]
  • Jean-Marc Barr, French-American film actor and director
  • Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), cowboy actor and artist, descendant of Nicolas Martiau
  • Hugh Beaumont, actor with large filmography; father was of French ancestry
  • Pierre Bellocq, French-American artist and horse racing cartoonist
  • Melissa Benoist, American actress, of partial French descent through paternal great-grandfather
  • Marcheline Bertrand, actress of half French-Canadian ancestry, mother of actress Angelina Jolie
  • Jessica Biel (born 1982), American actress with distant French roots
  • JB Blanc (born 1969), actor; father of French descent
  • Cate Blanchett, actress
  • Joan Blondell (1906–1979), American actress; father Eddie was of French descent
  • Caprice Bourret (born 1971), French American actress and model
  • Charles Boyer (1899–1978), film actor, immigrant from France
  • Elizabeth Bracco, actress with French and Italian ancestry
  • Lorraine Bracco, actress with French and Italian ancestry
  • Jules Brulatour, pioneering figure in American silent cinema
  • Ellen Bry, actress best-known for her work on the NBC medical drama series St. Elsewhere
  • Mary Cadorette, former American actress
  • Dove Cameron, American actor of French descent
  • Dean Cain, American actor, of part French descent[7]
  • Trishelle Cannatella (born 1979), American actress, model; of Cajun ancestry
Leslie Caron on the set of Gigi (1958)
The French-American actress Julie Delpy

Artists

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Musicians

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Other entertainers

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Explorers

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Law and politics

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Governors and presidents

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Congressmen and senators

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The folk hero Davy Crockett

Mayors

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Other politicians

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Authors and writers

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Education

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Edward Sorin (1814–1893), founder of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana

Journalism

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Military

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Marquis de Lafayette, known as “The Hero of the Two Worlds” for his accomplishments in the service of the United States in the American War of Independence.

Religion

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Science

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Sports

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Baseball

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Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau

Basketball

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Football

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Brett Favre

Hockey

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Zach Parise

NASCAR

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Rodeo

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  • Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), rodeo pioneer, rodeo champion, rodeo hall of fame inductee, "father of modern rodeo"[81]

Soccer

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Tennis

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Melanie Oudin

Other sports

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Other

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Art

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Cuisine

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Miscellanea

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ His great-grandfather was born in France; most of his other ancestry was English and American.
  2. ^ His French ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century.
  3. ^ Born in Paris to George L'Enfant and Frances Ragond, and immigrated to the U.S.

References

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