Famous People with Croatian Heritage

Although Croatia is quite a small country with a population of less than 4 million, the number of people living abroad with Croatian heritage is very large! We've come up with a list well known people that all have Croatian roots! Did you know they were all Croatian? I certainly didn't!

1. ​ John Malkovich

The director and actor has appeared in more than 70 films, many of which have been nominated for Oscars. He starred in films such as 'Empire of the Sun', 'The Killing Fields', 'Con Air', 'Rounders', 'Ripley's Game', 'Dangerous Liaisons', ... 

Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois. 
His grandparents were of Croatian origin from Ozalj, not far from Karlovac

2. ​Eric Bana

His real name is Eric Banadinović. He conquered the Hollywood world for his roles in ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘Hulk’. His father Ivan Banadinović emigrated to Australia from Croatia after the Second World War.

3. ​Joe Manganiello

American actor Joe Manganiello has starred in a number of films and TV shows. He acted in the Spider-Man trilogy, ER, How I Met Your Mother, One Tree Hill, and True Blood. He is set to star in Ben Affleck’s upcoming 2018 Batman film. 
He married actress Sofia Vergara in 2015.
Manganiello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother has Croatian roots (Bračanov) whilst his father is of Italian descent.

4. ​Krist Novoselich

He was the bassist and co-founder of the legendary grunge band Nirvana. He was born in California to Croatian parents. Krist Novoselić even went to school in Zadar for a while in the early 80's. Christ met Kurt Cobain through his brother, so the two of them discovered that they had a similar musical taste and decided to form the band Nirvana. The rest is history.

5. ​Michael Bubble

​Although born in Canada, Buble's roots are originally from Croatia. The Buble name is mentioned in records in Croatia as far back as the 14th century and it was Michael's grandfather Mihovil who was originally from Trogir near Split on the Dalmatian coast.

6. Lorde

Ella Yelich-O’Connor, better known as Lorde, burst onto the music scene as a teenager a few years ago thanks to her smash hit ‘Royals’. That hit spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won her two Grammy Awards.
Lorde has Croatian roots on her mother’s side and lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

7. ​Joe Sakic

Joe Sakic was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played his entire 21-year NHL career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Sakic is regarded as one of the best leaders in league history.
Sakic led the Avalanche to Stanley Cup titles in 1996 and 2001 and was named to play in 13 NHL All-Star Games and selected to the NHL First All-Star Team at centre three times.
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Sakic helped lead Canada to its first ice hockey gold medal in 50 years at the 2002 Winter Olympics and was voted as the tournament’s most valuable player. He also played at the 1998 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Sakic’s parents, Marijan and Slavica Šakić, emigrated to Canada from Croatia

8. ​George Chuvalo

Legendary retired boxer George Chuvalo was two-time world heavyweight champion. 

Many believe Chuvalo has the best beard in boxing history. He has never been knocked out in his career.

 He lost to heavyweights like Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman, but they were all amazed at his phenomenal performances and fights.
 He fought twice for the world title and lost due to controversial bagpipe decisions, and the second match he played with the immortal Muhammad Ali. He always lost points from him. 
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George Chuvalo entered the Ontario Sport Hall of Fame in 1995.
Chuvalo was born in Toronto, his parents are Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stipan and Katica - maiden name Kordić - Čuvalo, and both are from a village near Ljubuški

9. ​Rudy Tomjanovich

He was a top NBA basketball player and coach of the Houston Rockets for two consecutive NBA championships. While playing five times he was selected to the NBA All-Star Best Team from 1974 to 1977 and 1979.
Tomjanovich was born in Hamtramck, Michigan, and his family is of Croatian descent.
Coming from Krivi Put, a village above Senj, and his  family coat of arms can be seen in the Nehaj fortress, ie proof of the noble origin of the lineage.

10. ​George Mikan

George, nicknamed Mr. Basketball, is seen as one of the pioneers of professional basketball. Mikan had a successful playing career, in late 40’s and early 50’s winning several NBA titles and awards. Mikan was so dominant that he caused several rule changes in the NBA: among them, the introduction of the goaltending rule, the widening of the foul lane—known as the “Mikan Rule”—and the creation of the shot clock.

​He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959, and was elected one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players ever in 1996. Since April 2001, a statue of Mikan shooting his trademark hook shot graces the entrance of the Timberwolves’ Target Center.

George Mikan was born in Joliet, Illinois, as an American of Croatian descent coming from Vivodina near Ozalj.

11. ​Celtics legends John Havlicek and Kevin Mchale.

​Well known Boston Celtics NBA legends with many titles and awards. Both has Croatian roots from mother side, Havlicek’s mom was Turkalj and Mchale’s Starčević

12. ​Stipe Miočić

Stipe Miočić former (UFC) Heavyweight Champion, has successfully defended his title four times during his two title reigns, he holds the record for most wins in heavyweight title fights along with the longest title defending streak in the heavyweight division, at three consecutive defenses.
Whilst being born in America, Miočić has Croatian roots on both sides with his mother coming from Karlovac and father from near Zadar. Miočić is a regular visitor to Croatia and is proud of his roots.

12. Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick is an American football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots. He is a 6× Super Bowl champion.
Belichick’s paternal grandparents Ivan Biličić and Marija Barković emigrated from Karlovac in Croatia in 1897 and left for the USA, where they settled near Pittsburgh.

13. ​Christian Pulisic

Christian Mate Pulisic is Christian Mate Pulisic is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the United States national team. 

He became the youngest American player to score a goal in World Cup qualifying history at 17 years, 349 days.
Pulisic’s grandfather, Mate, was born in Croatia on the island of Olib and Christian has Croatian citizenship.

14. Zlatan Ibrahimović

Everyone who follows soccer knows who Zlatan Ibrahimović is. Swedish soccer legend and superstar currently still playing for AC Milan at age 40. 
Zlatan Ibrahimović was born and raised in Sweden to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother, Jurka Gravić, who emigrated to Sweden from the village of Prkos near Škabrnja near Zadar.

15. ​John Kasich

John Kasich is an American politician and former television news host who was  the Governor of Ohio from 2011-2019.

The closest a Croatian came to running The White House was in 2016 when Ohio governor John Kasich came third to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for the Republican nomination (Kasich won the Ohio primary). 
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Kasich, who has had a 37-year career in American politics, was born in Pennsylvania. His father was of Czech origin, whilst his mother was the child of Croatian immigrants (Vukovich).

16. ​Gabriel Boric

New and the youngest president of Chile has Croatian roots. 

​His great-grandfather and great-grandmother moved from Ugljan at the end of the 19th century to Chile. Boric has repeatedly said that Croatian immigrants have established themselves in Chile and that he is proud of his origins.

Although he does not speak Croatian, he visited the country of his origin and Ugljan himself.

17. Mike Grgic 

The Grgich Hills Estate winery in Napa Valley, California was established by Mike (Miljenko) Grgich who was born in Dalmatia and learnt much of his craft from his father, who had a vineyard there. He fled then-Yugoslavia in the 1950s and settled in California in 1958.

​Grgich was inducted to the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintner’s Hall of Fame in 2008.

18. Anthony Maglica ​

Anthony "Tony" Maglica (Croatian: Ante Maglica) (born 1930[1]) is the owner and founder of Mag Instrument Inc, the company that manufactures the Maglite flashlight which was designed by Maglica.

The Maglite is a powerful and durable flashlight that has become standard issue gear used by police officers in the USA.

19. Jenna Elfman 

Jenna Elfman is an American television and film actress, best known for her role as Dharma on the 1997–2002 American hit television sitcom Dharma & Greg. and  Fear the walking dead.
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Born Jennifer Mary Butala, she is of Croatian ancestry on her father’s side. Her grandfather emigrated to America in the middle of the 1900s from around the Karlovac region in central Croatia.

20. ​Tony Butala

Tony Butala was the lead singer of the vocal group The Lettermen, who had two Top 10 singles, 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contemporary chart (including one #1), 32 consecutive Billboard Magazine chart albums, 11 gold records, and five Grammy nominations.
Butala was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania and is of Croatian descent.

21. Gabriela Spanic

Gabriela Spanic is a Venezuelan actress and singer. She is known for her roles in several Latin telenovelas, most notably her portrayal of twins in La usurpadora (1998) in croatian Otimačica, one of the most popular telenovelas in the Spanish-speaking world.
Her paternal grandparents have Croatian roots. Grandfather Antun is originally from Zagreb, and grandmother Jelica is from the island of Kaprije near Šibenik

22. Robert Herjavec

Robert is a Canadian businessman, investor, and television personality. Herjavec founded BRAK Systems, a Canadian integrator of Internet security software

He  is known for his work on Shark Tank (2009), DEFCON-4 (1985) and Dragons' Den (2006).
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His family emigrated to Canada in 1970. When he was 7 years old.
Robert Herijavec's father is from Varaždin and mother is from village Zbjeg near Slavonski Brod

23. ​Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins is a famous American author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and life coach. Robbins is best known for his infomercials, seminars, and self-help books including Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within.
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Robbins is the founder of several companies that earn approximately $6 billion in annual sales. In 2015 and 2016 he was listed on the Worth Magazine Power 100 list.

He is also a philanthropist, partnering with organizations such as Feeding America.
The son of Croatian immigrants. Robbins was born Anthony J. Mahavoric but took the surname of his step-father after his mother re-married.

24. ​Guy Mitchell

Born in Detroit, Michigan, to first-generation Croatian parents, Guy Mitchell would make a name for himself in music. An artist and entertainer, he found success not only in the U.S. but also in Australia and the United Kingdom.

He sold over forty-four million records that included six mega-hit singles that went over a million units in sales each.

25. Mark Viduka

Mark Viduka is one of many Australia’s footballers with Croatian heritage who made a name for himself internationally.
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He was former captain of Australia football/soccer team, Viduka played for a number of clubs in the English Premier League, including Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

26. ​Andrew Bogut

​Andrew Michael Bogut is an Australian former basketball player, played successfully in many NBA clubs.
He was born in Melbourne in 1984. His parents Ankica (Anne) and Mišo (Michael) Bogut immigrated to Australia from Croatia in the 1970s

He was  first overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft and  won NBA title in 2015 with Golden State Warriors

27. Roger Maris

​Roger Maris was an American professional baseball player who in Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in late 50’s and 60’.

Maris set the MLB record for home runs during the 1961 season with 61, breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season record of 60 home runs in 1927. Maris was an American League (AL) All-Star AL Most Valuable Player, and an AL Gold Glove Award winner. Maris appeared in seven World Series, five as a member of the Yankees and two with the Cardinals.

He was born Roger Maras to parents, Rudolph Maras and Corrine (née Perkovich), who were both of Croatian origin. The later changed his surname to Maris.

28. Nick Saban

​American football coach who is considered one of the greatest college football coaches ever.

He has won seven national titles as a head coach, the most in college football history.[7] He became the first coach in college football history to win a national championship with two different Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools 

Saban is of Croatian ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Stanko Saban, was born in 1895 in Gospić, in the Lika region of Croatia. Stanko emigrated to Portland, Oregon, in 1908, when he was 13 years old. He later married Anna Mihalic, of Croatian-American heritage.

29. ​Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll is also a successful American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president of the Seattle Seahawks. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots and is one of only three football coaches who have won both a Super Bowl and a college football national championship.

Carroll though, whose maternal grandparents were Croatian and his paternal great-grandparents Irish immigrants.

30. ​Nikola Karabatić

​French handball star Nikola Karabatić and one of the world’s best handball players over the last decade.

Nikola’s father was Croatian and his mother was Serbian. His father Branko Karabatić was also a professional handball player and is originally from Vrsine, a village near Trogir on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.

31. ​Mario Puratić

​Mario Puratić is a Croatian-born American inventor who made major advances in fishing technology. Mario Puratić (usually spelled Puretic, and sometimes Puretich, in English) who created a net pulling system allowing fishermen to pull out more with less people needed.

He was proclaimed the inventor of the year in the United States in 1975 and also is among America's most famous 100 inventors of the 20th century.

Local version of the story says he invented the system while fishing with his family, but no one paid him any heed, so when he migrated to the US, his invention finally came to light.

His invention, Puratic Power Block can be found on fishing boats all over the world, and even FAO recognised his invention as a singular contribution to humanity. His face is on the Canadian five dollar bill issued in 1972

32. Werner Herzog Stipetich

Werner Herzog is one of the greatest figures in German cinema. The screenwriter, film director, author, actor, and opera director was named one of the 100 most influential people on the planet by Time magazine in 2009.

Herzog’s films often feature heroes with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in obscure fields, or individuals who are in conflict with nature.
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Herzog was born Werner Stipetić in Munich, to Elizabeth Stipetić, an Austrian of Croatian descent, and Dietrich Herzog, who was German.

33. ​Petar Herceg Tomic

​Petar Herceg Tomic is a Croat who became an American hero. Due to his outstanding merits in the Second World War, he was posthumously awarded the highest military decoration of the USA, the Medal of Honor.

He is known in the U.S. as Peter Tomich, and was an American sailor at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Then this 48-year-old mechanical officer saved many lives at the cost of his own life.

He prevented an explosion that would have taken hundreds of lives

Petar Herceg was a Croat born to father Ante Herceg, nicknamed Tomić, and mother Ivo Herceg (nee Tolj) in the village of Prolog near Ljubuški in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was then part of Austro-Hungary. He arrived in America as a 20-year-old and enlisted in the Army, and during World War I served in the U.S. Army.

After World War I he joined the Navy and was the chief engineer on the Utah destroyer. At the time of the attack, he was a superintendent on a Utah ship that was being torpedoed by the Japanese. He made sure everyone else was saved but it was too late for him.

34. ​Mike Vucelic

Mike Vucelic was Apollo 11 project manager. 
 Vucelić was born in 1930 in the Croatian town of Garešnica, and graduated in 1954 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Zagreb. He worked for Mercedes-Benz in Germany for a while, and in 1956, at the invitation of a relative, he moved to the United States "with $ 50 in his pocket."

There he was employed first at Cessna, and in 1962 at North American Aviation, which collaborated with NASA. As their employee, he participated in the Apollo program from the very beginning, and the most memorable mission is Apollo 11, as part of which man first entered the moon.

35. ​Ivan Gašparovič

Ivan Gašparovič is a politician who was the President of the Slovak Republic for two terms. He was born in Poltár, Slovakia, but his father, Vladimir Gašparović, moved to that country from Croatia (he was originally from Vinodol). This relocation took place in the period after the end of the First World War, ie well before Ivan's birth. Vladimir Gašparović was a school teacher in what was then Czechoslovakia, and then a school principal. At the time Ivan was born (1941), Czechoslovakia no longer existed, as Adolf Hitler had previously secured its dismemberment. All in all, the first years of his life were marked by World War II.

In the 2004 presidential election, Gasparovic won in a rather unexpected way. Namely, he and Vladimír Mečiar passed to the second round, although the majority expected the passage of the main candidate of the ruling coalition, Eduard Kukan. The reason for this was the poor turnout of Kukan's voters, due to their belief that his entry into the second round is safe. In the second round, however, Kukan's voters voted overwhelmingly for Gasparovic, as they considered him less dangerous than Meciar. Gašparovič was given this presidential term and then re-elected in the 2009 elections, the first time in modern Slovak history that someone won a second presidential term. Gašparovič remained the Slovak president until 2014.