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.

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
 * 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
 * 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, 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

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