List of stateside Puerto Ricans


This is a list of Puerto Ricans in the continental United States and Hawaii, including people born in the United States proper of Puerto Rican descent and Puerto Ricans who live in the United States proper. Since those born in Puerto Rico are US citizens, it is easier to migrate to the United States proper from Puerto Rico than from anywhere else in Latin America. Currently, more than 5.5 million Puerto Ricans and their descendants live in the United States proper, significantly more than the population of Puerto Rico itself. The following list contains notable members of the Puerto Rican community.

Television show hosts

Business

Actors and actresses

Directors, producer and screenwriters of films, theater and TV

Singers and musicians

Alphabetized by surname

Groups

  • Hoax alternative rock band, including Frantz N. Cesar of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent
  • Kane & Abel rap duo of twin brothers Daniel and David Garcia; of African American and Puerto Rican descent
  • Nina Sky twin sister singers; American of Puerto Rican parents
  • Sweet Sensation Puerto Rican female freestyle-dance music trio of New York
  • TKA Latin freestyle trio, prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s
  • Wisin & Yandel Puerto Rican group

Models and dancers

  • Arthur Aviles dancer and choreographer; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Denise Bidot plus-size model who is of Puerto Rican and Kuwaiti descent
  • Crazy Legs breakdancer, president of Rock Steady Crew
  • Susie Castillo former beauty queen; held the Miss USA title; competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants; Dominican father, Puerto Rican mother
  • Carmella DeCesare American model; Playboy magazine's Miss April 2003 and Playmate of the Year 2004; of Italian and Puerto Rican descent
  • Michelle Font beauty queen; Miss Washington USA; competed in the 2008 Miss USA pageant; of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent
  • Jaslene Gonzalez Puerto Rican-American model, Puerto Rican born and American raised
  • Melanie Iglesias American model and actress; of Puerto Rican, Italian, and Filipino heritage
  • Danielle Polanco dancer and choreographer; Dominican-Puerto Rican American
  • Pam Rodriguez American glamour model; of Guatemalan and Puerto Rican descent
  • Jock Soto principal ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet
  • Madison Anderson born in the United States to an Anglo-American father and Puerto Rican mother. Model and Pageant Queen who placed First runner up at Miss Florida USA 2019 and later on represented Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2019 and placed First runner up again

Sports

  • Benjamin Agosto American figure skater; Puerto Rican father, American mother of Romanian and Russian descent
  • Eddie Alvarez American mixed martial artist; of Puerto Rican and Irish descent
  • Carmelo Anthony NBA player of basketball; American of Puerto Rican and African American descent
  • Carlos Arroyo professional basketball point guard, last played for the Boston Celtics
  • Harry Arroyo American former boxer
  • José Juan Barea NBA player; Puerto Rican resident of Miami
  • Wilfred Benítez American boxer
  • Caitlin Cosme Puerto Rican soccer player
  • Héctor Camacho Puerto Rican professional boxer
  • Héctor Camacho, Jr. Puerto Rican boxer and son of Héctor
  • Eddie Casiano basketball player; American born and Puerto Rican raised; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Orlando Cepeda Puerto Rican born, American raised
  • Julie Chu American Olympic ice hockey player; plays forward on the US women's ice hockey team; Chinese and Puerto Rican
  • Roberto Clemente Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder; [National Baseball National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]
  • Alex Cora former infielder in Major League Baseball, currently general manager of the Boston Red Sox
  • Victor Cruz wide receiver in the NFL
  • Gloria Douglas Puerto Rican soccer player
  • Nickolette Driesse Puerto Rican soccer player
  • Guillermo Diaz Puerto Rican professional basketball player; NBA
  • Nelson Erazo American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Homicide"; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Justin Fargas American football running back; free agent in the NFL; son of Antonio Fargas
  • Sunny Garcia American professional surfer
  • Ernie Gonzalez American professional golfer of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent.
  • Herbert Lewis Hardwick, aka "Cocoa Kid" boxer, inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012; born in Puerto Rico; Puerto Rican mother, African American father
  • James "Chico" Hernandez American Sambo athlete; a seven-time member of the USA National Team
  • Oscar Hernandez musician, musical arranger and American producer; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Shawn Hernandez American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"; of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent
  • Reggie Jackson nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees; former American Major League Baseball right fielder; father was Martinez Jackson, half Puerto Rican
  • Kevin Kesar American professional wrestler better known by his ring names "Killer Kross" and "Karrion Kross"; of Central American and Puerto Rican descent
  • Butch Lee NBA player; born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York
  • Michael Lowell Puerto Rican Major League Baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox; Puerto Rican born, American raised
  • Edgar Martínez nicknamed "Gar" and "Papi"; former Major League Baseball third baseman and designated hitter
  • Luis Martínez American professional wrestler known by his ring names "Punishment Martinez", "Punisher Martinez", and "Damian Priest"; born in the Puerto Rican Diaspora of New York, raised in Dorado, Puerto Rico
  • Vanessa Martínez Puerto Rican swimmer, represented Puerto Rico at the 2003 Pan American Games
  • Denise Masino American professional female bodybuilder from the U.S.
  • Ortiz American professional wrestler known by his ring names "Angel Ortiz" and "Ortiz"; a Nuyorican; tag team partner of fellow Nuyorican professional wrestler Santana
  • Carlos Ortiz Puerto Rican three-time world boxing champion, twice in the lightweight division and once in the junior welterweights
  • Sam Parrilla left fielder and pinch-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1970; played in the minor leagues 1963–1972; father of actress Lana Parrilla
  • Travis Pastrana American motorsports competitor and stunt performer
  • Orlando Perez American footballer of C.D. Chivas USA
  • Roxanne Perez American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent
  • Rico Ramos American super bantamweight boxer and current WBA world super bantamweight champion
  • Edwin Rios Puerto Rican baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series Champions of 2020.
  • Ramón Rivas Puerto Rican professional basketball player; born in New York, of Puerto Rican descent
  • Jorge Rivera American mixed martial artist; featured on The Ultimate Fighter 4; of Puerto Rican descent; born in Massachusetts; lived in Puerto Rico for a short time as a child
  • Ron Rivera American football player and head coach
  • Chi Chi Rodriguez Puerto Rican professional golfer
  • Cristina Roque Puerto Rican soccer player
  • John Ruiz former American professional boxer
  • Mike Santana American professional wrestler known by his ringnames "Mike Draztik" and "Santana"; a Nuyorican; tag team partner of fellow Nuyorican professional wrestler Ortiz
  • Daniel Santiago professional American basketball player; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Manny SantiagoPuerto Rican skateboarder
  • Shakur Stevenson American professional boxer of half-Puerto Rican descent
  • JLo Varada soccer player
  • Thea Trinidad American professional wrestler known by her ring names "Rosita" and "Zelina Vega"; of Puerto Rican descent; wife of Dutch professional wrestler Aleister Black
  • Idelys Vázquez Puerto Rican soccer player
  • Lisa Marie Varon American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor; of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent

Criminals

  • Salvador Agrón, aka "The Capeman" Puerto Rican gang member who murdered two teenagers in a Hell's Kitchen park in 1959
  • Ariel Castro former school bus driver who kidnapped, raped, and tortured three women in Cleveland, Ohio and held them captive for a decade
  • Raymond Márquez, aka "Spanish Raymond" reputed American gangster; parents are from Puerto Rico
  • José Padilla, aka Abdullah al-Muhajir or Muhajir Abdullah American convicted of aiding terrorists

Diplomats

Educators

Journalists

  • María Celeste Arrarás journalist and TV news presenter
  • Lynda Baquero American correspondent for WNBC news in New York City; of Puerto Rican ancestry
  • Marysol Castro American television journalist and weather anchor for The Early Show on CBS
  • Carmen Dominicci television journalist
  • Jackie Guerrido Puerto Rican television weather forecaster and journalist
  • Juan Gonzalez Puerto Rican born investigative journalist
  • Kimberly Guilfoyle American cable news personality; one of the rotating co-hosts on The Five on Fox News Channel; host of an Internet-only crime-related program for Fox News; Puerto Rican mother, Irish father
  • Alycia Lane American television journalist; of Puerto Rican and Welsh descent
  • Lynda López Emmy Award-winning Puerto Rican American journalist; youngest sister of actress and singer Jennifer Lopez
  • Natalie Morales television journalist
  • Denisse Oller Puerto Rican broadcaster, journalist, newspaper columnist; former cooking show host and news anchor at WXTV in New York City
  • Audrey Puente American meteorologist for WWOR-TV in New York City; daughter of Tito Puente
  • Carlos D. Ramirez American publisher; purchased El Diario La Prensa, the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the US
  • Jorge L. Ramos Puerto Rican announcer of Telemundo's New York City affiliate; moved to New York City in 1976
  • Craig Rivera American television journalist, producer, and correspondent for Fox News Channel; father was a Puerto Rican of Sephardic Jew descent
  • Geraldo Rivera American talk-show host, journalist; brother of Craig Rivera
  • Darlene Rodriguez American co-anchor of Today in New York; of Puerto Rican ancestry
  • Edna Schmidt American journalist; former news anchor for Noticiero Univision Edicion Nocturna
  • Ray Suarez television and radio journalist
  • Elizabeth Vargas television journalist; American of Puerto Rican descent
  • Jane Velez-Mitchell American award-winning television journalist and bestselling author; mother is Puerto Rican, father is Irish American

Judges and law enforcement

Military

  • Joseph B. Avilés served in the U.S. Navy and later in the Coast Guard; in 1925, became the first Hispanic Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard; Puerto Rican, lived in Maryland
  • Rafael Celestino Benítez highly decorated submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS Cochino during the Cold War
  • José M. Cabanillas Puerto Rican executive Officer of the USS Texas, which participated in the invasions of North Africa and the Battle of Normandy during World War II; died in Virginia
  • Iván Castro U.S. Army officer who has continued serving on active duty in the Special Forces despite losing his eyesight; parents are Puerto Rican
  • Richard Carmona American physician and public health administrator
  • Carmen Contreras-Bozak first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps, where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions; Puerto Rican; lives in Tampa, Florida
  • Linda García Cubero former U.S. Air Force officer; of Mexican-American-Puerto Rican descent
  • Rubén A. Cubero highly decorated member of the U.S. Air Force; first Hispanic graduate of the US Air Force Academy to be named Dean of the Faculty of the academy; parents were Puerto Rican
  • Alberto Díaz, Jr. first Hispanic Director of the San Diego Naval District and Balboa Naval Hospital; Puerto Rican born and raised
  • Rafael O'Ferrall United States Army officer; first Hispanic of Puerto Rican descent to become the Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
  • Salvador E. Felices first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of major general in the U.S. Air Force; died in Florida
  • Diego E. Hernández retired U.S. Navy officer; first Hispanic to be named Vice Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command; Puerto Rican resident of Miami
  • Lester Martínez López, MD, MPH first Hispanic to head the Army Medical and Research Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland
  • Carlos Lozada member of the U.S. Army; one of five Puerto Ricans who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for their actions in combat; Puerto Rican born, raised in New York City
  • Ángel Méndez U.S. Marine, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross
  • Virgil Rasmuss Miller U.S. Army officer who served as Regimental Commander of the 442d Regimental Combat Team, a unit composed of "Nisei", during World War II
  • Héctor Andrés Negroni Puerto Rican historian, senior aerospace defense executive, author; first Puerto Rican graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy; lives in Vienna, Virginia
  • Antonia Novello Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator; US Surgeon General
  • María Inés Ortiz first American nurse to die in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom; first Army nurse to die in combat since the Vietnam War; parents were Puerto Rican
  • Héctor E. Pagán U.S. Army officer; first Hispanic of Puerto Rican descent to become Deputy Commanding General of the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
  • José M. Portela retired officer of the U.S. Air Force; served in the position of Assistant Adjutant General for Air while also serving as commander of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard
  • Marion Frederic Ramírez de Arellano submarine commander in the US Navy; first Hispanic submarine commanding officer
  • Frederick Lois Riefkohl Puerto Rican officer in the U.S. Navy; first Puerto Rican to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and to be awarded the Navy Cross; lived and died in Florida
  • Rudolph W. Riefkohl U.S. Army officer; instrumental in helping the people of Poland overcome the 1919 typhus epidemic
  • Pedro N. Rivera retired Puerto Rican US Air Force officer; in 1994 became the first Hispanic medical commander in the Air Force; lives in Alexandria, Virginia
  • Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith – U.S. Army soldier posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Augusto Rodríguez Puerto Rican officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War; immigrated to the US in the 1850s
  • Pedro Rodríguez earned two Silver Stars within a seven-day period during the Korean War; Puerto Rican; died in Washington, D.C.
  • Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas Puerto Rican odontologist, scientist and a major in the US Army; discovered the bacteria which causes cavities; died in Washington, D.C.
  • Maritza Sáenz Ryan U.S. Army officer; head of the Department of Law at the US Military Academy; first woman and first Hispanic West Point graduate to serve as an academic department head; Puerto Rican father, Spanish mother
  • Héctor Santiago-Colón one of five Puerto Ricans posthumously presented with the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the U.S.; Puerto Rican from New York
  • Frances M. Vega first female soldier of Puerto Rican descent to die in a combat zone, in Operation Iraqi Freedom
  • Pedro del Valle U.S. Marine Corps officer; first Hispanic to reach the rank of lieutenant general; in 1900 his family emigrated to the US and became US citizens
  • Carmen Vazquez Rivera – First Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force. Vazquez was an early Puerto Rican female officer of the United States Army and Air Force who served in both World War II and the Korean War. Wife of Leopoldo Figueroa. Awarded the American Theater Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Overseas Service Bars, and National Defense Service Medal. Following her 100th birthday, Vazquez was awarded the League of United Latin American Citizens Presidential Medal of Freedom and honored by the United States Congress.
  • Humbert Roque Versace – American U.S. Army officer of Puerto Rican-Italian descent; awarded the US' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions while a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War
  • Ramón Colón-López – Fourth Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, the most senior enlisted airman in the United States Military, from Ponce, Puerto Rico. On June 13, 2007, Colón-López became the first Hispanic, and one of the first six airmen, to be awarded the newly created Air Force Combat Action Medal.

Political

Visual arts

  • Olga Albizu Puerto Rican abstract expressionist painter; emigrated to New York in 1948
  • Fernando Allende with major and successful art exhibits and the inclusion of his art in museums and private collections, Fernando Allende is considered a pioneer on dynamic art represented with the line in motion and connecting in harmony. Participating in the Florence biennial and summer at La Academia, confirms Allende's influence in contemporary abstract art.
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat visual artist; African-American of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent
  • David Blaine American illusionist, magician, and endurance artist; of Puerto Rican-Russian Jewish descent
  • Rafael Ferrer Puerto Rican artist; 1993 recipient of a Pew Fellowship in the Arts; 2011 recipient of an Annalee and Barnett Newman Foundation Grant
  • Elizabeth Marrero Puerto Rican performance artist, comedian, known as Macha, the "papi chulo drag king", a character she created in 1999; lives in the US
  • Soraida Martínez contemporary abstract expressionist artist who creates hard-edge paintings; American of Puerto Rican descent
  • Ralph Ortiz American artist, educator, and founder of El Museo del Barrio
  • Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Puerto Rican documentary photographer; lives in the US
  • Joe Shannon – prolific artist with permanent exhibits in multiple museums in the United States
  • Filipo Tirado, aka "Pepe Locuaz" Puerto Rican puppeteer

Civil rights and activists

Physicians and scientists

Religious

  • Nicky Cruz Christian evangelist; founder of Nicky Cruz Outreach, an evangelistic Christian ministry
  • Alberto Cutié Puerto Rican Episcopal cleric better known as Padre Alberto; ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1995; became an internationally recognizable name by hosting television and radio programs
  • José Luis de Jesús founder and leader of Creciendo en Gracia's Christian ministry, based in Miami, Florida
  • Bavi Edna Rivera, aka "Nedi" American suffragan bishop and Episcopal priest; daughter of the late bishop Victor Manuel Rivera and an Anglo mother
  • Víctor Manuel Rivera Puerto Rican born American Episcopalian priest and bishop

Writers

  • Jack Agüeros community activist, poet, writer, and translator
  • Quiara Alegría Hudes American playwright and author, known for writing the book for the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights; of Jewish and Puerto Rican descent
  • Miguel Algarín Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café
  • Rane Arroyo American poet, playwright, and scholar; of Puerto Rican descent
  • Pura Belpré author; first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City
  • Giannina Braschi Puerto Rican poet and novelist; lives in New York
  • Julia de Burgos considered by many as the greatest Puerto Rican poet and one of the greatest female poets of Latin America; died in New York
  • Judith Ortiz Cofer author; Puerto Rican-born and American raised
  • Jesús Colón Puerto Rican writer, known as the "father of the Nuyorican movement"
  • Víctor Hernández Cruz Puerto Rican poet; New York resident
  • Nicholas Dante American dancer and writer; Puerto Rican parents
  • Nelson Denis Author of War Against All Puerto Ricans, film director, and former New York State Assemblyman
  • Sandra María Esteves American poet, playwright, and graphic artist; of Puerto Rican, Dominican and African American descent
  • Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes Puerto Rican author, scholar, and performer; lives in Michigan
  • Pedro J. Labarthe Puerto Rican poet, journalist, essayist, and novelist
  • Tato Laviera Nuyorican poet; born in Puerto Rico; moved to New York City with his family in 1960
  • Muna Lee American author and poet; known for her writings that promoted Pan-Americanism and feminism
  • Érika López American cartoonist, novelist, and performance artist; of Puerto Rican and German American descent
  • Caridad de la Luz, aka "La Bruja" poet, actress and activist; parents are Puerto Rican
  • Nemir Matos-Cintrón Puerto Rican author; lives in Florida
  • John Meléndez, aka "Stuttering John" American television writer and former radio personality
  • Nicholasa Mohr one of the best known Nuyorican writers
  • Micol Ostow American author, editor and educator; Jewish-American father, Puerto Rican mother
  • George Pérez Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books; his family moved from Caguas to the New York area in the 1940s
  • Pedro Pietri Nuyorican poet and playwright; co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Cafe; Puerto Rican born and American raised
  • Carmen M. Pursifull former New York City Latin dance and Latin American music figure of the 1950s, and since 1970 in Illinois; English-language free verse poet; of Puerto Rican and Spanish descent
  • Marie Teresa Ríos American author of a book which was the basis for the 1960s television sitcom The Flying Nun; of Puerto Rican and Irish descent
  • Ángel Rivero Méndez wrote Crónica de la guerra hispano-americana en Puerto Rico, which is considered one of the most complete works written in regard to that military action
  • Esmeralda Santiago Puerto Rican author and former actress known for her novels and memoirs
  • Tony Santiago Puerto Rican military historian
  • Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, aka Arthur Schomburg Puerto Rican historian, writer, and activist in the US who raised awareness of the social contributions made by Afro-Latin Americans and Afro-Americans; died in New York; immigrated to New York in 1891
  • Piri Thomas writer and American poet; memoir Down These Mean Streets became a best-seller; Puerto Rican mother, Cuban father
  • Edwin Torres Nuyorican poet
  • Ed Vega Puerto Rican novelist and short story writer
  • Irene Vilar editor, literary agent, author of books dealing with national and generational trauma and women's reproductive rights
  • William Carlos Williams American poet, closely associated with modernism and Imagism; of English and Puerto Rican descent

Others