Paula Abdul was born in Van Nuys, California as part of a family with Syrian heritage. She graduated as an honor student from Van Nuys High School and from there launched her career, beginning with her studies in broadcasting and her tenure as a cheerleader for the LA Lakers. Her many talents include acting, singing, and choreography, as well as her television personality roles on American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. After many years spent as a performance judge, Abdul has recently returned to performing herself with a residency in Las Vegas.
Dick Dale (Richard Mansour) (1937-2019)
The King of the Surf Guitar, Dick Dale is credited as the creator of the surf music genre. His version of the folk song "Misirlou" is instantly recognizable from covers by other performers, and commercials, and fans of the movie Pulp Fiction. Dale's arrangement of the piece was undertaken as a challenge to perform a solo on one string of a guitar. He was influenced in his youth by Gene Krupa's drum solos and performances on the middle eastern stringed instrument, the oud. Dale was born in Boston, Massachusetts to a Lebanese father and Polish mother.
As a Lebanese-American essayist, novelist, mystic poet, and artist, Gibran is most famous for The Prophet, a collection of poetic essays with themes of exile and return as well as philosophical meditations on the mysteries of human experience including love, loss, beauty, and death and the tension between following reason or following passion. The Prophet has been translated into dozens of languages, and in addition to writing in English, Gibran also wrote works in Arabic.
Born in Torrance, California, Malek initially found it difficult to reconcile his Egyptian-American roots until he discovered acting. Malek studied theater at Evansville University, and in addition to roles in the theater, he has performed in television series like The Gilmore Girls and Mr. Robot, with the latter earning him a score of awards, including the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, making him the first non-white actor to earn the category award since 1998. Malek also played a highly praised role in the mini-series, Pacific. His film career includes The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, the Oscar-nominated The Master. His critically acclaimed role as Freddie Mercury in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody resulted in an Academy nomination for Best Actor and also places Malek as the first recipient of Egyptian heritage to garner this award.
Artist and filmmaker Jacqueline Salloum received her MFA at New York University where she also served as Artist in Residence. She draws upon her Palestinian and Syrian roots to create her art which often explores themes of exile and displacement. Her film Planet of the Arabs, which explores depictions of Arabs in movies, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. She also directed the award winning Slingshot Hip Hop, which documents the Palestinian Hip Hop scene. Recent artwork includes a series of pieces in response to A Symbol of a Lost Homeland. Written by Yasmeen Abdel Majeed, Symbol is the story of the Palestinian doctor Tawfiq Canaan, who documented the personal narratives of his patients through the amulets they wore.
Known for his unconventional throwing arm, quarterback Jeff George played for 5 NFL teams over the course of a 12 season career, including his position as the first draft pick for the Indianapolis Colts. While he was with the Colts, his performance earned him a position as quarterback on the NFL's All-Rookie team, and George went on to lead the Atlanta Falcons to the playoffs, followed by throwing the most yards than any other QB during his time with the Oakland Raiders. When he took the position of backup QB for the Minnesota Vikings, he subsequently became the lead QB for 10 games of the season, winning his first playoff game.
Bobby Rahal grew up in Medina, Ohio, where his father, a Lebanese-American businessman, was also involved in sports car racing. Rahal followed his father's lead by becoming a renowned competitor on the track. He worked his way through layers of competition to achieve his ultimate dream of driving an Indy sports car, and eventually he was the first Indy driver to earn a million dollars in a single season and to set a record for the fastest lap recorded at Indianapolis at 209.152 miles per hour. In addition to his legendary racing career, Rahal and his wife, Debi, gave back to their community by founding the Central Ohio Children's Charities.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
Mitch Daniels served as Indiana's governor for 2 terms. Prior to his gubernatorial position, he served in various other offices, including his tenure as chief of staff for Senator Richard Lugar and his role as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush administration. In the private sector, Daniels was an Eli Lily executive, and in the education sector, Daniels served as president of Purdue University.
Like many other Americans, Daniels is the result of immigration to America. According to Arab Indianapolis, the Daniels family can trace its heritage to Syria.
Elected in South Dakota in 1972 as the first Arab American Senator in United States history, Abourezk was known for his work in supporting the Native American population. Abourezk championed the American Indian Policy Review Commission, which considered how legislation could be leveraged to address problems in the Native American community.
As a result of Abourezk's proposal to launch the American Indian Policy Review Commission, laws were enacted on behalf of Native Americans, including the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, which provided tribes more autonomy in managing government programs, and the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which established regulation regarding the adoption of Indigenous children by white families.
Arab American Members of the 118th Congress (2023)
Although Apple iPhones and other Apple products are ubiquitous on the American and global landscape, it is a little known fact that Steve Jobs--the mind behind the technology we use every day--was of American, Syrian, and Lebanese descent. An often controversial, unconventional, and. inspirational business leader, Jobs was noted for being more interested in innovation and advancement of ideas instead of making money. His annual CEO salary at Apple computers was $1.00.
McAuliffe was born to an Irish-English father and a mother with Lebanese Maronite roots. She was the great niece of the Lebanese-American historian historian Philip Khuri Hitti. As a teacher, McAuliffe taught history, social studies, civics and English before she became the first teacher to join NASA as part of a space flight mission on the Challenger in 1986. Although the mission ended McAuliffe's life, her legacy lives on in institutions dedicated to her love of learning and her enthusiasm for education, such as the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center and the Christa McAuliffe Center for Integrated Science Learning.
Danny Thomas was an influential and multi-talented radio and television personality and producer who was born to Lebanese immigrant parents in Deerfield, Michigan on January, 4, 1912. His birth name was Amos Jacobs Kairouz; his stage name was the result of combining his brother's names for show business purposes. Thomas also embraced his Arab American identity by referring to himself as an Arab and by introducing dialects into his radio and television appearances. Thomas once said in an interview that comedy is about "serving the public and looking out for their mental welfare" but Thomas was also respected for taking care of the public's physical well being through his advocacy of children's cancer research through his founding of the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
