Over the years, migrant stars such as
Rihanna, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, etc., have dominated the music and film industries. They have become so familiar to domestic and international audiences.
Many people associate
celebrities with the U.S. But the fact that these actors and artists were born and grew up in other countries. They were previously outsiders in Hollywood, but their accents, unique characteristics, and artistic ability were able to captivate audiences. They bring a distinct beauty found only in their country to the United States, making showbiz here more vibrant and fresh.
Here we have listed 14 14 celebrities born outside of the U.S that shake things up with their
distinctive genetics and migrant celebs contributing to making American showbiz more unique! So keep on scrolling to see our collection and let us know your opinion in the comments section below!
#1 Rihanna, Barbados
Source: © 0000003/Reporter/ East News
Rihanna was born in St. Michael in 1988 and won multiple beauty pageants as a teenager. She was still in high school when a classmate connected her to Evan Rodgers, a New Yorker who was a family friend. Rodgers heard her perform and flew her to New York, where she was signed to Def Jam Records after her singing convinced them of her impending success.
#2 Priyanka Chopra, India
Source: © Jack Shea / Starshots / Broad Image / East News
Priyanka Chopra was born in the Indian city of Jamshedpur in 1982. She has crowned Miss India in 2000 and then Miss World 2000. Despite her desire to be an aeronautical engineer, the actress was given multiple roles in Indian films and eventually joined Bollywood. She rose to prominence after starring in the television series
Quantico and has since acted in comedies such as
Baywatch and
Isn't It Romantic.
#3 Charlize Theron, South Africa
Source: © charlizeafrica / Instagram
Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, in 1975. She took ballet lessons as a child and dreamed of being a professional ballerina, but a damaged knee put an end to her goal, so she flew to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actor. After causing a commotion in a bank for refusing to take a cheque, an agent gave Theron his card on the condition that she learn American English. She subsequently went on to wow Hollywood with her major portrayal in
The Devil's Advocate and won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in
Monster.#4 Lupita Nyong’o, Kenya
Source: © 0000466 / Reporter / East News
Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico, where her father worked, but returned to Nairobi a year later. She used to act in school plays and go to the theater with her family. She later came to the United States and studied drama at Yale University. She stunned Hollywood with her performance in 12 Years a Slave not long after.
#5 Natalie Portman, Israel
Source: © Paul Marks / Broad Image / East News
Natalie Hershlag, her true name, was born in Jerusalem in 1981 and is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin. Her family relocated to the United States when she was three years old, and an agent discovered her at a pizza shop when she was eleven years old. Her portrayal of Princess Amidala in
Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace catapulted her to stardom. While studying psychology at Harvard and filming
Star Wars movies, Portman continued to pursue acting.
#6 Sofía Vergara, Colombia
Source: © Adhemar Sburlati / Broad Image / East News
In 1972,
Sofía Margarita Vergara was born in Barranquilla. She was studying to be a dentist when she was noticed by a photographer on a beach day. As a result, she was hired as a runway model and a TV talk show host. She garnered four Emmy nods for her performance as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the program Modern Family in 2009.
Source: © Evan Agostini / Invision / AP / East News
Gal Gadot was born in Rosh Ha'ayin in 1985 and was named Miss Israel 2004 when she was 18 years old. Following her modeling career, she worked as a combat instructor for the Israel Defense Forces, which gave her an advantage when she was cast as Wonder Woman, the role that made her famous throughout the world.
#8 Djimon Hounsou, Benin
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Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou and lived there till he was 13 years old before going to France. He met French designer Thierry Mugler by coincidence, who inspired him to pursue a career as a model. He did and walked the Paris runways for a few years before moving to the United States in search of fresh experiences. His breakout performance was in Steven Spielberg's
Amistad as Joseph Cinqué, and he went on to star in award-winning blockbusters including
Gladiator,
Blood Diamond, and
Aquaman.
#9 Nina Dobrev, Bulgaria
Source: © nina / Instagram
Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva is her real name, and she was born in Sofia in 1989. Her parents moved to Canada when she was two years old. As a youngster in Toronto, the actress began modeling and appearing in commercials. Those were soon replaced by movie auditions, and she won her breakout part as
Mia Jones in Degrassi: The Next Generation. Her main part in
The Vampire Diaries has made her famous.
Source: © AP / East News
Keanu Reeves was born to an English mother and a Hawaiian father in Beirut in 1964. Reeves' ancestors are Chinese, Irish, Portuguese, and English. Following his performance in the Canadian film Youngblood, the actor relocated to Hollywood and landed his breakthrough role in
Dangerous Liaisons, which launched his career and garnered his big roles in blockbusters like
The Matrix and
Constantine.
#11 Nicki Minaj, Trinidad and Tobago
Source: © Ann Porter / Broad Image / East News
Onika Tanya Maraj was born on the Caribbean island of St. James in March 1982. When she was five years old, her family relocated to New York, where she attended an arts-focused high school. She was spotted by the CEO of Young Money after graduation and began participating in
The Come Up series. She rose to international recognition as a vocalist after the publication of her mixtape
Playtime Is Over.
#12 Emilia Clarke, England
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Emilia Clarke, who was born in London but reared in Berkshire, knew she wanted to be an actress when she was three years old after seeing the musical Show Boat. Clarke began her career as a member of the Drama Centre London and appeared in minor roles on television shows before landing her breakout role as Daenerys Targaryen in
Game of Thrones. She's shot to prominence and even been named "Most Desirable Woman."
#13 James McAvoy, Scotland
Source: © Charles Sykes / Invision / AP / East News
James McAvoy, who was born in Glasgow in 1976, had no intention of becoming an actor and instead planned to become a priest until he met actor David Hayman, who came to his school and gave McAvoy a role in the film
The Near Room. McAvoy opted to enroll at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama after the experience (RSAMD). His performance as Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia made him renowned in the United Kingdom, but it was his debut as Mr. Tumnus in
The Chronicles of Narnia that made him famous in Hollywood.
#14 Wagner Moura, Brazil
Source: © Wiese / FaceToFace / REPORTER / East News
Wagner Moura was born in 1976 in El Salvador. He exhibited an early interest in acting and joined a group of performing arts students at his high school as a youngster. The actor studied journalism before deciding to pursue his passion of becoming an actor after a brief stint on television. He quickly signed contracts to feature in a number of Brazilian films, but it was his portrayal of Pablo Escobar in Netflix's Narcos that catapulted him to fame.