List of Estonian Americans

This is a list of notable Estonian-Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Estonian American or must have references showing they are Estonian American and are notable.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Arts and literature

• Alar Kivilo (born 1953) — member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,^[1] cinematographer^[2]
• Lisa Kivirist (born 1967) — author
• Kristjan Järvi (born 1972) — symphony conductor^[3]
• Neeme Järvi (born 1937) — symphony conductor. Moved to the US in 1981^{[citation needed]}
• Paavo Järvi (born 1962) — current Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra^[4]
• Tõnu Kalam (born 1948) — pianist and symphony conductor^[5]
• Mark Kostabi (born 1960) — artist^[6][7]
• Paul Kostabi (born 1962) — artist, music producer^[8]
• Louis Kahn (1901–1974) — architect, designer of the Salk Institute, Kimbell Art Museum, and others^[9]
• Ilse Lehiste (1922–2010) — linguist and author
• Alexander Nelke (1894–1974) — artist
• Dennis Nurkse (born 1949) — poet
• Raymond Pettibon (born 1957) — artist, designer of the iconic Black Flag (band) bars^[10]
• Bill Rebane (born 1937) — film director^[11]
• Ene Riisna (born 1938) — television producer
• Jerry Saltz (Estonian father) (born 1951) — art critic^[12]
• Helen Tobias-Duesberg (1919–2010) — composer^[13]
• Priit Vesilind (born 1943) — author, photojournalist^[14]
• Kiino Villand (born 1969) — photographer
• Arthur Võõbus (1909–1988) — theologian, orientalist and church historian

Science

• Nicole Aunapu Mann (born 1977) — astronaut and test pilot
• August Komendant (1906–1992) — Professor of Architecture at University of Pennsylvania (1959–74),^[15] Structural Engineer for Louis Kahn^[16]
• Pearn P. Niiler (1937–2010) — oceanographer
• Jaak Panksepp (1943–2017) — neuroscientist and psychobiologist^[17]
• Hillar Rootare (1928–2008) — physical chemist
• Rein Taagepera Ph.D (born 1933) — Research Professor, Political science, University of California, Irvine; Professor Emeritus, University of Tartu, Estonia^[18][19]
• Riho Terras (1939–2005) — mathematician
• Alar Toomre (born 1937), Jüri Toomre — astronomers and mathematicians^[20][21]
• Karen Uhlenbeck (born 1942) — mathematician and founder of geometric analysis
• Lauri Vaska (1925–2015) — chemist^[22]

Entertainment

• Erika Eleniak (born 1969) — Playboy Playmate and actress^{[citation needed]}
• Greg Ginn (born 1954) — guitarist of Black Flag^[23]
• Miliza Korjus (1905–1980) — coloratura soprano opera singer
• Karolyn Nelke (born 1948) — stage actress
• Mena Suvari (born 1979) — actress (Estonian father)
• Ivan Triesault (1898–1980) — actor^[24][25]
• Johann Urb (born 1977) — actor and former model^[26]

Sports

• Jaan Ehlvest (born 1962) — chess player^[27]
• Margus Hunt (born 1987) — football player^[28]
• Chris Jogis (born 1965) — badminton player
• Ingrid Neel (born 1998) — tennis player^[29]
• Michael Roos (born 1982) — football player^[30]
• John Roosma (1900–1983) — basketball player
• Sven Salumaa (born 1966) — tennis player
• Warren Cummings Smith (born 1991) — alpine skier^[31]
• Ralph Tamm (born 1966) — football player
• Katie Vesterstein (born 1999) — alpine skier^[32]

Business

• Elisabeth Murdoch (born 1968) — businesswoman
• James Murdoch (born 1972) — businessman
• Steve Jurvetson (born 1967) — Draper Fisher Jurvetson businessman^[33]

Politics

• Michael Josselson (1908–1978) — secretary general for the Congress for Cultural Freedom^[34][35]
• Jaan Laaman (born 1948) — leftist extremist^[36]
• Samuel H. Shapiro (1907–1987) — governor of Illinois.^{[citation needed]}
• Edmund S. Valtman (1914–2005) — political cartoonist^[37]
• Melissa F. Wells (born 1932) — diplomat and former ambassador

Military

• Aleksander Einseln (1931–2017) — former Commander-in-chief of the Estonian army (dual U.S. and Estonian citizenship)^[38]
• Tiiu Kera (born 1945) — retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general^[39]
• Edward Masso — retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and ambassador to Estonia

References

1. Alar Kivilo @ MPAS 2007-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
2. Estonian: Alar Kivilo interview at postimees.ee
3. [1] "...under the rising 38-year-old Estonian-American conductor Kristjan Järvi..."
4. [2] "The Estonian-American conductor, Paavo Järvi..."
5. . Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
6. [3] "The most well-known of Estonian/American artists is the infamous Mark Kostabi..."
7. Eastern Europe By Richard C. Frucht -Page 93 ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6 born to Estonian exiles in California
8. [4]"The complete list is: Peeter Kolk, Dianne Bowen, Külliki Talp, Ilse Leetaru, Mark Kostabi, Paul Indrek Kostabi..."
9. [5] "As the great Estonian-American architect wrote..."
10. [6] "Pettibon's mother was an Estonian, who fled to the United States during World War II ..."
11. [7] "I still spoke with a strong European accent as I had immigrated to the United States only 10 years earlier as an Estonian refugee via Germany and was experiencing, in reality and the real sense of the word, "the American Dream.”"
12. "Jerry Saltz and the Future of the Critic-Artist | artnet News". artnet News. 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
13. [8] "But in the last years of her life spent in Savannah, the Estonian-American composer came around to see things differently."
14. [9]^{[permanent dead link]} "Mai sought out an old Geislingen playmate, Estonian-American Priit Vesilind..."
15. University of Pennsylvania School of Design 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
16. Integrated Buildings By Leonard R. Bachman; p. 91 ISBN 978-0-471-46774-8 "Louis Kahn's engineer and fellow Estonian..."
17. Panksepp, J (1992). "A critical role for "affective neuroscience" in resolving what is basic about basic emotions". Psychological Review. 99 (3): 554–60. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.99.3.554. PMID 1502276.
18. Rein Taagepera @ University of California, Irvine
19. [10] "According to leading Estonian-American political scientist Rein Taagepera..."
20. Remarkable Estonian astronomers @ Tartu Space observatory
21. Alar Toomre @ Encyclopædia Britannica
22. [11] "Estonian/American chemist"
23. [12] 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine"...his mother was an immigrant from Estonia."
24. Tallinn St. John's Church's congregation. "E.E.L Kiriku Tallinna Jaani Koguduse I pihtkonna Personaalraamat. V". National Archives of Estonia. p. 188. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
25. "III pihtkonna I personaalraamat". National Archives of Estonia. p. 9. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
26. Hankewitz, Sten (21 June 2018). "Johann Urb: becoming an actor just happened to me – but it clearly needed to happen". Estonian World. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
27. Ehlvest, Jaan (2004). The Story of a Chess Player. Arbiter Publishing. ISBN 0-9763891-0-X.
28. [13] "Hunt got drafted to NFL in 2013."
29. "Vaba Eesti Sõna - Vaba Eesti Sõna".
30. . Archived from the original on 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2006-05-17. "Roos is believed to be the first Estonian native to play in the NFL..."
31. "Warren Cummings Smith - Estonia's Secret Weapon on the Slopes?". 31 January 2014.
32. "Vesterstein's Olympic dream started in Duluth, reaches Beijing, with Estonia in the middle". Duluth News Tribune. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
33. . Archived from the original on 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2006-05-17. "Steve Jurvetson, the 34-year-old Silicon Valley venture capitalist extraordinaire, and second-generation Estonian American..."
34. JSTOR ...Michael Josselson, himself of Estonian origins
35. Powers, Richard (January 1998). Not Without Honor. Yale University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-300-07470-3. naturalized American of Jewish-Estonian background
36. "Jaan Laaman grew up in Roxbury and Buffalo NY. Hisfamily emigrated to the U.S. from Estonia when he was a child."
37. The Estonians in America, 1627-1975: a chronology & fact book
38. [15] Center For Immigration Studies: Dual Citizenship and American National Identity. Renshon, Stanley A.
39. Astbury Methodist Village Retrieved 27 April 2017.

External links

• Estonian Americans