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Movie/TV Stars

Ann Curry – former Today Show host  (Japanese, Cherokee, French, German, Scottish, Irish)

Berenice Marlohe – starred in James Bond film Skyfall  (French, Cambodian, Chinese)

Betty Nguyen – CBS news anchor  (Vietnamese, Scottish)

Booboo Stewart – appeared in The Twilight Saga  (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Native American, Russian, Scottish)

Charlyne Yi – cast member of House  (Filipino, Spanish, Korean, Mexican, Irish, German, French, Native American)

Cheryl Burke – Dancing with the Stars winner  (Filipino, Irish, Russian)

Daniel Henney – starred in Shanghai Calling  (Korean, Irish)

Darren Criss – Glee cast member  (Chinese, Spanish, Filipino, Irish)

Dean Cain – portrayed Superman on Lois & Clark  (Japanese, White)

Ella and Jaden Hiller – former baby Lily on Modern Family  (Filipino, American)

France Nguyen – actress who was featured on the 1958 cover of Life magazine (French, Vietnamese)

Fred Armisen – former SNL cast member and co-creator of Portlandia  (Venezuelan, Korean, German)

Johnny Yong Bosch – former Mighty Morphin Power Ranger  (Korean, German, Irish)

Keanu Reeves – starred in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and The Matrix trilogy  (English, Irish, Portuguese, Native Hawaiian, Chinese)

Kelly Hu – first Asian American winner of Miss Teen USA  (Hawaiian, Chinese, English)

Kristin Kreuk – played a lead role in Smallville  (Dutch, Chinese)

Lindsay Price – appeared in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Lipstick Jungle  (Korean, German, Irish)

Lou Diamond Phillips – starred in La Bamba and Stand and Deliver  (Scottish, Irish, Cherokee, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian)

Maggie Q – lead character on Nikita  (Irish, Polish, Vietnamese)

Mark-Paul Gosselaar – played Zach Morris on Saved by the Bell  (Dutch, Indonesian)

Michael Yo – TV host and stand-up comedian (Korean, African American)

Moon Bloodgood – appeared in Terminator Salvation and Falling Skies  (Dutch, Irish, Korean)

Nancy Kwan – played a pivotal role in the acceptance of Asian actors in major Hollywood film roles  (Chinese, English, Scottish)

Olivia Munn – former Attack of the Show! cohost and correspondent on The Daily Show  (Chinese, German, Irish)

Rob Schneider – former SNL cast member  (Jewish, Filipino)

Sir Ben Kingsley – starred in Gandhi and Schindler’s List  (Indian, British, Jewish)

Steve Byrne – stand-up comedian and star of Sullivan & Son  (Irish, Korean)

Tura Satana – starred in in the 1965 film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!  (Japanese, Filipino, Cheyenne, Scottish)

Vanessa Hudgens – starred in High School Musical and Gimmie Shelter  (Irish, Native American, Filipino, Chinese, Spanish)

Vanessa Minnillo – former host of MTV’s Total Request Live  (Italian, Irish, Filipino)

Musicians

Allan Lindo – member of the Black Eyed Peas  (Filipino, African American)

Amerie – Grammy nominated singer-songwriter  (Korean, African American)

Brendan Buckley – Shakira’s drummer  (Korean, Irish)

Bruno Mars – Grammy winning singer-songwriter and producer  (Puerto Rican, Filipino)

Cassie – recording artist, model, and dancer  (Filipino, African American, West Indian, Mexican)

Doug Robb – Hoobastank frontman  (Japanese, Scottish)

Eddie Van Halen – lead guitarist of Van Halen  (Dutch, Indonesian)

Enrique Iglesias – one of the best-selling Spanish language artists of all time  (Spanish, Filipino)

Jero – the first black enka singer in Japan  (African American, Japanese)

Karen O – vocalist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs  (Korean, Polish)

Kelis – Grammy nominated singer-songwriter  (African American, Chinese)

Kirk Hammett – lead guitarist of Metallica  (Filipino, Irish)

KT Tunstall – Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist  (Chinese, Scottish)

Lovefoxxx – lead singer of Brazilian rock band Cansei de Ser Sexy  (German, Portuguese, Japanese)

Marié Digby – artist who gained popularity on YouTube  (Japanese, Irish)

Michelle Branch – Grammy winning singer-songwriter and guitarist  (Irish, Dutch, Indonesian, French)

Mike Shinoda – Linkin Park vocalist  (Japanese, White)

Ne-Yo – Grammy winning R&B singer-songwriter and producer  (African American, Chinese)

Nicole Scherzinger – lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls  (Filipino, Hawaiian, Russian)

Norah Jones – one of the best-selling artists of all time  (Indian, White)

Sean Lennon – the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono  (Japanese, Irish, Welsh)

Sean Paul – Jamaican Grammy winner  (Jewish, Afro-Caribbean, English, Chinese, Jamaican)

Tyga – American rapper  (Vietnamese, African American)

Athletes

Apolo Anton Ohno – the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time  (Japanese, White)

Bryan Clay – Olympic champion for the decathlon  (Japanese, African American)

Daniel Sandrin – Korean Basketball League player  (Korean, White)

David Batista – professional wrestler and mixed martial artist  (Greek, Filipino)

Devin Setoguchi – Canadian hockey player  (Japanese, White)

Don Wakamatsu – former MLB catcher and manager  (Japanese, Irish)

Hines Ward – former Pittsburgh Steeler and advocate for the acceptance of mixed-race youth  (Korean, African American)

J.R. Celski – speed skater and Olympic medalist  (Polish, Filipino)

Kyla Ross – gymnast and Olympic medalist  (Japanese, African American, Puerto Rican, Filipino

Leilani Mitchell – WNBA player for the New York Liberty  (Filipino, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indian, White)

Marcel Nguyen – German gymnast and Olympic medalist  (German, Vietnamese)

Nathan Adrian – swimmer and Olympic gold  (Chinese, White)

Phil Younghusband – English soccer player  (Filipino, English)

Tiger Woods – one of the most successful golfers of all time  (African American, American Indian, Thai, Chinese, White)

Tim Lincecum – pitcher for the San Francisco Giants  (White, Filipino)

Travis Ishikawa – first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers  (Japanese, White)

Yu Darvish – Japanese pitcher for the Texas Rangers  (Iranian, Japanese)

Models

Chanel Iman – Victoria’s Secret Angel and runway model  (Korean, African American)

Devon Aoki – runway model (despite being only 5’5”) and actor  (Japanese, German, English)

Jessica Gomes – model and reality TV star  (Portuguese, Chinese)

Kimora Lee – model and former president of Phat Fashions  (Japanese, African American)

Leah Dizon – American model and singer in Japan  (French, Filipino, Chinese)

Monique Lhuillier – fashion designer  (Filipino, French)

Naomi Campbell – British supermodel  (Jamaican, Chinese)

Nigel Barker – fashion photographer and former model  (English, Sri Lankan)

Tyson Beckford – model and actor (Jamaican, Panamanian, Chinese)

59 thoughts on “Famous Hapas

  1. Phoebe Cates (actress/model) is a hapa also.. She is half Filipino, and half Jewish. She starred and co starred in a string of hit movies like gremlins, drop dead Fred, and who could forget Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

  2. Believe it or not but you missed the most famous Hapa: Bruce Lee, his mother was half-chinese and half caucasian (no further info which ethnicity though).
    There would also be model and actor Mario Maurer (Chinese/German),
    Benjamin Brian Castro (stage name Sebastian Castro, Peruvian/Japanese), actor, singer, visual artist, and YouTube sensation.
    Benjamin Tang, model
    Thomas Price (Chinese/English), actor

    And I don’t know from what level of popularity on you collect but there would also be the following Germans:
    Simone Hauswald (German/Korean), biathlete
    Jenny-May Nguyen (German/Vietnamese), fantasy author
    Ken Miyao (German/Japanese), singer
    Thanh Schäfer (German/Vietnamese), youtbe celebrity
    There is also singer and dancer Marq Porciuncula who is of fillipino descent and therefore could be a hapa, but I have no proof.

  3. David Alaba – Austrian soccer player (half Nigerian, half Filipino)
    The Rock – American Wrestler / Actor (half black nova scotian, half samoan)
    wilfredo lam – Cuban painter (afro cuban, chinese and spanish)

  4. Booboo Stewart’s father is of Native American, Scottish, and Russian extraction, while his mother is of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean ancestry. He is co-starring in the next X-Men installment.
    James Duval’s father is of Native American, French, and Irish extraction, while his French-Vietnamese mother is a native of Saigon. He is the muse of Gregg Araki and co-starred in the cult film, Donnie Darko.

  5. Janel Parrish from Pretty Little Liars —Hapa..Asian+Caucasion
    Shay Mitchell from Pretty Little Liars—Hapa..Fillipina+Canadian

  6. Shay Mitchell- filipino/irish
    Hailee Steinfeld- filipino/caucasian
    Catherine Guidici- filipino/italian
    Natalie Coughlin- Irish/filipino
    Cassie Steele- filipino /english
    Alexa Steele- filipino/ english
    Nicole Gale Anderson- filipino/swedish
    Sharon Leal- filipino/african-american
    Jessica Sanchez- filipino-mexican american
    Roshon Fegan- filipino/african american

  7. Chad McQueen – Actor (Karate Kid), martial artist, race car driver, son of Steve McQueen and Neile Adams (Caucasian, Filipino, Chinese)

  8. Johnny Damon, MLB baseball player, winner of World Series with Red Sox, is half Thai (and in fact plays for the Thai national baseball team in international competitions)

  9. How about Aline Nakashima (beautiful model) & Cory Lee. Check out “Half Asian” on youtube & you’ll find tons of hapas there!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. Todd Park Mohr (Half korean / other half, not-to sure of, but of European origin), platinum-selling recording artist, guitarist / singer-songwriter extraodinaire out of Colorado, USA, heads the band Big head Todd & the Monsters. Please add him, he should be on that list.

  11. Tommy Chong (Chinese, Scotch-Irish) comedian, actor
    Kirk Hammett (Filipino, Irish) musician
    Ricky Steamboat (Japanese, Caucasian) pro wrestling
    Heidi Lucas (Chinese, Czech) actress “Salute Your Shorts”
    James Yun “Jimmy Wang Yang” (Korean, Caucasian) pro wrestling
    Jon Gosselin (Korean, French, Irish, Welsh) “Jon & Kate plus 8”

  12. To the Models/Fashion Entrepeneurs list, you need to add Chanel Iman (half Korean, half African American) and Sen Mitsuji (half Japanese, half Caucasian).

  13. erm..Steve Jobs was a Hapa. Unfortunately this caught my attention after his sad demise :( He had an American mother and a Syrian father.

  14. Brandon Lee, actor and martial artist (Bruce Lee’s son)
    Chinese/Swedish and English

    Michael Yo, E!News Correspondent, African American/Korean

    I’ll post more if I find them! ;)

  15. Crystal Kay (Korean and African American) Singer
    Yoon Mi rae – Natasha Reid (Korean African American) Singer/Rapper
    Chanel Iman (Korean African American) Model
    Ai Uemura (Japanese Italian) Singer/ Rapper
    Thelma Aoyama (Japanese Trinidad) Singer
    Emi Maria (Japanese Trinidad) Singer

  16. what about Kelsey Chow and Malese Jow. They are both half Chinese actress? Meg Tilly and Jennifer Tilly are Half Chinese from their dad side

  17. Michaela Meinecke (Half German/Half Pinay)
    Helga Krapf (Half German / Half Pinay)
    Isabel Blaesi(Half Swiss / Half Pinay)
    all are Model in the Philippines

  18. Here’s a pretty cool segment on Kirk Hammet’s Filipino mom. Kirk is half Filipino, half Irish.

    Just wanted to share.

  19. “Isn’t Olivia Munn (formerly of G4′s Attack of the Show) a hapa too?”

    Yup – half-Chinese, half Irish-German according to Wikipedia.

  20. Check out Andy Suzuki and the Method! Their lead singer is a half-Japanese, half-Jewish singer-songwriter.
    andysuzukimusic.com

  21. Two more names that come to mind, without bothering to do any research:
    Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.
    Brandon League, pitcher (Seattle Mariners, IIRC)

  22. Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica

    Phoebe Cates, actress in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’

    Cris Judd, choreographer and ex-boyfriend of Jennifer Lopez

    Hailee Steinfeld, actress in ‘True Grit’

    Shannyn Sossamon, actress in ’40 Days and 40 Nights’

  23. Joyce Luther Kennard (born May 6, 1941) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California. She was born in a Japanese concentration camp in the province of West Java in Indonesia, to a Dutch-Indonesian father and a Chinese-Indonesian mother. English is not her native language; she speaks it with a slight Dutch accent. Appointed by Governor George Deukmejian in 1989 she is the longest-serving justice sitting on the Court, having been retained by California’s voters three times—first to fill the unexpired term in 1990, followed by second and third consecutive twelve-year terms in 1994 and 2006.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_L._Kennard

  24. Actress Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King, X-Men 2, various TV shows) Chinese, English, Hawaiian.

    Music artist Norah Jones, Real Name: Geetali Norah Jones Shankar, Bengali (Indian)/Anglo-American

    Actor Sir Ben Kingsley, real name: Krishna Pandit Bhanji, Gujarati Indian/English

  25. Oliva Munn is most definitely a Hapa, her Father is German and Irish and her mother is Chinese.
    Also music artist Kate Earl who sings “Melody”, Dutch/Welsh Father and Filipina mother.
    As well, comedian/actor Steve Byrne, his father is Irish his mother is Korean.

  26. Cheryl Burke from Dancing with the Stars – Filipino, Irish, Russian

    Carrie Ann Inaba from Dancing with the Stars – She is part Chinese, Japanese, Irish and African-American

  27. Nela Panghy-Lee ( Half Korean /Half Hungarian) ( Taff,Nickelodeon TV Germany,Wetten Dass with Thomas Gottschalk)
    Ankie Beilke ( Half German / Half Chinese ) Actress ( Wickie )
    Phil Younghusband ( Half British / Half Filipino ) Former Chelsea FC Player
    David Alaba (Half Nigerian / Half Filipino)… Bayern Munich

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