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List of Barbadian Americans

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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

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

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Actors

  • Meagan Good - actress (paternal grandfather){{cite news|url=http://www.dallasblack.com/entertainment/interviewmeagangood|title=DallasBlack.com: Interview: Meagan Good|access-date=2009-03-11|work=DallasBlack.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123063714/http://www.dallasblack.com/entertainment/interviewmeagangood|archive-date=2009-01-23}}{{cite web |author= Kam Williams|title= Meagan Good: The Unborn Interview|url=http://www.kamwilliams.com/2009/01/meagan-good-unborn-interview.html |date=2009-01-20 |publisher= KamWilliams.com|access-date=2009-06-30}}
  • Cuba Gooding, Jr. - actor (paternal grandfather was from Barbados)
  • Omar Gooding - actor (same grandfather as Cuba Jr.)
  • Adrian Holmes - Canadian actor (ancestry vague)
  • Nia Long - actress (ancestry vague)
  • Mari Morrow - actress (ancestry vague)
  • Gwyneth Paltrow - (her great-grandmother was Barbadian) {{cite news|title=Hollywood celebrity finds family links in Barbados |author=Staff writer |url=http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=lifestyle&NewsID=16711 |newspaper=The Barbados Advocate |date=31 March 2011 |access-date=31 March 2011 |quote=The Paltrow episode, which forms a part of the television network’s programme entitled “Who Do You Think You Are?” will air this Friday, April 1, at 8:00 p.m. local time, and local and international viewers will witness the Academy Award-winning actress’s visit to the island where she traces the roots of her paternal grandfather. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119080432/http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=lifestyle&NewsID=16711 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}
  • Redd Pepper - (born Richard Green in Barbados)
  • Jada Pinkett Smith - actress (ancestry vague on mother's side)
  • Robert Christopher Riley - actor (father from Barbados)
  • Lamman Rucker - (ancestry vague) {{cite news |title=Black celebs in Barbados |author=NSH |url=http://www.nationnews.com/articles/view/black-celebs-in-barbados/ |newspaper=Barbados Daily Nation |date=24 February 2012 |access-date=24 February 2012 |quote=Rucker surprised NationNews.com with the information that he is sorry to leave so early (he departs Monday) because he wanted to formalize his dual citizenship — his grandfather is Barbadian Ebenezer Ray from St Michael. }}

Entertainers

Musicians

  • Anycia - rapper
  • A$AP Rocky - real name Rakim Mayers, rapper
  • KRS-One - real name Lawrence Parker, rapper
  • Afrika Bambaataa - musician{{Cite web |url=http://www.djhistory.com/interviews/afrika-bambaataa |title=Afrika Bambaataa: "djhistory Interview" |access-date=2010-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122220459/http://djhistory.com/interviews/afrika-bambaataa |archive-date=2010-11-22 |url-status=dead }}
  • Damon Dash - co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records; Stacey Dash's cousin
  • Grandmaster Flash - hip hop musician and DJ
  • Dave East - rapper
  • Faith Evans - singer and actress
  • Doug E. Fresh - hip hop musician
  • Desiigner - hip hop musician/rapper
  • Cuba Gooding, Sr. - singer{{cite news | url=http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/20000927cuba3.asp |title=Stage Preview: Acting takes Cuba Gooding Sr. on an inspirational tour |access-date=2008-11-19 |first=Eve |last=Modzelewski |date=2000-09-27 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette }}
  • Ryan Leslie - musician, producer
  • Mr. Lif - hip hop musician
  • LL Cool J - musician{{cite journal |last=Chappell |first=Kevin |date=2003-01-01 |title=L.L. Cool J Turns Up the Heat and Talks About Love, Marriage, and Why He Gave Up 'The Naked Look' |journal=Ebony Magazine |issue=January |pages= 116–120 |publisher=Johnson Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNoDAAAAMBAJ&q=LL.+Cool+J+from+Barbados+grandfather+Ebony&pg=PA116 |access-date=September 30, 2009 |quote=My grandfather has told me that I was a genius for as long as I can remember. Believe in myself. Believe that I can make it. Believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. My mother told me those things a lot when I was growing up. that's what I've been focused on my whole life". And while it was those pep talks that molded his worth ethic, it was the love his grandparent showed for each other that molded his beliefs about love and romance. "My grandfather was a hardworking man who came to the U.S. from Barbados," LL Cool J says. "He always told me to take care of my family. He took great care of my grandmother. They put each other on the pedestal. }}
  • Lord Burgess - songwriter
  • Shontelle - musician
  • Arturo Tappin - musician
  • Tweet - real name Charlene Keys, singer
  • Rayvon - real name Bruce Alexander Michael Brewster, Barbadian singer-songwriter
  • Remy Ma - rapper
  • Rihanna - singer
  • Rowdy Rebel - rapper
  • Lil’ Kim - rapper

Public service figures

  • Shirley Chisholm - Congresswoman
  • Adrian Fenty - former Mayor of Washington, District of Columbia{{cite news |title=NEW YORK NEW YORK: Bajan mayor shown door |first=Tony |last=Best |url=http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/new-york-new-york-bajan-mayor-shown-door/ |newspaper=Nation Newspaper |date=24 September 2010 |access-date=2 January 2011 |quote=There is the United States Attorney-General Eric Holder Jr. Next is Dr Vilma Scantlebury, the world’s first black, female organ transplant surgeon. Then there is Gail Brathwaite, the chief operating officer of one of Connecticut’s largest banks. To that list, Bajans can add Adrian Fenty, mayor of the nation’s capital. This energetic son of a Bajan became the city’s youngest mayor in 2006 and people across the capital looked to him to change the fortunes of a municipality which often seemed mired in scandal, mismanagement and corruption. By any measure, he succeeded in changing things. Unfortunately, Fenty, 39, who speaks openly about his Bajan family connections, now has less than three months before he must leave office. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623220615/http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/new-york-new-york-bajan-mayor-shown-door/|archive-date=2012-06-23|url-status=dead }}{{cite news |title=D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty Honored by Italian American Community |first=Francesco |last=Isgrò |url=http://ciaoamerica.net/stories_07/adrian_fenty.html |publisher=Ciao Media Group, LLC |date=May 2007 |access-date=2 January 2011 |quote=By many accounts, the star attraction of the evening was the Mayor’s mother, Jeanette Bianchi Perno Fenty, whose family hails from Monte San Giovanni Campano, a small town located about 90 km southeast of Rome and about 14 km east of Frosinone in the region of Lazio. Her family emigrated to the United States in 1920. Mrs. Fenty and her husband, Phil Fenty (a native of Buffalo, N.Y., whose roots are traced to Barbados and Panama) moved to Washington in 1967. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723042229/http://ciaoamerica.net/stories_07/adrian_fenty.html |archive-date=23 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}
  • Charles Gittens - first black United States Secret Service agent{{cite news|title=Charles Gittens |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8694143/Charles-Gittens.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2011-08-10|access-date=2011-08-18}}
  • Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix - New York State Supreme Court Judge[http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2004/12/27/inducted.htm First Barbadian inducted as New York State Supreme Court Justice] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619231125/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2004/12/27/inducted.htm |date=2008-06-19 }}, Monday, December 27, 2004, CaribbeanNetNews.com[http://www.nycourtsystem.com/Applications/JudicialDirectory/Bio.php?ID=7029854 Profile Hon. Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix], New York State Unified Court System
  • Eric Holder - former Attorney General of the United States{{cite news|access-date=November 19, 2008 |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/eric_h_holder_jr/index.html |title=Eric H. Holder, Jr.|first=David |last=Johnston |work=The New Team |format=Series |publisher=The New York Times |date=November 11, 2008}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nationnews.com/story/347652135987365.php |title=Obama's AG may be Bajan |access-date=November 18, 2008 |first=Tony |last=Best |date=November 16, 2008 |work=Local News |publisher=Nation Newspaper |location=Barbados |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714155641/http://www.nationnews.com/story/347652135987365.php |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/us/politics/11web-holder.html|title=Eric H. Holder Jr. |last=Johnston|first=David|work=The New York Times|access-date=2009-01-31 | date=November 12, 2008}}
  • Sherrilyn Ifill - lawyer and activist
  • Thomas Jones - former Civil Court judge and civil rights activist in Brooklyn, New York
  • Chirlane McCray - poet, public speech writer, married to New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio
  • Bret Schundler - former Mayor of Jersey City, NJ[http://www.njfaq.com/bret2001/preex/meetthenewkidonthefasttrack.shtml Meet The New Kid On The Fast Track], August 22, 1993, North Jersey Herald & News
  • Lloyd Sealy - first African American NYPD officer to command a police precinct and patrol borough{{cite web | url = http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/sealy/indexx.html | title = Lloyd George Sealy: An Appreciation | first = Gerald | last = Markowitz | work = Lloyd Sealy Library | publisher = John Jay College of Criminal Justice }}
  • Dennis M. Walcott - Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development in New York City, New York{{cite news |title=Mayor Bloomberg to host West Indians at Gracie Mansion |first=Bevan |last=Springer |url=http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/pr360/34844.html#axzz1Iz1dQ4SW |newspaper=Caribbean360 |date=5 August 2010 |access-date=8 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001051208/http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/pr360/34844.html#axzz1Iz1dQ4SW|archive-date=2011-10-01|url-status=dead }}

Religious figures

Scientists

Sports figures

Writers

  • Gwen Ifill (1955–2016) American journalist and television newscaster{{cite web | title=Gwen Ifill Biography | url=http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=212144 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001051535/http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=212144 | url-status=dead | archive-date=2008-10-01 | work=Biography | year=2008 | access-date=2008-09-18 }}{{cite web | author=Carol Brennan | title=Black Biography: Gwen Ifill | url=http://www.answers.com/topic/gwen-ifill | work=Contemporary Black Biography | publisher=The Gale Group | year=2008 | access-date=2008-09-18}}
  • Agymah Kamau - novelist
  • Odimumba Kwamdela (1942–2019) poet and novelist
  • Paule Marshall (1929–2019) novelist
  • Susan L. Taylor (born 1946) editor-in-chief of Essence magazine
  • Neville Goddard - writer and mystic

Others

  • Percy C. Ifill (1913–1973) American architect of Barbadian descent
  • Frank L. White (1867–1938) chef, the original chef's face on Cream of Wheat box

See also

References

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Category:Lists of American people by descent

Americans