Curated playlist
American people of Russian descent
- Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprio owes his first name to a kick. His pregnant mother felt the baby move while she stood before a Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Uffizi museum in Florence, Italy. That child grew up to be an American actor and film…
- Igor StravinskyIgor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring caused a near-riot at its 1913 Paris premiere.
- Milla JovovichMilla Jovovich once invented and mastered an alien language of more than 400 words, all for a single film role. She is an American actress, singer and former model, born in Kyiv and raised in Los Angeles. In 2006 the music channel VH1…
- John A. GottiJohn Angelo Gotti, called Junior, sat through four racketeering trials between 2004 and 2009, and not one of them ended in a conviction. Yet he had already been to prison. In 1999 he was jailed for racketeering, after running the Gambino…
- Jon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi, born John Francis Bongiovi Jr. on the 2nd of March 1962, has played more than 3,000 concerts with his band in over 50 countries. The crowds added up to more than 35 million fans. He is an American singer, songwriter and…
- Igor SikorskyA mosquito in a fuel tank changed Igor Sikorsky's career. The crash-landing made him want an aircraft that could fly on.
- Armie HammerArmie Hammer was hand-picked in 2007 by the filmmaker George Miller to play Batman. The actor, born in 1986, had been chosen after a long search. The film was Justice League: Mortal, and Miller was set to direct it. It never reached…
- Yul BrynnerA few days after Yul Brynner died, a thirty-second warning from him appeared on all the major American television networks and in other countries. The Russian and American actor looked straight into the camera. He said: "Now that I'm gone,…
- Taylor MomsenTaylor Momsen was on stage in Seville, Spain, on the 31st of May 2024 when a bat bit her. She was performing with her band, the Pretty Reckless, at the time. The bite meant she had to take vaccinations for rabies. Momsen is an American…
- Michael RostovtzeffMichael Rostovtzeff saw one empire collapse in Russia, then wondered if Rome fell the same way.