This is a list of notable

Barbadian Americans Barbadian (or Bajan) Americans are Americans of Barbados heritage or ancestry. The 2000 Census recorded 53,785 US residents born on the Caribbean island 52,170 of whom were born to non-American parents and 54,509 people who described their ethnic ...

, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

Actors

Meagan Good Meagan Monique Good is an American actress. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom ''Cousin Skeeter'' (1998–2001). Good received further ...

- actress (paternal grandfather) *

Cuba Gooding, Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appeare ...

- actor (paternal grandfather was from Barbados) *

Omar Gooding Omar Miles Gooding Sr., also known by his stage name, Big OAdrian Holmes Adrian Holmes (born March 31, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work on the Bravo television series '' 19-2'', for which he won a Canadian Screen Award in 2017. He is also known for playing the role of Uncle Phil in the ''Fresh Pr ...

- Canadian actor (ancestry vague) *

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

- actress (ancestry vague) *

Mari Morrow Mari Eulanda Morrow (born July 21, 1968) is an American film and television actress, model and realtor. Morrow is best known for her roles as Rachel Gannon on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1994–96), Oneisha Savoy on the ABC/ ...

- actress (ancestry vague) *

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

- (her great-grandmother was Barbadian) *

Redd Pepper Richardson Green (born 23 June 1961), known professionally as Redd Pepper, is a Barbadian-British voice actor. With his unusually deep voice and vocal style similar to that of Don LaFontaine, he is known for his work on movie trailers. Early ...

- (born Richard Green in Barbados) *

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

- actress (ancestry vague on mother's side) *

Robert Christopher Riley Robert Christopher Riley (born October 11, 1980) is an American film, television, and stage actor of Trinidadian and Bajan descent. He is known for his role as Terrence Wall in the VH1 television drama series '' Hit The Floor'' from 2013 to 201 ...

- actor (father from Barbados) *

Lamman Rucker Lamman Rucker (born October 6, 1971) is an American actor. Rucker began his career on the daytime soap operas ''As the World Turns'' and '' All My Children'', before roles in ''The Temptations'', Tyler Perry's films '' Why Did I Get Married?'', ...

- (ancestry vague)

Entertainers

Lene Hall Lene Hall (born Sherrylene Hall) is a Barbadian model. She modeled throughout her high school career, but it was only when an agent approached Hall at her work place in Barbados and encouraged her to come to New York City that she would have h ...

- supermodel *

Norma Miller Norma Adele Miller (December 2, 1919 – May 5, 2019) was an American Lindy hop dancer, choreographer, actress, author, and comedian known as the "Queen of Swing". Early life Miller was born in 1919 in Harlem, New York City to mother Alma, a ch ...

- dancer (both parents from Barbados)

Musicians

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

- full name Robyn Rihanna Fenty *

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

- rapper *

A$AP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

- real name Rakim Mayers, rapper *

Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenc ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

- co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records; Stacey Dash's cousin *

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

- hip hop musician and DJ *

Dave East David Lawrence Brewster Jr. (born June 3, 1988), better known by his stage name Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 from his eighth mixtape, ''Black Rose''. Its release garnered the attent ...

- rapper *

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

- singer and actress *

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

- hip hop musician *

Desiigner Sidney Royel Selby III (born May 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Desiigner, is an American rapper and singer. In December 2015, his debut single "Panda" reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2019, he was released fr ...

- hip hop musician/rapper *

Cuba Gooding, Sr. Cuba Mark Gooding Sr. (April 27, 1944 – April 20, 2017) was an American singer. He was the most successful lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, replacing former lead singer Donald McPherson who was diagnosed with leukemia in ...

- singer *

Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. He has produced singles for a number of prominent artists in a variety of genres, ranging from R&B, hip hop ...

- musician, producer *

Mr. Lif Jeffrey Haynes (born December 28, 1977), better known by his stage name Mr. Lif, is an American rapper from Boston, Massachusetts. While being praised because of his political lyrics, he has released two studio albums on Definitive Jux and one ...

- hip hop musician *

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

- musician *

Lord Burgess Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known professionally as Lord Burgess, was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest composers of Caribbean music.Shontelle Shontelle Layne (born 4 October 1985), known mononymously as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer and songwriter. She released her debut album ''Shontelligence'' in 2008. Her second album, '' No Gravity'', was released in 2010. Her singles "T-Shirt" ...

- musician * Arturo Tappin - musician * Tweet - real name Charlene Keys, singer *

Rayvon Bruce Alexander Michael Brewster (born January 18, 1968),Gage, Simon (2002), ''The Independent'', 4 August 2002. better known by his stage name Rayvon, is a Barbadian singer and songwriter, known for his work with Shaggy. Born in Barbados, he was ...

- real name Bruce Alexander Michael Brewster, Barbadian singer-songwriter *

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stu ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Rowdy Rebel Chad Marshall (born November 24, 1991), known professionally as Rowdy Rebel, is an American rapper from Brooklyn who is signed to GS9 and Epic Records. He is a member of the Brooklyn-based GS9 crew alongside rapper Bobby Shmurda. Rowdy Rebel app ...

- rapper *

Lil’ Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

- rapper

Public service figures

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional distr ...

Congresswoman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Adrian Fenty Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term, from 2007 to 2011, losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray ...

- former Mayor of Washington, District of Columbia *

Charles Gittens Charles LeRoy Gittens (August 31, 1928 – July 27, 2011) was an American United States Secret Service agent. Gittens joined the Secret Service in 1956, becoming the agency's first African American agent. Gittens was born in Cambridge, Massach ...

- first black

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

agent * Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix - New York State Supreme Court Judge *

Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African America ...

- former

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Sherrilyn Ifill Sherrilyn Ifill (born December 17, 1962) is an American lawyer and the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights at Howard University. She is a law professor and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fun ...

- lawyer and activist * Thomas Jones - former Civil Court judge and civil rights activist in Brooklyn, New York *

Chirlane McCray Chirlane Irene McCray (born November 29, 1954) is an American writer, editor, and activist. She is married to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and had been described as de Blasio's "closest advisor." She chaired the Mayor's Fund to Adva ...

- poet, public speech writer, married to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Mayor,

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...

Bret Schundler Bret D. Schundler (born January 14, 1959) is an American Republican politician from New Jersey. Schundler was the mayor of Jersey City from 1992 until 2001. Schundler was the city's first Republican mayor since 1917. He ran for Governor of New Je ...

- former Mayor of

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Lloyd Sealy - first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

NYPD officer to command a police precinct and patrol borough *

Dennis M. Walcott Dennis M. Walcott (born September 7, 1951) is the former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. He succeeded Cathie Black, who resigned in April 2011 after only three months on the job. He was succeeded as chancellor by Carmen F ...

- Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Religious figures

* Arnold Josiah Ford - rabbi

Scientists

* Cardinal Warde - physicist, full professor of

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Sports Figures

* Robert Bailey -

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

player *

Anson Carter Anson Horace Carter (born June 6, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eight teams, most notably with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. He was la ...

- Canadian hockey player *

Andre De Grasse Andre De Grasse (born November 10, 1994) is a Canadian sprinter. A six-time Olympic medallist, De Grasse is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 m, and also won the silver in the 200 m in 2016. He won a second silver in the 4×100 re ...

- Canadian Sprinter * Ramon Harewood - National Football League player *

Orlando Jordan Orlando Ruben Jordan (born April 21, 1974) is an actor/stuntman and retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE on its SmackDown brand, where he was a one-time United States Champion and for his time with Impa ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Winston Justice Winston Frederick Justice (born September 14, 1984) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (39th overall pick) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC. Cu ...

- National Football League player *

Sam Seale Samuel Ricardo Seale (born October 6, 1962) is a Barbadian-born former American football cornerback who played ten seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American ...

- National Football League player *

Alana Shipp Alana Shipp (born 1982) is a Barbadan professional female bodybuilder, based in Jerusalem. Early life Alana Shipp was born in 1982 in Bridgetown, Barbados to Guyanese parents. She spent her early childhood in Guyana prior to moving to Queens ...

- American/Israeli IFBB professional bodybuilder * Christian Taylor -

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete *

Obadele Thompson Obadele "Oba" Thompson BSS (born 30 March 1976) is a Barbados-born former sprinter, lawyer, author, and speaker. He won Barbados's first and only Olympic medal as an independent country by placing third in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olymp ...

- track and field athlete *

Kevin Weekes Kevin Weekes (born April 4, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 348 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now a studio analyst for NHL Networks' ''On the Fly'', ''NHL Tonight'', and ESPN's The Poi ...

- Canadian hockey player *

Andrew Wiggins Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by th ...

- Canadian basketball player *

Nick Wiggins Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

- Canadian basketball player

Writers

Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...

- American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

newscaster A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

* Agymah Kamau -

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Odimumba Kwamdela Odimumba Kwamdela, born J. Ashton Brathwaite (11 September 1942 – 16 January 2019), was a Barbados, Barbadian-born writer who published 14 books of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and three Dubbing (music), musically dubbed spoken word albums ...

- poet and novelist *

Paule Marshall Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929 – August 12, 2019) was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel '' Brown Girl, Brownstones''. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant. Life and career Marshall wa ...

- novelist *

Susan L. Taylor Susan L. Taylor (born January 23, 1946) is an American editor, writer, and journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of ''Essence'' from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, ''American Libraries'' referred to Taylor as "the most influential black woman i ...

- editor-in-chief of ''Essence'' magazine

Others

* Frank L. White - chef, the original chef's face on Cream of Wheat box

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbadian Americans, List Of * Lists of American people by ethnic or national origin

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

Barbadian

Actors

Entertainers

Musicians

Public service figures

Religious figures

Scientists

Sports Figures

Writers

Others

See also

References