Famous Lebanese-Americans

The 300 Most Prominent Lebanese Americans

There are about 3 million Lebanese-Americans, and as a community, we've been demonstrating our loyalty, inventiveness and courage on behalf of the United States for over 100 years. Here are just a few of the more famous ones -- people you may know!

Entertainers
Ron Afif, Recorded 5 or so albums for the Pablo label. His latest being "Solitude" a solo effort. His mother`s brother is the celebrated guitarist Ron Anthony (Sinatra's guitarist 1985-1993). His father Charlie was a middle weight champion fighter
Walid Akl, World-renowned pianist
Paul Anka, One of America's first pop teen idols.
Yasmine Bleeth, Actress in the "Baywatch" Series
John Bowab, Directed "Soap," "Benson," "Bosom Buddies," "The Facts of Life," and the last season and a half of the "The Cosby Show."
Jonathon Brandmeier, Radio talk show host
Don Bustany, Created and produced "American Top 40" and "American Country Countdown." Recently added "Casey's Top 40" and "Casey's Country Countdown."
Elie Chaib, Dancer. Both youngest and oldest performer with the famous Paul Taylor company. In 1992 he was named the "Dancer of the Year" by the New York Times.
Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar
George S. Dibie, Emmy Award-winning cinematographer-director. Now President of the International Photographers Guild.
George Durgom, Through the years, managed Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Marilyn Monroe.
Bechara El Khoury, World-renowned musician.
Rosalind Elias, Opera prima donna who hit the high notes at the Met., NY.
Shannon Elizabeth, (Fadal) - Best known for her "American Pie" movie where she plays the sexy Czech student. Her website: http://www.ShannonElizabeth.com/
Jamie Farr, Actor. Farr is best known in his role as Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the TV show M*A*S*H.
Sammy Haggar, Former lead vocalist for Van Halen.
Khrystyne Haje, Actress. Best known in her role as Simone Foster in the television series Head of the Class.
Jack Hanna, Popular host of the hit television series, "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," one of America's most beloved naturalists and adventurers.
Salma Hayek, Superstar of Hollywood hits such as "Desperado" with Antonio Banderas and "Fools Rush In". Salma is mixed Lebanese and Mexican.
Dan Hedaya, Played many flavorful character parts in features, often portraying cops (The Hunger, 1983; Tightrope, 1984; Running Scared, 1986; The Usual Suspects, 1995), crime figures, or crusty regular guys. His most indelible impression was made in Blood Simple (1984), the landmark independent feature debut of the Coen brothers.
Waleed Howrani, World-renowned musician, concert pianist and composer.
Paul Jabara, Oscar winning composer for "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday.
Mike Joseph, Pioneered the concept of a radio programming consultant in 1958
Mario Kassar, Former chairman of Carolco Pictures, the movie company that produced such blockbusters as Rambo, Terminator 2, and Total Recall. At one time he ran a billion-dollar industry.
Asaad Kelad, Has done numerous series like "Family Ties" and episodes of "The Facts of Life," "Who's the Boss?," "WKRP in Cincinnati," etc.
Herbert Khaury, Lebanese-American folk singer known to all of his fans as "Tiny Tim"
Callie Khoury, First woman to receive an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay -- for "Thelma and Louise"
Emile Kuri, Nominated eight times for films like Mary Poppins. Won the Oscar twice -- for "The Heiress" and Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
Wendie Malick, "One of the stars of NBC’s hit show Just Shoot Me
Kristy McNichol, Actress. Best known in her role as Bubby Lawrence on the late 1970s TV show Family. Also best known in her as an undercover cop on the TV show Empty Nest.
Michael Nader, Actor in the "Dynasty" series.
Michelle Nader, Comedy writer of the TV Series "Spin City"
Kathy Najimy, Actress and activist, "Veronica's Closet", "Sister Act", "Rat Race". Her website: http://kathynajimy.com/
Michael Nouri, The leading man who starred in the movie Flashdance; later seen in TV's "Love and War" sitcom.
Harold Ramis, Wrote and directed over the past twenty years over a dozen films, several of which are among the highest grossing comedies of all time. In 1978, Animal House became a blockbuster, and Harold began a long, successful (and hilarious) string of hits, including Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Back to School, Groundhog Day, Analyze This and most recently, Bedazzled.
Keanu Reeves, That's right. Keanu was born in Beirut in the 1970's. He is mixture of Hawaiian, Chinese, and American.
Diane Rehm, Host and executive producer of "The Diane Rehm Show" on National Public Radio (NPR).
Fouad Said, The cinematographer who designed Cinemobile -- the first customized van for filming on location -- while working on the TV series "I Spy". For this achievement, he received a Technical Academy Award in 1970
Fred Saidy, Wrote two classics, "Finian's Rainbow" and "Bloomer Girl."
Lucie Salhany, Former chairwoman for Fox Broadcasting Co. and former chairwoman for United Paramount (TV) Network
Elie Samaha, Producer and owner of Franchise Pictures; Films: Driven, The whole nine yards, The Pledge, Battle Field Earth, Heist, Exit Wounds
Neil Sedaka, Lebanese American singer
Shakira, World-renowned rock singer. Born in Columbia of Lebanese descent.
Tony Shalhoub, One of the alien men in Men In Black
Omar Sharif, Born Michael Shalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt in 1932, to Lebanese parents.
Tom Shidyac, Director. Directed such well known movies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Nutty Professor
G. E. Smith, Former bandleader for many years for NBC TVs "Saturday Night Live."
James Stacy, Played James Stacy in the popular TV drama "Laramie."
Michael Tadross, Was the unit production manager for Die Hard III, Devil's Advocate, and many other movies.
Julie Taymor, The creative mastermind behind the Broadway version of Disney's "The Lion King." She also directed the powerful film "Titus."
The Late Danny Thomas, Founder of St. Jude Hospital for Children, comedian and star of sit-com, "Make Room For Daddy".
Marlo Thomas, Actress and Producer. Daughter of the late actor Danny Thomas. Marlo has won Emmy Awards and is best known for her role in That Girl
Tony Thomas, Producer. Son of the late actor Danny Thomas. Has won Emmy Awards for his productions
Tiffany, The first teenage singer to have her first two singles both hit number one
Gabriel Yared, Academy Award winner, music score composer for the movie "The English patient".
Amy Yasbeck, Actress. Played in the TV series Wings and played in the movies Problem Child and Robin Hood Men in Tights.
David Yazbeck, Wrote the lyrics and score for "The Full Monty"
Frank Zappa, Former legend in the world of rock

Ambassadors, Diplomats and Politicians
Chris Abboud, Nebraska State Senator
James Abdnor, US Senator of South Dakota (1981-1986)
James Abourezk, U.S. Senator of South Dakota (1971-1979)
Spencer Abraham, The new Secretary of Energy of the United States of America . He is a third-generation American of Lebanese descent. Born in Michigan. Was also a U.S. Senator representing the state of Michigan.
John Ash, Mayor, Olean (NY)
William N. Aswad, Vermont State Representative
Victor Atiyeh, Governor of Oregon (1979-1987)
Suzanne Azar, Mayor, El Paso (TX) 1989-1991
John Baldacci, Congressman (ME)
Michael Baroody, Asst Secretary, US Department of Labor (1985-1988)
William Baroody Jr, Asst to the President, Office of Public Liaison (1973-1977)
Timothy Bryan, City Council Member, Massillon (OH)
David Cappiello, Connecticut State Representative
George Crady, Florida State Representative
Mitch Daniels, Assistant to the President, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs (1985-1987)
Pat Danner, Former Congresswoman (MO)
Brenda Elias, Mayor, Franklin (NH) 1989-1994
George Ellis, Texas Court of Appeals
Edward J. Elum, Jr. - Judge on the Massillon (OH) Municipal Court.
Joe Farris, West Virginia State Delegate
Elias Francis, Former Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico.
Edward Gabriel, U.S. Ambassador to the kingdom of Morocco
Joseph P. Ganim, Mayor, Bridgeport (CT)
Jeannie A. Gregory, City Clerk, South Pasadena (CA)
Edmond Haddad, Deputy Asst Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy (1987-1988)
Philip C. Habib, Former U.S. Ambassador and Presidential Envoy under the Ronald Reagan Administration
William A. Hamzy, Connecticut State Representative
Helen Bishara Huey, City Council Member, Houston (TX)
Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General for the State of Louisiana
Daniel Issa, Rhode Island State Senator
Darrell Issa, Congressman (CA)
Teresa Issac, Vice Mayor, Lexington (KY)
Richard Iyoub, Current Attorney General of Louisiana.
Michael J. Jarjura, Connecticut State Representative
Chris John, Congressman (Louisiana)
Ruth Joseph, Mayor, Waterville (ME)
James Kaddo, Judge, Superior court of California)
Stephen Kafoury, Oregon State Senator, 1977-1980
Dr. Hamid Claude Kantara D.O., First Lebanese immigrant to be elected to City Council in Galveston County.
Pete Karem, Former Chief Justice of the Circuit Court in Jefferson County Ky
George Kasem, Former Congressman (CA)
Theodore Kattouf, U.S Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates
Abraham Kazen, Former Congressman (TX)
Steven Kfoury, City Council President, Lawrence (MA)
Don Korrey, County Commissioner, Logan County (CO) 1990-1994
Ray LaHood, Congressman (IL)
George Latimer, Former Mayor of St. Paul Minnesota.
Thomas Lazieh, Mayor, Central Falls (RI) 1990-1996
James Maloof, Former Mayor of Peoria, IL
Marianne Yarid McGuire, Michigan State Board of Education
George Mitchell, Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader; Lebanese on his mother's side.
Herb Mocol, Mayor, Mankato (MN) 1972-1987
Toby Moffett, US Representative of Connecticut (1975-1982)
George Mowad, Mayor, Oakdale (LA) 1972-1992
Joseph Nahra, Ohio Court of Appeals
Lee Namey, Mayor, Wilkes-Barre (PA) 1988-1995
Thomas Nassif, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco (1985-1988)
Mary Rose Oakar, US Representative of Ohio (1977-1993)
Nick Rahall II, 20-year veteran Congressman of West Virginia, grandson of Lebanese immigrants.
Selwa Roosevelt, American Ambassador and longest-serving White House Chief of Protocol (1982-1989)
Joan Haddad Saliba, Mayor, Hartwell (GA)
George Shadid, Illinois State Senator
Randel C. Shadid, Mayor, Edmond (OK)
Jeanne Shaheen, Governor of the State of New Hampshire
Donna Shalala, Former Secretary of State for Health and Human Services under the Clinton Administration (and the longest to serve in the post)
Greg Simon, Director of Domestic Policy, Office of Vice President
Anthony Solomon, Rhode Island State Treasurer, 1976-1984, 1989-1992
John E. Sununu Sr, Former Governor (NH) and White House Chief of Staff (1989-1991)
John Sununu Jr, Congressman (NH)
James J. Tayoun, City Councilman, Philadelphia (PA) 1975-1987
Helen Thomas, a 50-year veteran with U.S. International and the Dean of the White House Press Corps; served with eight U.S. presidents since 1961
Richard Thomas, County Commission Chairman, Hampden County (MA)
Rose Allan Tucker, County Commissioner, Luzerne County - Chairwoman 1991-1995 (PA)
Marcelle Wahba, U.S. Ambassador
Brian Wahby, Assistant City Treasurer, St. Louis (MO)
Tracy A. Yokich, Michigan State Representative 1991-1996
Sam Hanna Zakhem, U.S Ambassador (1986-1989) and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Charles Zogby, Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Sportsmen
Jim Baxis, Former second baseman for Cleveland Indians baseball team.
Eddie Elias, Founded the Bowling Association of America.
John Elway, Former quarterback for the Denver Broncos football team.
Doug Flutie, Quarterback for the San Diego Chargers football team.
Bill George, Former Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears football team.
Jeff George, Quarterback for the Washington Redskins football team.
Elias Ghanem, Head of the Las Vegas Boxing Association.
Abe Gibran, Former offensive lineman and coach for the Chicago Bears football team.
Brian Habib, Former lineman for the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks football teams.
John Jaha, The first baseman for the Oakland A's.
Kerbawy family, Former owners of the Detroit Lions football team.
Rich Kotite, Former NFL coach
Joe Lahoud, Former leftfielder for the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
Fred Maalouf, Former quarterback for the St. Louis Cardinals football team.
George Maloof, Former owner of the Houston Rockets NBA basketball team.
Maloof Brothers, Owners of the Sacramento Kings basketball team.
Zuhair "Steve" Mansour, Weightlifting's Grandmaster of the World in 1990.
Bobby Rahal, Won the Indianapolis 500 in auto racing in 1986. Current CART team owner; acted as interim president-CEO of CART until Dec., 2000 but resigned to assume position with Jaguar Formula One team.
Joe Robbie, Former owner of the Miama Dolphins football team.
Fuad Rubeiz, Former kicker for the Minnesota Vikings football team.
Fred Saigh, Former owner of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.
Pete Sarron, Former featherweight boxing champion.
Rony Seikaly, Former NBA center for various clubs.
Frank Skaff, Former manager for the Detroit Tigers baseball team.
Victor Taweel, Former lightweight boxing champion.

Businessmen, Industrialists and Financiers
Robert Abboud, Former President of the First National Bank of Chicago.
Ziad K. Abdelnour, Dealmaker, Financier, Venture Capitalist, Registered Lobbyist. Financed over 60 US private companies since 1986 raising over $2 billion in capital; sits on the Board of 15 of them. President & Founder of the U.S Committee for a Free Lebanon, Inc , Former President of the Arab Bankers Association of North America and Publisher of the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin Son of Lebanese MP Khalil Abdelnour
Richard Abdoo, President & CEO of Wisconsin Energy Corporation and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Anthony Abraham, Miami's Chevrolet king, Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Waleed Ali & Malik Ali, Founded MPI, the world's largest home-video distributor of documentaries.
Simon Assad, co-CEO of Heavy.com, a music site that was nominated for a Webby, the Internet's highest honor.
Ronald Assaf, Founder, former CEO and current Chairman of Sensormatic Electronics Corporation, an international company with revenues of $1 billion, doing business in 80 countries and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Joseph Audi, President and CEO of Bank Audi (USA).
George Barbar, Florida based real estate tycoon, Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Ghassan Bejjani, General Partner, Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, one of the most prominent private equity groups on Wall Street.
George Boutros, Known as "The Fiercest Tech Mergers and Acquisitions Banker In The World." Heads a 70-man Tech M&A team @ Credit Suisse First Boston in San Francisco. Son of former Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Fouad Boutros.
Fouad Chartouni, Owner and operator of the most famous hotel of the Stars, the Lowell Hotel.
Camille Chebeir, President of SEDCO Services; investment arm of the Bin Mahfouz family of Saudi Arabia and Former President of the Arab Bankers Association of North America
Raymond Debbane, President of the Invus Group, a multi-million dollar private equity firm specializing in buyouts and venture capital
Derek E. Dewan, Chairman and CEO of Modis Incorporated, a $1 billion information technology services subsidiary of Modis Professional Services, Inc.(NYSE:MPS) and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Nabil El Hage, President and CEO of Jeepers, Inc, and famous turnaround operator.
Roger Farah, President, CEO and Director of Polo Ralph Lauren. Previously served as Chairman of the Board of Ventaor Group Inc., the parent company of Footlocker
Nijad Fares, President of Wedge Group, USA and President of the American Task Force for Lebanon. Son of Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares.
Michel T. Halbouty, Ellis Island Medal of Honor - Recognized as one of the world's foremost geologists and petroleum engineers and is acclaimed for his scientific expertise. Read American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation, and Ellis Island Medal of Honor
George A. Hamid, Jr. - Businessman and circus owner. Besides owning circuses and state fairs, Hamid operated the Steel Pier, a large amusement park that featured live entertainers.
Dr. Ray Irani, Former chemist with dozens of patents. Became Armand Hammer's successor as Chairman of the Board at Oxy; President and Chief Executive Officer of Occidental Petroleum. AUB Alumnus
Tony Ismail, Entrepreneur who founded the largest retailer of flags store in Dallas The Alamo Flag Company
Dr. Joseph Jacobs, Founder of an international, billion-dollar engineering group, "Jacobs Engineering Group" NYSE "JEC".
Joseph D. Jamaica, Texas lawyer who won the biggest settlement in U.S. history, on behalf of Pennzoil ($10 billion dollars). Listed #189 on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.
George Joseph, #317 on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.
Abdo Kadifa, President and CEO of Corio Inc, a leading Silicon Valley based Enterprise Application Service Provider.
Habib Kairouz, Managing Partner of RHO Management, Inc., a multi-million dollar private equity firm specializing in venture capital
John Mack, Investment banking legend. Ex-CEO of Morgan Stanley, now CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston.
Bob Manikian and brothers, Personal brokers to the Prince of Brunei (richest man in the world ) - They are 90th richest on UK TOP 100.
Ned Mansour, President of Mattel, Inc. in 1999, the maker of Barbie dolls.
Sam Moore, Owner of Thomas Nelson Publishers
The Naify Brothers, Founded cable television in the 50s. At one time both brothers owned 60% of United Artist theaters. Father Michael Naify was the former CEO for United Artist Communications.
Yousef Nasr, CEO of HSBC Bank USA
Jack Nasser, Former President of the Ford Motor Company.
Paul Orfalea, Founder/CEO of Kinkos
Richard Edward Rainwater, #127 on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.
Khalil Rizk, Founder of the famous New York based Chinese Porcelain Company
Charles Rozwat, Executive VP of Server Technologies - ORACLE CORPORATION
Abdo Sabban, AUB Alumnus. Founder of multi-million dollar real estate co. Treasurer of the AANA.
Naseeb Saliba, Founder of Tutor-Saliba Corporation, one of the largest privately held international General Contracting firms in the world, with over $ 6 billion in completed work. Also Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
George Shaheen, Former President of Anderson Consulting - one of the Top 4 Consulting Firms in America. Resigned and was CEO of Webvan, ex-on-line grocery delivery service.
Joseph Shaker, Jr., His father founded Shaker Advertising. Today Shaker Advertising is the oldest and most respected Advertising Firm in the Midwest. Their headquarters is in Chicago, IL.
Tony Tamer, co-Founder and CEO of HIG Capital, a multi-million dollar private equity firm specializing in buyouts and venture capital
Roger Tamraz, Financier, Oil man, one of the top 10 campaign contributors to former President Bill Clinton.
Peter J. Tanous, President of Lynx Investment Advisory, the author of 2 books on investment analysis, one of which is "The Wealth Equation," published by the New York Institute of Finance. Founder of the American Task Force for Lebanon.
The Late Dave Thomas, Founder of fast food chain Wendy's. Passed away in January 2002. Was adopted by Lebanese parents.
Bryan J. Zwan Ph.D., Founded fiber-optic equipment company Digital Lightwave 1990; IPO 1997. #391 on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.

Military Figures
Victor DelNore, Former U.S Commander of the Nagasaki Military Government
Colonel James Jabara, of the U.S. Air Force; Korean War hero
General George Joulwan, West Point graduate; commanded both the U.S. and NATO forces in Europe
Navy Lt. Alfred Naifeh, Navy hero; in 1944, one of our Navy ships, the destroyer USS Naifeh was named in his honor
Maj. Gen. Fred Safay, WWII Army Officer; fought alongside General Patton
Colonel Alfred Shihab, of the US armed forces that landed in Lebanon in 1958.
Brig. Gen. Elias Stevens, WWII Army Officer; served on Gen. Eisenhower's staff
General Antoine Zinni, U.S Presidential Envoy to the Middle East under the George W. Bush Administration. Activists
Fouad Ajami, Scholar, Academic, Consultant, Activist and Head of Middle East Studies at John Hopkins University.
Rabih Aridi, Treasurer and Board Member of Amnesty International USA.
Bill Ferris, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Abdeen Jabara, Lawyer and an activist, former President and founding member of the ADC; Also one of the founders of the AAUG, PHRC, and ACCESS.
Ralph Johns, A key white participant in the civil rights movement in the 1960's; encouraged the famous Woolworth 'sit-in' at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina
Candy Lightner, Founder of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
Habib Malik, Scholar, Human Rights Activist and Academic. Son of the late Charles Malik, one of the founding members of the United Nations Charter.
Ralph Nader, Ex-Presidential candidate and Head of the Green Party.
Nagy Najjar, Executive Director of the Lebanese Foundation for Peace
Daniel Nassif, US Representative of the Council of Lebanese American Organizations, Activist, Consultant, Lobbyist.
Edward M. Salem, Chairman of the International Maronite Foundation
George Salem, Partner, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, National Head of the U.S. Department of Labor Practice & Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Camille Sarrouf, Senior partner of the Boston law firm of Sarrouf, Tarricone & Flemming, former president of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys. Also passionately and actively involved with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and was the Chairman of its Board of Governors from 1994 to 1998. Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Berge Setrakian, Partner, Law Offices of Whitman and Ransom, Vice President of the American General Benevolent Union and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Paul Michael Wihbey, IASPS Strategic Fellow who specializes in US energy and security in the Persian Gulf and adjacent areas. As a former vice president of the Federal Liberal Party of Canada during the Trudeau Administration, he was a member of the Canadian parliamentary and diplomatic fact-finding missions to Lebanon in the early 1980s. Also serves as a consultant on Middle East security, economics and political issues to US-based multinationals, Congress and the Department of Defense.
Stephen P. Yokich, Union leader. In 1995 he became the eighth president of the sixty-year-old UAW, a labor union officially named the International Union of United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.
James Zogby, President of the American Arab Institute
John Zogby, One of America's preeminent pollsters, keeping tabs on public opinion and other statistics, founder of Zogby International.
George Zoghby, President of the Mobile Area Chapter of the National Alliance of Lebanese Americans

Doctors and Scientists
Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah, Inventor for GE in the 1920s, 52 different patents among one of the first patents on television tubes and solar energy panels.
Ghassan Antar Ph.D, At the University of California in San Diego, a plasma physicist.
Nicholas S. Assal, Medical researcher. Helps doctors in the world prevent and treat complications during pregnancy and birth.
Dr. Amin Barakat MD, Famous Pediatrician and Professor of Medicine - Georgetown University Medical Center. Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Dr. Bassam A. Bassam M.D., Professor of Neurology at the University of South Alabama, Department of Neurology.
Dr. Elias Corey, Chemist. Won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a logical process that changed the face of synthetic chemistry.
Dr. Michael DeBakey, World Famous heart surgeon currently working in Houston, TX. Invented the heart pump. Today he's chancellor of Baylor University's College of Medicine.
George A. Doumani, Geologist whose explorations helped prove the theory of continental drift. He has a mountain peak named after him in Antarctica.
Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Michael Fakih, MD, Recognized worldwide as a leader in his field. His innovative GIFT technique - using the woman's follicular fluid to treat sperm and serve as a transfer medium - has revolutionized the procedure. The improvement nearly doubles the success rate of the GIFT procedure.
Dr. Fran Jabara, Professor of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University and the founder (in 1977) of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University. A building at the University has been named in his honor as Jabara Hall. He is a relative of the late Col. James Jabara (see Military), America's first triple jet ace in the Korean War.
George a. Kyrala Ph.D - AKA George Amine Khairallah from Bhamdoun. An atomic physicist with a Ph.D from Yale and fellow of the SPIE. Recently won an international prize for high speed photography.
Christa McAuliffe, Teacher and Astronaut. Was one of the seven crew members on board the space shuttle Challenger that exploded shortly after launch.
Dr. Anis Razzouk MD, Prominent heart surgeon at Loma Linda University Hospital in Riverside, CA.
Dr. Philip Salem, Famous Texas based oncologist and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Jack Shaheen, Former Emeritus Professor of Mass Communications at Southern Ilinois University.
Edward M. Sion, Ph.D, Scientific Editor, The Astrophysical Journal; Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Villanova University.

Academics and Media Figures
David Adamany, President of Wayne State University in Detroit.
Helena Cobban, Author of The Syrian-Israeli Peace Talks: 1991-96 and Beyond (USIP Press, Feb. 2000) and of The Moral Architecture of World Peace: Nobel Laureates Discuss Our Global Future (University Press of Virginia, May 2000). A veteran writer and columnist on global issues.
Raghida Dergham, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent at Al-Hayat
Joseph Farah, Editor in Chief of WorldNetDaily
Fawaz Gerges, Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Sarah Lawrence College. His latest book is American and Political Islam (Cambridge University Press, 1999)
Zeina B. Ghandour, Born in Beirut in 1966 and studied at Kent University, specializing in Islamic and Jewish law, wrote "The Honey": a story about contemporary Palestine that revolves around a village muezzin’s daughter, Ruhiya, who breaches one of the deepest taboos of Islam by performing the call to the dawn prayer.
Samuel John Hazo, Poet. In 1993, Pennsylvania named Hazo its first poet laureate, or official state poet.
Brian Karem, Of Lebanese descent and nephew to David Karem of Louisville KY. Former television correspondent for America's Most Wanted and NBC.
Emile Kuri, Was Head set decorator for Disney. Won two Oscars for his set decorations in two films.
Dr. Luz Lenis Ph.D., Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for sophomores at Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Amin Maalouf, Journalist and writer. In 1993 won the Prix Goncourt, France's most prestigious literary award.
Steven Naifeh, Won the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for his biography "Jackson Pollock: An American Saga".
Fred Saidy, Broadway playwright. Wrote two classics, Finian's Rainbow and Bloomer Girls.
Cindy Mohammad Saleh, Teenage Lebanese-American Poet.
Mike Toney, Played 'Fat Sally' in Martin Scorsese's film Casino.
Nido Qubein, Writer-lecturer on business and success. Became President of the National Speakers' Association and the youngest member inducted into the International Speakers' Hall of Fame.

Fashion
Joseph Abboud, World famous designer of men's line of clothing carrying his name "Joseph Abboud".
Reem Acra, Emerging woman's fashion designer of the New York scene.
Mansour Farah, Manufacturer. Founded a multimillion-dollar menswear manufacturing company called Farah's.
Joseph Marion Haggar, Manufacturer. Was the founder and former chairman of the country's leading manufacturers of men's clothing. The company name Haggar Corporation.
Norma Kamali, Fashion designer. Her clothing line OMO Norma Kamali is known throughout the world.
The Maloof Family, Manufactured Mod-O-Day women's dresses.

Artists, Clergy & Poets
William Peter Blatty, Author. Best known for his best-selling book and Academy Award-winning screenplay The Exorcist.
Vance Bourjaily, Novelist. Known for his nonfiction articles about outdoor activities, some of which have been published in collections like his 1997 book Fishing by Mail: An Outdoor Life of a Father and son.
Most Reverend Bishop Stephen H. Doueihi, of St. Maron of Brooklyn for the Maronites and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Hussam A. Fadhi, Award-winning sculptor whose work is displayed around the world, including the Bush Presidential Library.
Gibran Khalil Gibran: Highly respected poet/thinker. Born and bred in Lebanon. Moved to Boston in later years. His book "The Prophet" has been translated to tens of languages. Has a park built in his honor in downtown Boston where he lived most of the later years of his life. The park is symbolically situated between a library and a church.
Raymond Kayal Sr., National Chairman of the Order of St. Nicholas, member of the Melkite Eparchial Finance Council and Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Sam Maloof, Woodworker whose quality work is in great demand. Has had creations appear in the White House, Smithsonian Institution, the Vatican and other renowned exhibit halls.
Ameen Rihani, Writer, Philosopher, Political Thinker
Metropolitan Philip Saliba, Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Archbishop Francis M. Zayek, Recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

See also: Famous Lebanese Worldwide

More Authentic Lebanese Recipes - several pages. Click here for Page 1 |  Pg 2 |  Pg 3 |  Pg 4 |  Pg 5 |  Pg 6 |  Pg 7 |  Pg 8 |  Pg 9 | 

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Thank you to everyone who contributed recipes and photos in the past years to help us share Lebanon's beauty with the world and to help perpetuate the Lebanese culture across the globe.
Thank you especially to Aunt Maheeba's friend (sorry I forgot her name) who was originally from Saghbine (Lebanon) but who lived in Brooklyn and gave me many of these authentic recipes that she had saved from the old country. She shared them with all the young Lebanese wives who grew up here in the United States and did not have access to authnetic Lebanese recipes or training in Lebanese cooking "the right way". May she rest in peace.
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