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Cesar Chavez (1927–1993) -

Born to a Mexican American family, Cesar Chavez was a labor leader and civil rights activist who, along with Dolores Huerta, co-founded what would eventually become the United Farm Workers labor union. The pair became primary figures for Latin American civil rights.

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Dolores Huerta -

Dolores Huerta has since received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and women's rights, including being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2012.

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Rita Moreno -

Actress Rita Moreno was the first Hispanic American woman to win an Academy Award. In 1962 she was handed the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 'West Side Story.'

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Carolina Herrera -

Fashion designer Carolina Herrera holds dual Venezuelan and American citizenship. She moved from Caracas to New York in 1981, and has been creating haute couture pieces for her eponymous brand ever since. Former first ladies Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama are among those she's dressed, as are other A-listers that include Katy Perry and Lupita Nyong'o.

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Gloria Estefan -

Cuban-born Gloria Estevan is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and Kennedy Center honoree. She's one of the best-selling female singers of all time. In June 2023, Estefan became the first Hispanic woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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Carlos Santana -

With his band Santana, known for pioneering the fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz, Carlos Santana is also one of most influential guitarists in popular music history. Born and raised in Mexico, he has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

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Justice Sonya Sotomayor -

Sonya Sotomayor serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She is the third woman, first woman of color, the first Hispanic, and the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court.

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Selena Quintanilla (1971–1995) -

Celebrated as the Queen of Tejana Music, Mexican American singer Selena Quintanilla won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican American Album in 1994. The following year she was murdered by her fan club manager, Yolanda Saldívar. In 2020, Billboard magazine put Selena in third place on their list of "Greatest Latino Artists of All Time."

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Jennifer Lopez -

Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Jennifer Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential Hispanic American figures working in the movie and music industry today. Of course, Lopez famously played Selena Quintanilla in 'Selena' (1997).

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Ricky Martin -

Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor Ricky Martin is applauded for his musical versatility, his work often incorporating a wide variety of elements such as Latin pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa, among other genres. He remains one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time.

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Selena Gomez -

The other Selena on this list, Selena Gomez was born and raised in Texas to a white mother and Mexican American father. A child star, she's gone on to enjoy a successful career in acting and singing.

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José Ferrer (1912–1992) -

One of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors of his generation, José Ferrer won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in 'Cyrano de Bergerac' (1950)— making him the first Hispanic actor and the first Puerto Rican-born to win an Oscar.

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Bad Bunny -

Bad Bunny, whose legal name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer and the first non-English-language act to become Spotify's most streamed artist of the year.

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Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) -

Born in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente pitched the way forward as a figurehead for Hispanic Americans in Major League Baseball. He played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates before sadly dying in a plane crash.

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Ritchie Valens (1941–1959) -

Ritchie Valens was brought up surrounded by traditional Mexican mariachi music, as well as flamenco guitar. He also listened to rock and roll and was later noted as pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement. His 1958 hit 'La Bamba' is still recognized worldwide. Valens, together with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, perished in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. He was just 17 years old.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2018 and has since become one of the major leading voices for Hispanic Americans in politics. A Democrat known by her initials AOC, she is the representative for New York's 14th congressional district.

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Dolores del Rio (1904–1983) -

Regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover star in Hollywood, Dolores del Rio left her home in Mexico to find fame in silent movies before successfully transitioning to films with sound. In the 1940s she returned to Mexico to work before enjoying further success in the United States in cinema, television, and on stage.

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Marco Rubio -

Marco Rubio is a politician and lawyer serving as the senior Republican United States senator from Florida. A Cuban American, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016.

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Anthony Quinn (1915–2001) -

Born in Mexico as Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca, Anthony Quinn made his name in Hollywood acting in a succession of critically acclaimed movies, including 'La Strada' (1954), 'The Guns of Navarone' (1961), 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962), and 'Zorba the Greek' (1964). He won two Academy Awards and numerous other accolades.

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Sylvia Rivera (1951–2002) -

Sylvia Rivera was a noted gay liberation and transgender rights activist. Born to a Puerto Rican father and a Venezuelan mother, Rivera, who identified as a drag queen for most of her life, advocated for shelter and a social space for trans sex workers and other LGBTQ+ youth.

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Alberto Gonzales -

Mexican American lawyer Alberto Gonzales served as the first Hispanic US Attorney General under President George W. Bush. He remains the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive government to date. His has been a sometimes controversial career, both during his tenure as attorney general and after his resignation from the post in 2007.

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José Feliciano -

Puerto Rican musician José Feliciano first enjoyed success after his album 'Feliciano!' hit the charts in 1968. Born blind as a result of congenital glaucoma, his visual impairment proved no barrier to his becoming a virtuoso guitarist. He has released over 50 albums worldwide in both the English and Spanish.

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Ellen Ochoa -

In 1993, astronaut Ellen Ochoa became the first Hispanic female in space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery. She flew again in 2002 aboard Atlantis for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

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Antonia Novello -

Antonia Novello made history as the first female and first Hispanic US Surgeon General in 1990. The Puerto Rican physician was also a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

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Isabel Allende -

Chilean American writer Isabel Allende is especially known for her 1982 novel 'The House of the Spirits,' which was later adapted into a film by Danish director Bille August. The movie starred Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glen Close, and Antonio Banderas.

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Richard Cavazos (1929–2017) -

Korean and Vietnam War veteran Richard Cavazos was appointed brigadier general in 1976 and then four-star general in 1982, making US military history as the first Hispanic American to achieve the rank.

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Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957) -

Gabriela Mistral was a Chilean poet-diplomat who became the first Hispanic American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945.

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Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) -

Hailed by many critics as one of the finest writers of female erotica, Anaïs Nin was born to Cuban parents in France. After spending time in Spain and Cuba, she moved permanently to the United States, where she forged out a successful career as a diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories.

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Luis Walter Alvarez (1911–1988) -

Though born in San Francisco, experimental physicist and inventor Luis Walter Alvarez had Spanish and Cuban heritage. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968 for his discovery of resonance states in particle physics.

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Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo (1859–1930) -

Born in Mexico and raised in New Mexico, Octaviano Larrazolo was well educated and well read. As a young man he was devoted to the causes of education and civil rights. In 1927, Larrazolo was elected to the New Mexico State House of Representatives and then ran for and won an open Senate seat to become the first Hispanic US senator. 

Sources: (NBC 7 San Diego) (Biography) (Abilene Christian University) (The Atlantic) 

See also: Hispanic history—A timeline of key moments in the US

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