Armenians By Origin | 7 Famous People of Armenian Descent Who Changed The World!

Armenian descent, or rather let’s say people of Armenian descent, who live in different corners of the world, are doing a huge job in promoting Armenia. They represent Armenian values and culture to the world. Down below you can find the list of famous people of Armenian descent that include some life history and interesting facts.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #1: Andre Agassi

Few people know that Andre Agassi is of Armenian origin. Born in Las Vegas, he is already retired professional tennis player who was once world No.1. He is still considered as one of the greatest and dominant players of all time in sport.

This most charismatic tennis player of Armenian descent is an Olympic gold medalist and eight-time Grand Slam champion. Also, he is a runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments.

Interestingly, this famous Armenian is known in the history of the sport by the nickname “The Punisher”. After retiring from professional tennis, the 47-year-old Andre Agassi dedicated himself to philanthropy. Now he is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation (For more information click on this link).

By the way, he is married to another of the sport’s greats, tennis star Steffi Graf. Equally important, Agassi’s father, Iranian-born Armenian Emmanuel “Mike” Agassi is an ex-Olympic boxer and his former coach.

His mother is American. The surname of the family was initially Agassian, however one of the ancestor changed it to Agassi, in order to avoid persecution.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #2: Charles Aznavour

Pronouncedly, one of the most beloved and famous Armenian people admired all over the world, Charles Aznavour (Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian) is a French-Armenian songwriter, singer, actor and public figure.

Due to his outstanding tenor voice this Armenian decent is titled as France’s Frank Sinatra. Can you just imagine that throughout his life Charles Aznavour has written more than 1300 songs and recorded about 1,400 in eight languages? Many of them include such worldwide hits as “La Boheme”, “La Mamma”, “Ave Maria” and “She”.

Furthermore, he was even characterized as “French pop deity.” This multitalented “A-list” star was born in the family of Armenian immigrants, Mischa Aznavourian. By the way, his mother is a survivor of the Armenian Genocide in 1915.

As this legend with Armenian origin likes to say, Armenia and Armenians are always in his heart and in his blood. With this in mind, the devastating 1988 Armenian earthquake was a turning point for him.

Since the foundation of his charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia (Aznavour pour l’Arménie) he used his fame to support his motherland both financially and morally. In order to honor, Charles Aznavour, there is a square in the heart of Yerevan.

Also, you can find his statue in one of the cultural centers of Armenia, Gyumri. As a real patriot of his homeland, this prominent chansonnier with Armenian origin is a Permanent Representative of Armenia to UNESCO in Paris and is the ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland.

What’s more fascinating, in 1998 he was denoted as the “Entertainer of the Century” by CNN and Time Online. By the way, this legendary singer with Armenian origin once mentioned in an interview that diligence is his ‘most Armenian’ feature.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #3: Andy Serkis

English actor, director and author with Armenian origin, Andy Serkis is best known for his role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit.

He also starred in such famous moves as Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong (as King Kong), the Planet of the Apes (as Caesar), Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (as Supreme Leader Snoke), Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (as Sir Francis Haddock), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (as Ulysses Klaue).

His mother is English and his father, Clement Serkis (original surname was Sarkisian) is of Armenian descent. By the way, Andy Serkis has his own motion capture studio and production company. It is known as ‘The Imaginarium Studios’ based in London.

His memorable works have been greatly acclaimed by the critics and audience. His numerous awards like Empire Award and Saturn Award are evidence to this. He also earned BAFTA TV Award and Golden Globe nominations.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #4: Patrick Fiori

Born in Marseille, Patrick Fiori is a pop singer with Armenian origin who is especially popular due to his performance in the phenomenal musical Notre Dame de Paris. His success reached to its peak when he recorded the hit single “Belle” in collaboration with such world-renowned stars as Daniel Lavoie and Garou.

By the way, in 1993 he participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in Ireland with the song “Mama Corsica” and came in at a very respectable fourth place. Patrick Fiori is regarded as an extra ordinary singer whose amazing music won the hearts of millions of people.

He also acted in several movies and as a true talent he did a very good job in this field as well. This extremely good looking man was number one in French charts for a period of time.

Few people know that he is one of the most famous Armenian people. But actually his father is Armenian, Jacques Shoushanyan, and mother is Corsican, Marie Antoinette Fiori.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #5: Dita von Teese

Dita Von Teese (Heather Renée Sweet) is known to the world as an American burlesque dancer, costume designer, model, entrepreneur, actress and just an incredibly beautiful and attractive woman.

Initially, she was trained as a classical ballet dancer. She had a major influence on reintroduction of burlesque performance into the mainstream. Furthermore, she was married to famous metal performer Marilyn Manson for two years.

Significantly, Dita Von Teese is of English, Scottish, German and Armenian origin. She once stated that one of her grandmothers was of Armenian descent.

She is also popular for her unique and unrepeatable classic retro style that is impacted by the style of Golden age-era Hollywood actresses.

Dita Von Teese frequently appears on the list of best-dressed celebrities. No surprise, as her fashion inspirations are such beloved designers as Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, and Vivienne Westwood.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #6: Alice Panikian

While talking about some famous Armenian people we cannot walk on by Alice Panikian. This Bulgarian-Canadian model, journalist and TV Host is also of Armenian descent, that vividly illustrates her Armenian surname.

She is the tallest beauty pageant titleholder in Canadian history (1.83 m). She was crowned Miss Universe Canada in 2006. Alice Panikian received a considerable amount of attention from the world press during that period.

During the Miss Universe Canada Pageant, she also won the “Miss Photogenic” and “Best in Swimsuit” awards. Also, she is greatly interested in volleyball, yoga and enjoys writing short stories.

People of Armenian Descent Who Changed the World #7: Cher

The daughter of an American mother and an Armenian father Cherilyn Sarkisian is the same beloved multi-award winner singer and actress Cher. She became even more strongly connected with her Armenian heritage when in 1993 she travelled to Armenia.

The visit was on a humanitarian mission, when the country was at war with its neighboring country Azerbaijan. By the way, she is also Academy Award winner as the “Best Actress”. Among her other honors are:

Grammy Award
Emmy Award
three Golden Globe Awards
Cannes Film Festival Award

Cher is justly considered as one of the best-selling music artists in the history of music. She is also listed in such categories of famous magazines’ as “The 100 Greatest Women in Music”, “The 75 Greatest Women of All Time”, “The 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons” and so on. Outside of singing and acting she is also famous for social activism, political views and philanthropic aspirations.