Famous Ukrainians
Americans may wonder whether Ukraine is worth the billions in U.S. support. After all, the country is remote and its culture seems alien. It’s terrible that cities are being destroyed, but these are places we’ve never heard of. Even if we accept the geopolitical importance of this ancient land and sympathize with a nation’s valiant effort to protect itself, the war grinds on inconclusively and is proving costly.
But this is not just a superpower conflict. Ukraine Aid was founded because of links with ordinary, hard working Ukrainians—people striving to better their lives and their country. While their names may sometimes be hard to pronounce, Ukrainians have made valuable contributions to American life.
The roster of famous Ukrainian Americans includes the Great One, Wayne Gretzky. He said, “My grandmother used to yell at me in Ukrainian… and that’s how I kinda learnt.” Igor Sikorsky of helicopter fame was born in Kyiv.
Hollywood has been graced with Ukrainian talent. Tough guy actor, and Oscar winner, Jack Palance was the son of Ukrainian immigrants, as is Spock himself, the iconic Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy’s father walked over the border from Iziaslav into Poland, and his mother hid under hay in a horse-drawn wagon. Milla Jovovich, star of the film franchise Resident Evil, was born in Kyiv. Varvara Karynska received the first ever Oscar for costume design.
American TV viewers will recognize the star of Family Guy and That 70s Show, Mila Kunis. Her family fled from Soviet Ukraine to the U.S. because they saw “no future” there.
One of the major composers of the 20th century, Sergei Prokofiev, was born in Ukraine as was Grammy Award-winning violinist Isaac Stern. In1967, Stern refused to return to the USSR until the Soviet regime allowed free passage for artists.
Ukrainian Novelist Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim, wrote knowingly about imperialism and colonialism.
Prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir, was born in Kyiv in Ukraine but moved to Wisconsin with her family in 1906. She emigrated to then-Palestine in 1921.
Volodymyr Khavkin, bacteriologist and microbiologist, helped saved the world from the plague and cholera. Vaccinations with the so-called Havkin vaccine are still used in an improved form.
Bohdan Havrylyshyn, a member of the Club of Rome, is one of the founders of the Davos Economic Forum.
Programmer and entrepreneur Jan Koum co-developed WhatsApp, sold his company to Mark Zuckerberg for $16 billion, and served as executive director of Facebook.
Maximilian Levchyn was co-founder and chief engineer of PayPal, which was purchased by eBay for $1.5 billion. He served as vice president of development at Google, was an early investor in Yelp, and was appointed to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
These talented, educated, and creative Ukrainians are important to the U.S. and remind us why we must support Ukraine. Because with continued Westernization of Ukraine, further opportunities for mutuality and cross-cultural success will flower.
