Born in the USA? Guess Again!

Born in the USA? Guess Again!, 10 famous Americans you may not have known as well as you thought. America is often referred to as a nation of immigrants, with icons such as Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty invoked to illustrate the hopes of the thousands of people who have moved to the U.S. in search of a better way of life. While those symbols may be more associated with the great waves of immigration that took place in the 19th century, the fact is that the U.S. is still welcoming newcomers to its shores. Here are a few famous folks you might not have known were born elsewhere. 1. Gene Simmons Before he was singer and bassist for the iconic ’70s rock band Kiss or starring in his reality TV show, “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels,” Gene Simmons was Chaim Weitz. Born in Haifa, Israel, to a Hungarian mother, the infamous rocker immigrated to New York when he was 8 years old. "I wasn't born here,” he writes on his website. “But I have a love for this country and its people that knows no bounds. I will forever be grateful to America for going into World War II, when it had nothing to gain, in a country that was far away ... and rescued my mother from the Nazi German concentration camps.” 2. Andrew Carnegie The tycoon and noted philanthropist Andrew Carnegie lends his name to two of America’s iconic institutions, Carnegie Hall and Carnegie Mellon University. Yet Carnegie was actually born in Scotland. He and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 13 years old. The epitome of the American dream, Carnegie started working at a factory for a pittance — and wound up as one of the wealthiest men in America through a series of shrewd financial investments. Perhaps his most notable achievement of all — he gave it all away. 3. Michael J. Fox It seems unthinkable that Michael J. Fox — who catapulted to fame as the ultra-conservative and uber-patriotic Alex Keaton on the sitcom “Family Ties” — is actually not American by birth. The Canadian-born actor moved to L.A. when he was 18 but didn’t become a citizen until he was 31. What was the motivation? Simple: He wanted to be able to vote. 4. Ang Lee Best known for the films “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain,” producer, director and screenwriter Ang Lee was born and raised in Taiwan. His parents originally came from China but fled to Taiwan when his paternal grandparents were executed after the Chinese Civil War. In 1979, Lee came to the United States to study film, and he stayed. 5. Madeleine Albright Say “U.S. immigrant politician” and most people think about Arnold Schwarzenegger. But did you know that former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was also born in Europe? She and her family fled the communist takeover in 1948, when she was a child. Albright recently published her recollections of WWII Europe in a book, “Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948.” 6. Charlize Theron Born in South Africa, actress Charlize Theron officially became a U.S. citizen in 2007. “I’ve always wanted to be a citizen,” she told David Letterman. “It’s quite a process. You have to work hard.” In fact, the naturalization test is notoriously difficult — one study estimates that one out of three Americans would fail. Want to check out your knowledge of the good ol’ U.S. of A.? Check out these sample questions. 7. Jim Carrey Most people assume that funny man Jim Carrey — who rocketed to worldwide fame after his first film, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” — is as American as apple pie. In fact, he was born in Ontario, Canada. Today, he holds both Canadian and American passports. “[The U.S.] has helped define me and make my dreams come true,” he says. 8. Steve Chen The story of YouTube’s success is a distinctly American one: Small startup gets bought by huge company, and the founders make a cool $1.65 billion. In fact, Steve Chen, one of the founders, was born in Taiwan and immigrated to America with his family when he was 15. For that matter, YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim is also an immigrant. Of Bengali and German descent, he also moved to the States when he was in high school. 9. Jerry Springer Love it or hate it, the sensationalist “Jerry Springer Show” hit the airwaves in 1991 — and along with shows from Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael, and a host of others, redefined daytime television. Who hasn’t heard of Jerry Springer? What you may not have heard is that the former mayor of Cincinnati and his family actually hail from England. 10. Salma Hayek It’s no surprise that the brunette bombshell was born in Mexico, but did you know that Salma Hayek was actually — briefly — an illegal immigrant in the U.S.? According to an interview published in V Magazine Spain, her visa expired shortly after arriving in Los Angeles in 1991. “It was for a small period of time, but I did it,” said Hayek. According to her publicist, she soon after returned to Mexico to renew her visa. All of which is a non-issue now, as in 2004 the “Frida” star became a naturalized citizen.