David Jude Jolicoeur (born September 21, 1968, in Brooklyn, New York), also known under the stage name Trugoy the Dove and more recently Dave, is an American rapper, producer, and one third of groundbreaking hip hop trio De La Soul. Jolicoeur, Vincent Mason and Kelvin Mercer were friends who attended the same high school in the Amityville area of Long Island during the 1980s. After they decided to form a rap group, each member re-christened themselves with an outlandish name (Trugoy the Dove, P.A. Pasemaster Mase and Posdnuos, respectively). Early on, Jolicoeur sported a unique style of African medallions, peace signs and uneven dreadlocks (known as the “De La Do”). Paired with the positive messages of the group’s debut effort, 3 Feet High and Rising, the image led to critics and journalists labelling the members as “the hippies of hip hop” (a title that the group was quick to refute with the release of the second album De La Soul Is Dead in 1991). Jolicoeur is also a member of the Spitkicker collective. Jolicoeur is American of Haitian descent.
Garcelle Beauvais — born November 26, 1966) is a Haitian-American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her roles as Francesca “Fancy” Monroe on The WB television sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show, which ran from 1996 to 2001, and as Valerie Heywood on the ABC crime drama, NYPD Blue. Beauvais was born in Haiti, to Marie-Claire Beauvais, a nurse, and Axel Jean Pierre, a lawyer. After her parents divorced, Garcelle and her six elder siblings moved with their mother to the United States, first to Massachusetts and later to Miami.
Tony Yayo, DJ Whoo Kid and (possibly) 50 Cent — G-Unit members Tony Yayo and DJ Whoo Kid recently spoke to MTV News about their concerns for their ancestral homeland. “It’s confusing, man,” said Tony. ”It shows you how life is — Haiti lost everything in 30 seconds.” While 50 Cent has not widely mentioned a Haitian connection, his mother, who died when he was 12, was reportedly half Haitian (making him one-quarter).
Pierre Garcon — Haitian-American wide receiver Pierre Garcon was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2008. He spent his first year as a backup and moved into a starting position after other members of the team were injured. During the 2009 season, Garcon became a star with 47 receptions for 765 yards and 4 touchdowns.
– You may not know who W.E.B. Du Bois is, but you should. The Haitian-American activist wrote many influential works about racism in America, including “The Souls of Black Folk.” One of his most famous works, “Credo,” begins: “I believe in God who made of one blood all races that dwell on earth. I believe that all men, black and brown and white, are brothers, varying, through Time and Opportunity, in form and gift and feature, but differing in no essential particular, and alike in soul and in the possibility of infinite development “Especially do I believe in the Negro Race; in the beauty of its genius, the sweetness of its soul, and its strength in that meekness which shall yet inherit this turbulent earth.”
Mona Scott-Young Named a “21st Century Renaissance Sister” by Essence Magazine, Mona Scott-Young is one of the entertainment industry’s most sought after executives. Scott-Young is the CEO of multi-media entertainment company Monami Entertainment — home to Grammy Award-winning artist Missy Elliott and VH1’s most popular docu-franchise “Love & Hip Hop.”
Living life to the fullest, Mona’s intense passion for all that she does effortlessly manifests itself in her many accomplishments. Mona’s business and philanthropic achievements have garnered recognition from a variety of prestigious organizations, including “Marketer of the Year” by Ad Age. She currently serves on the board of The Haitian Roundtable, The RSQ Foundation and The GrassROOTS Foundation.
Vicky Jeudy – is best known as Janae Watson on the Netflix breakout hit Orange Is the New Black (2013). Originally from Queens NY and of Haitian descent Vicky got her start in the entertainment world competing in beauty pageants. She was a top 25 Semifinalist in the Miss NY USA competition, where she also took home the title of Miss Photogenic. As a college student, Vicky began to seriously study the craft of acting and gained experience in the indie film world. Her emotionally nuanced performances coupled with her professionalism created fast opportunities. A humanitarian at heart, Vicky is an avid reader in holistic health who, when not on set, can be found empowering the youth in her urban community.
Wyclef Jean was born on October 17, 1969, in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. Wyclef Jean’s band, the Fugees, released their debut album, Blunted on Reality, in 1993. It was the group’s second album, The Score (1996), however, that catapulted the Fugees to stardom. The Score sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. After making several albums, in August 2010, Jean made headlines when he announced that he would be running the presidency of Haiti. Soon after his announcement, however, he was declared ineligible.
Maxwell — Gerald Maxwell Rivera, known as Maxwell is a Grammy award-winning American singer-songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. His music spans R&B, funk and soul, but he is best known as one of the exemplars of the subgenre neo-soul movement of the latter 1990s. while the neo-soul crooner was raised in Brooklyn, his mother was from Haiti. Maxwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a Haitian mother and a Puerto Rican father. His mother grew up in a devout Baptist household in Haiti.Maxwell’s father died in a plane crash when Maxwell was three years old.
Regine Chassagne — The singer for indie-rock group Arcade Fire recently wrote a piece for The Observer about her ancestral ties to the island and how she is desperately trying to find out about friends and family. Régine Chassagne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in St-Lambert, a suburb south of Montreal. Her parents, who were of Haitian origin, emigrated from Haiti during the dictatorship of François Duvalier, which is alluded to in the Arcade Fire song “Haiti”, in which she sings, Mes cousins jamais nés hantent les nuits de Duvalier (“My unborn cousins haunt Duvalier’s nights”). The line is in reference to the relatives who were killed during the Jérémie Vespers massacre. Chassagne attended the prestigious Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf before earning a B.A. in communication studies at Concordia University in 1998.
Jason Derulo was born to Haitian parents on September 21, 1989 in Miami. He started making performances since the age of five and wrote his first song, “Crush On You”, when he was eight. He recalled on from where he learned music, “I grew up as a huge Michael Jackson fan, studying his videos, copying all his moves. I’d practice singing Usher and Justin Timberlake songs while doing their moves.” He then moved to New York and studied American Musical and Dramatic Academy. At the age of twelve, he met his future manager Frank Harris who then helped him improve his basketball skill. Four years later, he began writing songs for big stars such as P. Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie and Lil’ Mama.
Jean Michael-Basquiat – By combining elements of graffiti and African and Caribbean culture in his paintings, Basquiat brought street culture to high society in the ’80s. His father was Haitian and his mother was Puerto Rican. Although Basquiat died in 1988 of an overdose, Andy Warhol helped make the artist’s tortured work internationally famous. Celeb fans include Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Russell Simmons.
Jonathan Polynice Vilma (born April 16, 1982) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Miami, and was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Vilma has also played for the New Orleans Saints. He still has aunts and uncles who live in Haiti.
Jimmy Jean-Louis (born August 8, 1968) is a Haitian actor and model best known for his role as The Haitian on the NBC television series Heroes. Born in Pétionville, he moved to Paris at a young age to pursue a modeling career. His early roles were in French musical theatre and television commercials. Eventually settling in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, he had small roles in The Bourne Identity and Arliss before breaking into larger roles in American television and film.
Trina McGee Born in the Bronx, New York, Trina McGee is the eldest child to her classical pianist mother and her Haitian photographer/revolutionist father. Although her father was absent from the family unit, his political legacy continued to shape Trina’s life. Exiled from Haiti in the 1960s for publishing pamphlets denouncing Papa Doc, he spent Trina’s youth fleeing the Haitian authorities, who would find out his whereabouts periodically and force him to run for his life. Meanwhile, Trina learned to play piano, write songs and showed an interest in acting, creative writing and political issues. As a child she attended the prestigious and politically acclaimed Manhattan Country School, founded in 1968, as a result of the Martin Luther King “I have a dream” speech.
Meta Golding is of Haitian descent but was raised in the United States, India, France and Italy as well as Haiti itself. She competed on ice as an Italian national figure skater, but when an injury ended her skating career she started acting in Italian theatre. Later she returned to the USA to attend Cornell University where she earned degrees in Theatre Arts and International Relations. She now resides in Los Angeles, California, but donates much of her spare time to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico.
Jason Andrew Pierre-Paul (born January 1, 1989), nicknamed JPP, and JP-3 is an American football defensive end for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of South Florida and was picked by the Giants in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Pierre-Paul was born in Deerfield Beach, Florida to Haitian immigrants who arrived from Haiti in 1983. At Deerfield Beach High School, Pierre-Paul lettered in basketball for four years. After a serious leg injury while playing basketball, he took up football his junior year.
Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the Consensus National Player of the Year as a sophomore. Griffin was selected first overall by the Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft, and has since been a five-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA selection. Griffin was born on March 16, 1989, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Tommy, who is of Afro-Haitian descent, and Gail Griffin, who is Caucasian. His father was a basketball center and track standout at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Griffin and his older brother, Taylor Griffin, were home-schooled by their mother from first grade until Taylor was in the tenth grade and Blake was in eighth. Growing up, Griffin was good friends with Sam Bradford, who currently plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.[9][11] Bradford’s father owned a gym where Blake and Taylor played basketball. Before deciding to focus on basketball, Griffin also played baseball as a first baseman and football as a wide receiver, safety, and tight end.
Dawn-Angeliqué Richard, known professionally as Dawn (born August 5, 1983), is an American singer-songwriter. Richard started her career after auditioning for Making the Band 3 in 2004, During this time Richard became a member of American girl band Danity Kane, from 2005 to 2009, and reformed the group with 3 of the original 5 members in late 2013. In 2009 Richard joined Diddy-Dirty Money with label head Sean “Diddy” Combs and Kalenna Harper, disbanding in 2011. Richard is of Louisiana Creole and Haitian descent and was born in New Orleans, Louisiana with one brother. She is currently living in Baltimore, Maryland due to being displaced after Hurricane Katrina. Music has played an influential part in her life since early childhood. Her father is Frank Richard, former lead singer and percussionist of the popular Funk/Soul band Chocolate Milk. Her mother owned a dancing school where Dawn spent much of her childhood developing her skills at choreography and singing.
