The following is a list of Chinese Americans who are famous, have made significant contributions to the American culture or society politically, artistically or scientifically, or have appeared in the news numerous times:

(Chinese name may be placed, if available, beside those persons who currently do not have articles yet. Otherwise, place them in their articles. People in this least must have at least a permanent resident status or American-born.)

• Jin Au-yeung - rapper
• Chang and Eng Bunker - Siamese twins pioneer immigrants
• Bette Bao Lord (包柏漪) - writer, novelist
• Anna Chan Chennault (陳香梅) - wife of Claire Chennault, of the Flying Tigers
• Eileen Chang, writer
• Iris Chang (張純如) - writer
• Lia Chang - actor, photographer, writer
• Michael Chang - tennis player
• Elaine Chao - Secretary of Labor
• Rosalind Chao - actor
• Christine Chen - Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans
• Joan Chen
• Julie Chen - newsreader on The Early Show and host of Big Brother
• Steve Chen - computer scientist, supercomputer designer, Cray
• Shiing-shen Chern - mathematician
• Katherine Sui Fun Cheung - first female Asian-American pilot
• Leroy Chiao - NASA astronaut
• Maj. Arthur Chin (陳瑞鈿) - WW II pilot and fighter ace
• Frank Chin (趙健秀) - novelist, playwright, and essayist
• Ming W. Chin (陳惠明) - Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
• Tiffany Chin (陳婷婷) - figure skater
• Vincent Chin - victim of racial crime
• Alex Chiu - eccentric
• Annabel Chong - adult film actress
• Amy Chow (周婉儀) - gymnast and Olympic medal winner
• Norm Chow (周友賢) - USC offensive coordinator
• Wen Tsing Chow (周文俊) - missile guidance scientist, digital computer pioneer
• David Chu (朱欽騏) - fashion designer and founder of Nautica
• Paul C.W. Chu (朱經武) - physicist, superconductivity
• Steven Chu - 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, first Asian American to run one of the 16 national laboratories operated by the Department of Energy (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
• Kam Fong Chun, actor
• Connie Chung - TV news anchor
• Fan Chung - mathematician
• Dong Kingman (曾景文) - watercolor artist and professor
• Hiram L. Fong - U.S. Senator
• Ben Fong-Torres (方振豪) - journalist, Rolling Stone
• David Ho - AIDS researcher
• Kelly Hu - actress
• Jen-Hsun Huang (黃仁勳) - cofounder, CEO, Nvidia
• David Henry Wang (黃哲倫) - playwright
• William Hung - of American Idol fame
• Maxine Hong Kingston - writer, novelist
• James Wong Howe (黃宗霑) - cinematographer
• Gish Jen - writer, novelist
• Andrea Jung (鍾彬嫻)- CEO, Avon products
• Michelle Kwan (關穎珊) - figure skater
• Nancy Kwan (關南施) - first Chinese-born star in Western cinema website
• Ang Lee - movie director
• Bruce Lee - actor, kung fu
• Brandon Lee -actor
• Ching Yang Lee (黎錦揚) - novelist, Flower Drum Song
• Coco Lee - singer
• Corky Lee - photographer
• Gus Lee (李健孫) - writer
• Henry C. Lee - forensic scientist
• Jason Scott Lee (李截), actor
• Li-young lee - poet
• Susan Lee (李鳳遷) - Maryland State Delegate and first Asian American woman in the Maryland State Assembly
• Tsung-dao Lee - Nobel laureate, Physics
• Wen Ho Lee (李文和) - nuclear physicist, accused spy, acquitted
• Will Yun Lee (李威勇) - actor
• Katrina Leung - businesswoman, Republican activist, and accused spy
• Carol Lin - news anchor
• Justin Lin (林詣彬) - film director of Better Luck Tomorrow
• Maya Lin (林瓔) - architect (Vietnam Veterans Memorial)
• T. Y. Lin - civil engineer (bridgebuilder)
• Lisa Ling (凌志慧) - TV show host
• Eric Liu - writer, a speechwriter of Bill Clinton
• Lucy Liu - actress
• Gary Locke - Democratic Governor of Washington
• Edward Lu - NASA astronaut
• Keye Luke - actor
• Lue Gim Gong - In 1888, he invented an orange, which is still grown in Florida, that survives cold weather
• Adeline Yen Mah (馬嚴君玲) - author and physician
• Yoyo Ma - cellist
• Teresa Meng (孟懷縈) - founder, Atheros Communications
• Jenny Ming (明珍尼) - president of Old Navy, a unit of Gap, Inc.
• Kim Ng - baseball executive
• I. M. Pei (貝聿銘) - architect
• Gordan Quan (關振鵬) - Houston City Councilman and Asian American advocate
• Soong Mei-Ling a.k.a. Madame Chiang Kai-Shek
• Robin Shou (仇雲波) - martial artist
• Anna Sui - fashion designer
• Vivienne Tam (譚燕玉) - fashion designer
• Amy Tan - writer
• Thomas Tang - judge
• Chang-lin Tien - professor, former chancellor UC Berkeley
• Samuel C. C. Ting - 1976 Nobel laureate, Physics
• Ming Tsai (蔡明)- chef and restauranteur, writer
• Daniel Chee Tsui - 1998 Nobel prize, Physics
• An Wang - computer engineer
• Charles Wang (王嘉廉)- founder, CEO, chairman, Computer Associates
• Lili Wang - murdered at her university
• Garret Wang - actor in Star Trek: Voyager
• Taylor Wang - first ethnic Chinese scientist to go into space, 1985 on space shuttle Challenger
• Vera Wang - fashion designer
• Wayne Wang - Hollywood director
• Pei-Yuan Wei - creator of ViolaWWW
• Ming-Na Wen - Macanese-born actress
• Anna May Wong - first female Asian-American star of the screen
• B.D. Wong (黃榮亮) - actor in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Wong Ching Foo (黃清福) - civil rights activist against Chinese Exclusion Act
• David Wong Louie - writer
• Jade Snow Wong - writer
• Russell Wong (王盛德) - actor
• Victor Wong (黃自強) - Hollywood actor
• S.B. Woo (吳仙標) - former attorney general and lieutenant governor of Delaware, current president of the 80-20 Initiative
• David Wu - first and only Chinese American U.S. Representative, Democrat from Oregon
• Frank H. Wu (吳華揚) - a professor of law at Howard University, writer of Yellow: Race in America beyond Black and White, soon to be Dean of Law at Wayne State University in Michigan
• Harry Wu - human rights activist
• Kiko Wu - adult model and actress
• Chien-Shiung Wu - female scientist
• Martin Yan - host of Yan Can Cook
• Chen Ning Yang - Nobel laureate, Physics
• Henry Yang (楊祖佑) - chancellor, UC Santa Barbara
• Jeff Yang - founder of A Magazine
• Jerry Yang (楊致遠) - founder of Yahoo!
• Welly Yang - actor and artist
• James Yee - Army Captain formerly charged with sedition
• Shing-Tung Yau - mathematician
• Laurence Yep - author of children's books
• Katherine Young - world's oldest user of the Internet
• Kaila Yu - model and singer
• Judy Yung - writer
• Helen Zia (謝漢蘭) - community activists and writer