Most Famous Foreigners Who Became US Citizens

Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Nathan Fillion gained cult status as Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds on the sci-fi series “Firefly” and its film continuation, “Serenity.” Fillion moved to New York City in 1994, landing a role on daytime soap “One Life To Live.” He left the show in 1997 – the same year he became a U.S. citizen – and has built up a long list of credits, including such series as “Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Castle,” in which he played the leading role of Richard Castle.

Cobie Smulders is best-known for her starring roles as “S.H.I.E.L.D.” agent Maria Hill in Marvel movies and as Robin Scherbatsky on the series “How I Met Your Mother.” Before she hit it big, the Vancouver native worked as a model and considered studying marine biology at the University of Victoria. Ahead of the 2020 election, Smulders announced on Instagram she had become a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, so she could vote for Joe Biden.

Dan Aykroyd first gained fame as an original “Saturday Night Live” cast member, but he got his start on a short-lived Canadian sketch comedy series, “The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour with Lorne Michaels,” and was a member of the Second City comedy troupe in both Toronto and Chicago. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Aykroyd tapped into musical talents to form the Blues Brothers act with the late John Belushi and went onto star in a number of blockbuster films, such as “Ghostbusters” and “Trading Places.”

This NBA star left his native Brampton, Ontario, to attend Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, during his sophomore year to hone his skills on the court and become a young superstar. Thompson played one season of college basketball for the Texas Longhorns before he got drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA draft. Thompson won an NBA championship with the Cavs in 2016 and acquired American citizenship in 2020. He is currently a free agent.

Madeleine Albright’s family immigrated to Denver, Colorado, from Czechoslovakia when she was 11 years old and became a U.S. citizen in 1957. She would ultimately become the first woman to serve as American Secretary of State, holding the position from 1997 to 2001. This diplomat and political scientist also helped assemble President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council and was appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997.