Photos: Celebrities with Hispanic heritage

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Photos: Celebrities with Hispanic heritage

A highlight of the rich and/or famous of hispanic origins in the arts, science and government.

Born Christina María Aguilera in Staten Island, New York, Aguilera got her big break on "The Mickey Mouse Club." Her singing career started as a pop star in the late 90s with her self-titled album that had Hot 100 singles like "Genie in a Bottle." He then switched genres with more influences from soul, rock, and blues. She has since added acting to her resume, appearing in the film "Burlesque" and as a coach on "The Voice." Aguilera's father is Ecuadorian.

Bruno Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez, was actually born in Honolulu. His father is half Puerto Rican. His mother is Filipino with distant Spanish ancestry. "Just the Way You Are" was released in July 2010 and topped the Billboard Hot 100.

Cameron Diaz may not be the first actress to come to mind when you mention Hispanic. But she was born in San Diego to a Cuban father, Emilio Luis Diaz. She started modeling at the age of 16, but got her big screen break in The Mask.

Andy Garcia, or Andrés Arturo García Menédez, was born in Havana, Cuba. He moved to Miami after the Bay of Pigs. He's known for appearing in blockbusters like The Godfather Part 3 and Ocean's Eleven and its sequels.

Carlos Mencia was born Ned Arnel Mencía in honduras. The actor, comedian and writer usually takes on political issues, as well as those involving race and social class. Mencia's mother was Mexican and his father was Honduran.

Carlos Pena, Jr. was born in Columbia, Missouri. His father is of Spanish and Venezuelan descent. His mother is Dominican. Pena is best known as a member of Big Time Rush, but has also appeared on ER, Judging Amy and Summerland. He released his first solo, in Spanish, in 2014 titled "Electrico" under the name PenaVega.

Carlos Santana was born in Mexico before his family eventually moved to San Francisco. He became a full-time musician in the 60s, creating the Santana Blues Band in 1966. Santana, as the band became known as, performed at Woodstock before their first album hit the shelves. Santana, the guitarist, has continued playing throughout the decades, with his last album, Shape Shifter, released in 2012

Carly Simon is known as a singer-songwriter and children's author, but not necessarily as Hispanic. Simon's father was Richard Simon, co-founder of Simon & Schuster publishers, and was from a German Jewish family. Her mother, Andrea, was a civil rights activist and singer of Swiss-German and Spanish descent. Some of her hits include "You're So Vain," "Nobody Does It Better," and "Let the River Run."

Charo has been on the small screen and stage since the 70s. Born María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza in Spain, Charo is an actress, comedienne and flamenco guitarist. Her trademark phrase, "cuchi-cuchi," has been a hit for most of her career. Her first appearance was on "The Today Show" in the mid-60s. But she may most known for her appearances on "The Love Boat."

Christy Turlington is a model and was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2014. Turlington's mother is from El Salvador. She got her start as a model when she was 14. At 18 , she moved to New York City to model full-time. She's married to actor Edward Burns.

Dara Torres was born in Beverly Hills, California. Torres competed in the 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2008 Olympics, winning 12 medals over her Olympic career.

Ellen Ochoa is a retired astronaut and current Director of the Johnson Space Center. Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to go to space when served on on the shuttle Discovery in 1993.

Born Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler, Enrique Iglesias, hit the music scene in the mid-90s, turning into one of the biggest Latin American and Hispanic stars in the U.S. He was born in Madrid to singer Julio Iglesias.

King of the undead, George Romero was born to a Cuban father and a Lithuanian American mother. His inspiration to create the world of zombies came from an unusual source - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He was filming a segment when Rogers had a tonsillectomy and that inspired him to produce Night of the Living Dead. He died July 16, 2017.

George Lopez is a Mexican American comedian and actor. He produced and starred in his own show after Sandra Bullock was concerned about the lack of Hispanic sitcoms. He also hosted a late-night talk show on TBS.

Gloria Estefan, along with her husband Emilio, is the most successful Latin music crossover artist. Born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García in Cuba, she burst on the music scene in Miami Sound Machine in 1977.

Jennifer Farley, known as JWoww, is Spanish and Irish descent. She got her start on MTV's reality series "Jersey Shore." She has her own spin-off "Snooki & JWoww," as well as a line of suntanning products.

Jennifer Lopez is one of the most recognizable Hispanic-American stars. Born to Puerto Rican parents in New York, Lopez is an actress, dancer, singer, and author among many other careers. Her first major job was as a dancer on "In Living Color." She then stared in the Selena biopic. Lopez is the first Latina actress to earn more than a $1 million for a single role.

Lea Michele (Sarfati) is best known as Rachel Berry on "Glee" earning two Golden Globe nominations. She was a child actress starting on Broadway appearing in "Les Misérables" and "Fiddler on the Roof." She released her first album, "Louder," in March 2014. She gets her Hispanic roots from her father who is a Sephardic Jew. His family emigrated from Spain and Turkey.

Lou Diamond Phillips gets his heritage from his mother who is of Filipino Spanish descent. He has portrayed many Hispanic characters in his movies, including his first major role as Ritchie Valens in "La Bamba," as a student in the Edward James Olmos movie "Stand and Deliver" and as Jose Chavez y Chavez, an Old West outlaw in "Young Guns" and "Young Guns 2." He's appeared on Broadway as the King in "The King and I."

Wonder Woman herself is of Spanish and Mexican descent thanks to her mother. Lynda Carter is a singer and an actress who is known mostly as Wonder Woman from the 70s series of the same name. She's also appeared on the sage as Mama Morton in London's production of "Chicago." She also played in the high school superhero movie "Sky High" and had a roll in the movie version of "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Known as Manny Ramirez, Manuel Aristides Ramírez Onelcida was an MLB star, and player coach in the Chicago Cubs' organization. Nine-time Silver Slugger, he was one of only 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez was born in the Dominican Republic.

Marc Anthony was born Marco Antonio Muñiz in New York City. Anthony is best known for his salsa numbers and ballads and is the top selling salsa artist of all time. His parents are Puerto Rican. Not only has he hit the charts with his music, he's also appeared in a handful of movies and television shows.

Mario Lopez may best be known for his roll as A.C. Slater on "Saved By The Bell." Lopez also competed on "Dancing with the Stars," and has had hosting duties on "Extra" and "The X Factor." Lopez was born in California and is of Mexican descent.

Mark Ballas has won the mirror ball trophy twice on Dancing with the Stars and has taken the dance floor by storm. Ballas was born in Texas to professional dancers. His paternal grandparents were Mexican, Spanish and Greek descendants.

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Born Christina María Aguilera in Staten Island, New York, Aguilera got her big break on "The Mickey Mouse Club." Her singing career started as a pop star in the late 90s with her self-titled album that had Hot 100 singles like "Genie in a Bottle." He then switched genres with more influences from soul, rock, and blues. She has since added acting to her resume, appearing in the film "Burlesque" and as a coach on "The Voice." Aguilera's father is Ecuadorian.

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