A List of famous Buddhists. This list compiles well known individuals who practice or have heavily studied Buddhism. All branches of Buddhism have been included. Buddhism is a philosophy and religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known to most of us as "the Buddha." Though it's found throughout the world, Buddhism is most popular in Asia, and it originated within India. There are two major branches of Buddhism, Mahayana and Theravada, the former being the most popular. The common thread among all branches of Buddhism is the concept of "dependent origination", that reality is an interwoven web of cause and effect.
Though its origins are distant, there are plenty of famous American Buddhists. Buddhism is the philosophy held or studied by every individual on this list of celebrity Buddhists.
Adam YauchDied at 48 (1964-2012) Adam Nathaniel Yauch was an American rapper, musician, film director, and human rights activist. He was best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. He was frequently known ...more
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbajeage 50 Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is an English actor and former fashion model, best known for his roles as Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity, Mr. Eko on Lost and ...more
Allen GinsbergDied at 71 (1926-1997) Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of both the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the counterculture that soon would follow. He vigorously opposed militarism, ...more
Chow Yun-Fatage 62 Donald Chow Yun-fat, SBS, commonly known as Chow Yun-fat, is a Hong Kong actor. He is best known in Asia for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the heroic bloodshed genre films A ...more
Courtney Loveage 53 Courtney Michelle Love is an American alternative rock singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and visual artist. Prolific in the punk and grunge scenes of the 1990s as the frontwoman of Hole, ...more
David Bowieage 71 David Bowie is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, arranger, and actor. He is also a painter and collector of fine art. Bowie has been a major figure in the ...more
George Dvorskyage 47 George P. Dvorsky is a Canadian bioethicist, transhumanist, and futurist. He is a contributing editor at io9 and producer of the Sentient Developments blog and podcast. Dvorsky currently serves ...more
George Lucasage 73 George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and entrepreneur. He founded Lucasfilm and led the company as chairman and chief executive before selling it to The ...more
Goldie Hawnage 72 Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in television's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and films such as The ...more
Herbie Hancockage 77 Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer. Starting his career with jazz legend Donald Byrd, he shortly thereafter joined the Miles ...more
Hermann HesseDied at 85 (1877-1962) Hermann Hesse was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search ...more
Jack KerouacDied at 47 (1922-1969) Jack Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is ...more
Jeff Bridgesage 68 Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor, singer, and producer. He comes from a well-known acting family and began his televised acting in 1958 as a child with his father, ...more
Jet Liage 54 Li Lianjie, better known by his English stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and wushu champion who was born in Beijing. He is a naturalised Singaporean ...more
k.d. langage 56 Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC, known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won both Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical ...more
Kate Bosworthage 35 Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress, jewelry designer and model. She is best known for her lead roles in Blue Crush, Beyond the Sea, Superman Returns, and Still
Kate Hudsonage 38 Kate Garry Hudson is an American actress. She rose to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including one for an Academy Award for Best Supporting ...more
Leonard Cohenage 83 Leonard Norman Cohen, CC GOQ is a Canadian singer–songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist. His work has explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and personal relationships. Cohen has ...more
Naima Moraage 34 Naima Mora is an American fashion model and the winner of Cycle 4 of America's Next Top Model.
Oliver Stoneage 71 William Oliver Stone is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and military veteran. Stone came to public prominence between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s for writing and ...more
Orlando Bloomage 41 Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. After having his breakthrough by starring in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he rose through fame by further appearing in epic fantasy, ...more
Patrick Duffyage 69 Patrick Duffy is an American actor, best known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas, where he played Bobby Ewing from 1978 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1991. Duffy returned to reprise ...more
Philip Glassage 81 Philip Morris Glass is an American composer. He is considered one of the most influential music makers of the late 20th century. His music is also often controversially described as minimal ...more
Richard Gereage 68 Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor and activist. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to ...more
Sharon Stoneage 60 Sharon Yvonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. Stone first caught the public eye opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall. She then achieved ...more
Steve JobsDied at 56 (1955-2011) Steven Paul Jobs was an American entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor, who was the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. Through Apple, he was widely recognized as a charismatic and ...more
Steven Seagalage 65 Steven Frederic Seagal is an American actor, film producer, screenwriter, film director, martial artist, musician, reserve deputy sheriff and entrepreneur. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal ...more
Tiger Woodsage 42 Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer who is among the most successful golfers of all time. He has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for ...more
Tina Turnerage 78 Anna Mae Bullock, known by her stage name Tina Turner, is a singer, dancer, actress, and author, whose career has spanned more than half a century, earning her widespread recognition and ...more
Wong Ah KiuDied at 88 (1918-2006) Wong Ah Kiu, legally known as Nyonya binti Tahir, was a Malaysian woman born to a Muslim family but raised Buddhist. The court case which arose after her death over whether she should receive an ...more
