When most people think of the Dominican Republic, they think of a tropical island with a 1,000 miles of white sand beaches. Many of which are picture perfect with picturesque palm trees hanging over the beach, beautiful crystal clear water. You know the type of thing you see in the post cards.

While this is what makes up much of the Dominican Republic many people don’t think of what Dominicans have done within the USA. There are approximately 1.2 million Dominican residents in the US.

They are primarily on the East Coast. You will find a large population in New York, New Jersey, Florida and other eastern states. While you don’t find to many Dominicans among the general population on the west coast, it is interesting to see how many people with Dominican heritage make up Hollywood.

Recognize the lady to the right. Yah you probably do, that’s Zoe Saldana and she’s half Dominican. Maybe you don’t recognize the name, but you definitely recognize the face. Some of her most recent performances include major roles in Avatar and the new Star Trek. She played Neytiri in Avatar and Nyota Uhura in the new Star Trek. For those of you who aren’t Trekkies, that was Spock’s Girlfriend in the new Star Trek.

Her breakthrough role was in Drumline, where she played Laila. She also is playing a leading role in The Losers, which is coming out this month. You can follow Zoe on twitter at Zoe Saldana or check out her website at Zoe Saldana

Mayte Michelle Rodriguez is also a successful actress with Dominican heritage. She starred in both of the The Fast and The Furious, Blue Crush , Resident Evil, S.W.A.T., and Avatar. You can follow her on Twitter at Michelle Rodriguez

Baseball Players

Then there are professional Dominican baseball players. That is a whole different story, you step one foot in this country and you know why there are so many Dominicans in the Major league.

Baseball is like dancing here, they all do it and they are good at it before they can walk. I have been living here for about 6 months and I have yet to meet a single Dominican guy that doesn’t absolutely love baseball. If you look at the list of players with Dominican origin that have become MLB players you will find hundreds. It practically runs in their blood.

You will find that such players as Sammy Sosa, Juan Marichal, Manny Ramírez, and Alex Rodriguez all have Dominican heritage. It is interesting that Alex Rodrigues, born in New York to Dominican parents, is the highest paid MLB player with a $275 million 10 year contract with the Yankees and known to be one of the best all around players in the sport.

Those are just a few of the famous Dominicans in the entertainment industry. You will also find famous Dominicans in the Fashion industry, music, and beauty pageants. To read more on famous Dominicans you can visit Wikipedia.