20+ American Celebrities Who Are Superstars Overseas

1. Nicolas Cage - China

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Nic Cage is known for over-the-top performances that have made him one of the most memeable celebrities. While he's seeing a bit of a resurgence currently, it was assumed for a while that his career had peaked. However, in China, Nicolas Cage is incredibly well respected. He's even received awards there and stars in a few commercials.

2. Kelly Rowland - United Kingdom

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Kelly Rowland is most known in the US as a member of Destiny's Child and rose to fame in the late 90s. When the group took a three year break, Kelly released a solo album called Simply Deep. It performed okay in the US, but it debuted at number one on charts in the UK and sold over 3 million copies worldwide!

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger - Austria & Asia

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This makes sense, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is incredibly popular in his home country. He served in the military and also won the Jr. Mr. Europe contest. But did you know that he's also wildly popular in Asia? He's done several Japanese commercials and saw immense fame in Asian countries.

4. Megadeth - Latin America

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Megadeth has diehard fans globally, but they saw a HUGE amount of success across Latin America. Argentina in particular was going through a lot of political changes in 1992, and it coincided with the release of "Countdown to Extinction," so it seems it just really hit hard for people there.

5. John Malkovich - France

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John Malkovich is well known in the US, but his popularity in France is unmatched. He lived there for a time and said he had one of the weirdest fan experiences there. He was sitting in his garden when a woman jumped the fence to give him a gift. It ended up being a script that she had written about a woman who murders an American actor... apparently written in blood. TERRIFYING!

6. Avril Lavigne - Asia

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Avril was the ultimate punk rock pop girl in the early 2000s. Even though her popularity has waned here in the US, she is insanely popular still in Asia. Even her lesser known albums performed really well there, and consequently, she almost always does a large Asia concert tour. In 2008, she did a concert at a Chinese stadium with over 70K people in attendance!

7. Clint Eastwood - Italy

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Clint Eastwood saw a nice career renaissance in 2014 with the film "American Sniper." It was huge in the US, but the numbers in Italy were massive as well. Did you know that he's been a HUGE star in Italy since the 1960s? His film "The Dollars Trilogy" made him into a big star there and ended up propelling his fame in the US.

8. Halle Berry - China

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Halle Berry won an Oscar, but it didn't lead to as successful of a career as she was likely expecting. She also won a Razzie for her performance in "Catwoman." However, she's won prestigious awards in China, and she said that the level of fame she felt when there was wild. Some of her films aren't even allowed to air in China, but her film "Cloud Atlas" made most of its foreign box office gross in China specifically!

9. Steven Seagal - Russia

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Steven Seagal is a huge star in Russia and participates in a lot of Russian movie festivals. He has an interesting relationship with Putin and was offered an honorary consul of Russia in California, going between the Kremlin and White House. Obama didn't like this idea! Instead he's an honorary Russian citizen and says that Putin is the world's greatest leader.

10. George Clooney - Europe

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Of course, George Clooney is popular everywhere, but did you know that he has a HUGE European fanbase? It's actually said that his fanbase there is more loyal than his fanbase here in the US, and that's saying something! Perhaps that's part of the reason he spends so much time there with his wife Amal.

11. Nicole Kidman - Venezuela

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It makes sense that Nicole Kidman has a large following in both the US and Australia. But we were surprised to learn that she also has a HUGE following in Venezuela. So much so that one time she was spotted at a restaurant in Australia, and it made all the local news in Venezuela!

12. Kenny Rogers - Kenya

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This might surprise you, but Kenny Rogers is THE king of country music in Kenya. Kenyans have a deep love for country music. For example, another artist they love is Dolly Parton (as do we all), but Kenny is by far the biggest star there! He's held in even higher regard than in America!

13. John Cusack - China

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Yet another celebrity who has made it past China's media laws. John Cusack found stardom in China from his role in "Dragon Blade." His film "2012" was also a huge hit at the Chinese box office. When he collaborated with Jackie Chan, combined with his admiration for martial arts, his popularity only grew!

14. Lionel Richie - Libya

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Lionel Richie is another one of those people who is basically famous everywhere, but he's extra popular in the Arab world. In fact, he's so beloved that he played for the former Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi along with the Saudi royals. His song "All Night Long" was used when the US tanks invaded Baghdad in 2003 as well.

15. 30 Seconds To Mars - Europe

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At this point, most people associate Jared Leto more with acting than as the frontman of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. They had some US success, but their main fan base was European based. In fact, they sold out several European tours and even won multiple MTV Europe awards.

16. Jerry Lewis - France

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The amount of love that France has for Jerry Lewis is borderline folklore at this point. He has been considered part of French culture since the 1960s. French critics and historians have adored his work to the point that he is preferred over Woody Allen. There's even an annual Jerry Lewis film festival in Paris in his honor.

17. Jessica Simpson - Ukraine

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Whether you loved Jessica Simpson for her music or for her reality TV "Chicken of the Sea" moment, you probably didn't love her as much as Ukraine loves her! And for her acting, no less. Her film "Blonde Ambition" performed poorly in most markets, however, in Ukraine it was a massive success!

18. Woody Allen - Europe

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We know that France prefers Jerry Lewis over Woody Allen, but by-and-large, Europe loves Woody Allen and his body of work. While he's known for his controversies, his reputation and fame has remained in tact across Europe. They hold his work in high regard!

19. Miranda Cosgrove - Brazil

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Miranda Cosgrove is a beloved American actress and singer. While she's very well-known here for her role on "iCarly," her fanbase is even more massive in Brazil! Fans there created multiple Twitter accounts exclusively to lobby for iCarly to come to Brazil.

20. Jessica Sanchez - Philippines

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This one is a little niche, but Jessica Sanchez was a runner up in American Idol. She found some US success after appearing on the show and released a few albums. She's from California, but she found massive fame in the Philippines. She grew her audience and eventually signed endorsement deals there.

21. Chuck Norris - Romania

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Here's an interesting fact. Chuck Norris is a major part of Romanian history! He became the symbol of freedom during the 80s. The communist regime was struggling for power, and BHS tapes of American films were smuggled into the country, starring none other than Chuck Norris!

22. Bruce Lee - Bosnia

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Bruce Lee has definitely left his mark on the world. He really shaped Kung Fu movie culture in the US and globally. Did you know that Bosnians LOVE Kung Fu movies? They love Bruce Lee so much that there's a massive bronze statue of him in the country.

23. Edward Furlong - Japan

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You may not remember him even though he looks vaguely familiar. Edward Furlong was most known in the US for his role as the kid in "Terminator 2" back in the 1990s. He rose to massive fame in Japan that far surpassed his fame in the US. Beyond acting, he released an album exclusively in Japan!

24. John Lennon - Cuba

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John Lennon is known globally, of course. The Beatles are a universal language at this point. But when they first began their careers, Cuba actually banned The Beatles' music. Decades later, Fidel Castro recanted the law. Now there is an entire park in Havana that is dedicated specifically to John Lennon. There's even a statue of him there.

25. David Hasselhoff - Germany

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David Hasselhoff is known for his role in Baywatch, but he's actually considered a very successful pop singer in Germany. The height of his pop singer career was in the 80s, where he was the best-selling male solo artist in Germany. He played multiple concerts there.

26. Frank Zappa - Lithuania

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Have you heard of Frank Zappa? If you live in Lithuania, you know who we're talking about! He's considered a progressive rock god there. So much so that they have even built a memorial statue that's on display in the capital of the country, Vilnius. So cool!

27. Kenny G - China

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Kenny G is maybe the most famous saxophonist of our time. What you may not know is that he's wildly famous in China. In fact, one of his songs plays a big part in day-to-day life there. "Going Home" is played everywhere... Malls, schools, and even train stations when they're announcing that it's time to leave!

28. Kevin James - Germany

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Similar to David Hasselhoff, Kevin James is considered legendary in Germany. His sitcom, "King of Queens" is one of the only US sitcoms that saw huge success with the German audience. His films had their highest foreign gross in Germany. Many think it's due to the fact that his humor doesn't require perfect translation.

29. Sylvester Stallone - Russia

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It's ironic that Rocky Balboa's enemy was the Soviet Union, considering that Sylvester himself has a massive following in Russia. His films like "Expendables" and "Grudge Match" earned their highest foreign box office numbers in Russia. St. Petersburg even displayed paintings by Stallone in 2013.

30. Jonathan Kos-Read - China

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You've probably never heard of Jonathan Kos-Read. He tried to make it in Hollywood, but never hit the success he was looking for. However, he's considered a well-respected television and film actor in China. There, he works under the name Cao Cao, and he's starred in several films and series. Being a caucasian man fluent in Mandarin gives him a niche corner of the market there.