This is likely the biggest and most extensive listing you’ll find anywhere for famous pugs and celebrity pug owners. Some mentions include links, where possible, to photos of the pugs. The parent pug list includes royalty, authors, singers, actors, actresses, and other well-known and famous people.

Famous pug actors and actresses

Bess – The West Wing (belonging to Glenallen Walken played by John Goodman)
Cheeka – commercials for the Hutch cellular network in India
Frank – Men in Black / Men in Black II
Frick and Frack – Hotel for Dogs
Mopy – Marie Antoinette movie
Otis – The Adventures of Milo and Otis
Vinny the Pug – Vincent Thomas Pug, professional pug rock climber and poser
Willy – BBC’s EastEnders
Unnamed pug – Dune (David Lynch) – pet Duke Leto Atreides
Unnamed pug – FRONTLINE® commercial (they don’t provide the name of the Pug on their site)
Unnamed pug – Friends (Phoebe)
Unnamed pugs – Planet of the Pugs

Pug Parent Celebrities and their pugs

• Balthazar Getty with canine friends Ajax and Daisy.
• Billy Joel owned by Sabrina (fawn-colored pug) –(You’ll see others say Billy has a black pug named Fionula / Finoula / Fionoula but Fionoula is a Boston Bull Terrier, at least according to the above source and picture. This article is one among many that says Fionoula is a pug…)
• Brigid Berlin (close friend of Andy Warhol) is owned by a couple of pugs that she lovingly refers to as her “children”, India and Africa. (References were found to Andy Warhol owning pugs, but not sure that he did…)
• Carol Kane owned by two Pugs names?
• Chris Kirkpatrick (‘N Sync) shared by Busta (fawn) and Korea
• Christine Elise (actress) owned by Dempsey
• Dave Ramsey (writer/speaker/radio talk show host regarding financial matters) owner of Heaven, the pug (named after her predecessor, Angel).
• Denise Richards (actress) is owned by five dogs – along with a black pug named Betty (as seen on “The Dog Whisperer” – Cesar Millan), she has two Boston terriers, a bulldog and a golden retriever.
• Dennis Quaid (actor) and his precious pug (Pudgy?)
• Duke and Duchess of Windsor (former – Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson) spoiled 4 pugs, including one supposedly named Davy Crockett.
• Empress Dowager Cixi (T’zu Hsi/China) supposedly a lover of dogs and supposedly had a kennel of Pugs, Pekingese, and Shih Tzu dogs.
• Gabrielle Zevin (author) owned by pug Mrs. DeWinter (aka D-Dub)
• George Brent (actor) reportedly owned a pug named Whisky.
• George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans – novelist/author) owned by Pug, which supposedly cost her almost an entire book advance.
• Gerard Butler (actor) with the leading lady in his life Lolita, the pug. Gerard even had to defend his girl from harm, according to this article (‘course he probably should’ve had her on a leash).
• Goran Visnjic owned by Bugsy and formerly Rommel / Romeo
• Jason Dunn (lead singer of Hawk Nelson) is the property of his pug Murphy — who can be seen on the band’s LIVE LIFE LOUD cover
• JD Fortune (lead singer for INXS) and his number one fan Presley, the pug
• Jenna Elfman (actress) owned by Willy and Guinevere
• Jeremy Mayfield (suspended NASCAR driver) owned a black pug named Flash (and possibly others?)
• Jessica Alba owned by pugs Sid (or Syd?) and Nancy
• Jonathan Ross adored by Mr. Pickles (and vice versa…you have to watch the video, it’s so very cute)
• Josephine Bonaparte (Empress – Napoleon’s wife) and her pug Fortune, which supposedly once bit Napoleon on the leg for crowding him in bed.
• Kelly Osbourne and her pug, Prudence
• Kendall Farr (author) inspired by Annabelle
• Kimberly Holly (fashion stylist) dedicated servant to Claude (featured in a Barneys catalog).
• Lili Taylor devoted to a black pug dog named Gulliver, who she supposedly found on the side of the road in upstate New York.
• Mackenzie Phillips (actress) owned by Max the “Chinese” Pug
• Margo Kaufman (columnist/author) owned by Clara (and others)
• Marie Antoinette supposedly owned a pug named Mops, as well as a Shih Tzu named Schnitzy
• Marv Albert (sportscaster) and his fans Lulu and Ruby
• Maura Tierney (“Abby Lockhart” ER and “Lisa Miller” NewsRadio fame) owned by pug Rose Kennedy (I haven’t seen it, but as I understand it, Rose Kennedy and her owners Maura Tierney and Billy Morrissette make a cameo appearance in “The Thin Pink Line”. A datSplat! visitor has written in to mention that they believe Christine Elise and her pug Dempsey also make an appearance in “The Thin Pink Line” — Thanks for the addition!)
• Mickey Rourke adored by canine friend Raphael.
• Nathan Lane (actor/comedy performer) owned by pug Mabel.
• Paul Winfield reportedly raised and bred championship black Pug breed dogs.
• Paula Abdul owned by Puggy Sue
• Prince William of Orange (the former stadtholder of The Netherlands – “the Silent of the Netherlands”) and his heroic dog Pompey (although it has not been determined for certain that Pompey was really a pug).
• Queen Victoria (England) was supposedly a great fan of Pugs, fawn ones in particular, and one that was adored by her was named Bully. Also found mention of pugs owned by Queen Victoria named Olga, Pedro, Minka, Fatima and Venus.
• Rick Springfield (singer/musician) is devoted to his pug Pearl.
• Rob Zombie is owned by an awesome black pug named Dracula. (Thanks so much to the visitor who sent this one in!)
• Sean Bryan author of The Juggling Pugis owned by two pugs.
• Stan Lee (Marvel comics publisher) drawn to Pookie.
• Sylvia Sydney (actress) supposedly was enamored with black Pugs and owned several.
• Ted Danson (actor) and Mary Steenburgen (actress) owned by ???
• Tom Welling (actor – Clark Kent in Smallville) loved by pug “Cook”.
• Tori Spelling owned by pug Mimi La Rue (Update: Mimi LaRue passed away in June of 2008. Our sincere condolences for your loss, Tori and family.)
• Valentino (famous fashion designer) owned by Maggie and Mollie?
• Victoria Roberts (cartoonist for The New Yorker) loved by Pogo
• William Hogarth (English painter) had Pugs, most famously one named “Trump”, and included them in his paintings
• Winston Churchill (or perhaps more like his daughter Mary Churchill) supposedly had a pug named Punch (Winston even supposedly signed his name with a pug drawing in a note to his wife)

Other celebs rumored to be pug owners include (some doubted, all not confirmed):

Hugh Laurie (aka Dr House) is rumored to be owned by a pug, based on a photo with one, but haven’t gotten confirmation on that yet (if it’s true, just one more reason to love House!), same for Adrian Grenier, Lena Horne, Patti Reagan Davis (daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan) — possibly has/had a pug named Gracie?, Sammy Davis Jr., Dick Clark, Andy Warhol, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Woody Harrelson, Sally Jessy Raphael, George Clooney (however not sure the reports aren’t just assumptions and that the adorable pug puppy sharing the camera with George wasn’t just a photo prop in a photography shoot…), Beverly Mitchell, Lou Ferrigno (although see interview where he refers to his “pug” as “half Maltese and half poodle”…I think there’s some confusion here, Lou), Tommy Hilfiger, Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (2000/2004 Olympic medalist dutch cyclist), Marquise de Pompadour (mistress of King Louis XV of France), King George III and Queen Charlotte (UK), Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco (Grace Kelly), and Ann-Margret (actress) who has been said to own five pugs but the only credible reference found to a mention of a dog is in a Larry King interview where Ann-Margret mentions “Missy, a little Maltese” as her one dog (along with having six cats). It’s even been claimed that François-Marie Arouet (more commonly known by his pen name “Voltaire“) was a pug owner.

Various sources report that Paris Hilton had gotten a pug…to go along with her chihuahua…but believe they’re just making false assumptions from these publicity pictures. (Poor thing does look scared and not too happy about the way Paris is handling him/her.)

Various sources also claim that Jason Priestley (actor) supposedly owns/owned a pug called Dempsey, but his site only mentions a “14-year old French Bulldog – Swifty Lugnutz – and a 3-year old Alaskan Malamute, Pris”. Jason dated Christine Elise, who owns a pug named Dempsey, and I believe this is where the confusion comes from…

Finally, to make Pugs even more famous…
Delaware has an open bill to make the Pug the official dog of the State of Delaware:

SPONSOR: Rep. Valihura & Sen. Sokola & Sen. Cloutier
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
143rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 420

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STATE SYMBOLS AND ADOPTING THE PUG AS THE STATE DOG.

Go Pugs!

[tags]pugs, pug dogs, dogs, celebrities[/tags]