| Marchesi | Antinori Srl | Italian wine company. |
| Bernardito | Auza | Catholic archbishop. |
| Frankie | Avalon | American actor and singer. |
| Dan | Barber | A chef. |
| Felice | Bastianich | Giuliani's husband. |
| Mario | Batali | A chef. |
| James | Beard | An American chef, cookbook author, teacher and TV personality. |
| Giovanni | Bencina | Erminia's new friend. |
| Giovanni | Benussi | One of the principals in a shipbuilding company. |
| Silvio | Berlusconi | Former Prime minister of Italy. |
| Leonard | Bernstein | American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. |
| Elizabeth | Blackwell | The first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. |
| Lidia | Bosazzi | Erminia's cousin. |
| Daniel | Boulud | French chef. |
| Carol | Brock | A food writer. |
| Shelly | Burgess | Giuliana's assistant at Felidia. |
| Richard | Burton | Welsh actor. |
| George W. | Bush | 43rd president of the United States. |
| Laura | Bush | Former First Lady of the United States. |
| Angelica | Caballi | Felice's father's sister. |
| Luigi | Caputo | Giuliana's friend. A chef. |
| Enrico | Caruso | Italian operatic tenor. |
| Enrico | Cerea | A great Italian chef. |
| Roberto | Cerea | Enrico's brother. An Italian chef. |
| Bruno | Ceretto | One of a great wine producers. |
| Julia | Child | An American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. |
| Tom | Clark | The owner and CEO of the Clarke Kitchen showroom. |
| Donatella C. | Colombini | A wine producer based in Tuscany. |
| Christopher | Columbus | Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer. |
| Franco | Corelli | Italian operatic tenor. |
| Marion | Cunningham | American cookbook author. |
| Deanna | Damiano | Joe's wife. |
| Marco | De Bartoli | One of a great wine producers. |
| Lidia | de Grandis | A nun. Giuliana's favorite teacher. |
| Paola | del Conte | A seamstress. |
| Traci | Des Jardins | American chef and restaurateur. |
| Eldo | di Lazzaro | Italian composer. |
| Joyce | DiDonato | American opera mezzo-soprano. |
| Geoffrey | Drummond | The producer of Julia Child's Master Chefs series. |
| Auguste | Escoffier | French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer. |
| Oscar | Farinetti | Italian businessman and investor. |
| Livio | Felluga | The man who re-established Friuli's winemaking heritage. |
| Susan | Feniger | American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author. |
| Signora | Ferro | A well-to-do coffee merchant. |
| Sidney R. | Feuer | US District Clerk of Court. |
| Renée | Fleming | American opera soprano. |
| Paola | Franceschini | Erminia's friend. |
| Pope | Francis | The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City. |
| Joe | Friel | A chef. |
| Angelo | Gaja | An Italian wine producer from the Piemonte region. |
| Billy | Gallagher | South African chef. |
| William | Gallagher | Worked in Italian restaurants. |
| Gale | Gand | American pastry chef, cookbook author. |
| Rosa | Gatto | Giuliana's friend. |
| Valery | Gergiev | Russian conductor and opera company director. |
| Bruno | Giacosa | Italian wine producer. |
| Albert | Giambelli | Francesco's brother. |
| Francesco | Giambelli | Owner of the iconic Giambelli's Ristorante. |
| Elka | Gilmore | American chef. |
| Rudy | Giuliani | Former mayor of New York. |
| Joyce | Goldstein | American chef. |
| Hugh J. | Grant | Served as mayor of New York. |
| Mrs. | Grant | Hugh's wife. |
| Marcella | Hazan | Italian-born American cookbook author. |
| Audrey | Hepburn | British-Dutch actress. |
| Clara Jessup | Heyland | An American heiress from Philadelphia. |
| Cody | Hogan | The Chef de Cuisine of Lidia's Kansas City restaurant. |
| Ernesto | Iaccarino | One of the great Italian chefs. |
| Lou | Iacucci | An aficionado of Italian wines. |
| Ernesto | Illy | The one who developed the modern espresso machine. |
| Jay | Jacobs | A food writer. |
| James | Joyce | Irish novelist and poet. |
| Stephen | Katsouros | A Jesuit priest. |
| Nat | Katzman | The show's director. |
| Thomas | Keller | American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. |
| Frank T. | Kennedy | A priest who presided Joe and Deanna's wedding ceremony. |
| Nikita | Khrushchev | First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. |
| Johanne | Killeen | A chef, owner of Al Forno Restaurant. |
| Alfred | Knopf | Founder of American publishing house. |
| Fiorello | La Guardia | Served as the 99th Mayor of New York City. |
| Mark | Ladner | A chef. |
| Dante | Laurenti | An extraordinary cook. |
| Nino | Laurenti | Dante's brother. A cook. |
| Barbara | Lazaroff | American restaurateur and philanthropist. |
| Vladimir | Lenin | Russian politician, communist theorist, founder of the Soviet Union. |
| Louisa | Leone | Founder of Mamma Leone's restaurant. |
| Paola | Leonori | Erminia's new acquaintance. |
| James | Levine | American conductor and pianist. |
| Edna | Lewis | American chef, teacher, and author. |
| Sophia | Loren | Italian actress. |
| Emily | Luchetti | American pastry chef. |
| Barbara | Lynch | American restaurateur. |
| Gualtiero | Marchesi | Italian chef. |
| Anna | Maria | Sophia Loren's sister. |
| Antonio | Matticchio | Giuliana's paternal grandfather. |
| Louis | Matticchio | Vittorio's cousin. |
| Bette | Midler | American singer-songwriter. |
| Celestino | Migliore | Italian Archbishop. |
| Mary Sue | Milliken | American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author. |
| Liza | Minnelli | American actress and singer. |
| Margrit | Mondavi | Robert Mondavi's wife. |
| Robert | Mondavi | Napa Valley winemaker. |
| Letizia | Moratti | The mayor of Milan. |
| Antonio | Morello | One of the New York architects who designed Felidia's restaurant. |
| Aimo | Moroni | One of the chefs from Milan. |
| Nadia | Moroni | One of the chefs from Milan. |
| William | Morrow | An award-winning author. |
| Benito | Mussolini | Former Prime Minister of Italy. |
| Giorgio | Napolitano | 11th President of Italy. |
| Gamal Abdel | Nasser | Second president of Egypt. |
| Joan | Nathan | A chef. |
| Jawaharlal | Nehru | Indian lawyer. First Prime Minister of India. |
| Paul | Nicaj | One of a catering managers. |
| Fortunato | Nicotra | Giuliana's new acquaintance. A chef. |
| Gianandrea | Noseda | Italian conductor. |
| Michelle | Obama | Former First Lady of the United States. |
| Margaret | O'Donoghue | Franco's wife. |
| David | Pasternack | A chef. |
| Luciano | Pavarotti | Italian operatic tenor. |
| Gregory | Peck | American actor. |
| Nancy | Pelosi | Speaker of the House. |
| Irving | Penn | American photographer and photojournalist. |
| Tom | Penn | Irving Penn's son. |
| Jacques | Pépin | French-born American chef, author, culinary, educator and artist. |
| Zlatko | Perdija | Sonia's husband. A retired naval engineer. |
| Sam | Perros | A bartender. |
| Carlo | Petrini | Italian activist. |
| Édith | Piaf | A French singer. |
| Carlo | Ponti | Sophia Loren's husband. |
| Carlo | Ponti Jr. | Sophia Loren's son. |
| Elvis | Presley | American singer and actor. |
| Leontyne | Price | American soprano. |
| Eugene | Prior | Presided Tanya and Corrado's nuptial. |
| Wanda | Radetti | Giuliana's friend. |
| Nicola | Rapetti | Nina's husband. |
| Ruth | Reichl | American food writer. |
| Condoleezza | Rice | Secretary of State. |
| Éric | Ripert | French chef, author and television personality. |
| Melissa | Rodriguez | A chef at Del Posto |
| Anne | Rosenzweig | A great chef. |
| Isabella | Rossellini | Italian actress and filmmaker. |
| Henny | Santo | The wife of one of the owners of Sign of the Dove. |
| Adam | Saper | One of Giuliana's business partners. |
| Donato | Savoie | One of the New York architects who designed Felidia's restaurant. |
| Antonin | Scalia | US Supreme Court Justice. |
| Ricardo | Scicolone | A construction engineer. Sophia Loren's father. |
| Haile | Selassie | Emperor of Ethiopia. |
| Salva Postuma | Sergii | The wife of the aforementioned Lepidus. |
| Salvatore | Settepani | Owner of Bruno's bakery. |
| Mimi | Sheraton | A food critic. |
| Maria Manetti | Shrem | A philanthropist. |
| Beverly | Sills | American operatic soprano. |
| Nancy | Silverton | American chef, baker, and author. |
| Carlo | Sivocci | Felice and Giuliana's friend. |
| André | Soltner | An internationally recognized French chef and author. |
| Joseph | Stalin | Secretary-general of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. |
| Dr. | Stein | A pediatrician. |
| Amy | Stevenson | A culinary producer. |
| Dan | Sweeney | A chef. |
| Dan | Swinney | Executive chef at Lidia's Kansa's City Restaurant. |
| Adele | Taylor | Served as president and CEO of the American Academy. |
| Elizabeth | Taylor | British-American actress. |
| Josip Broz | Tito | Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. |
| Edgar | Torres | One of the chefs at Felidia. |
| Barbara | Tropp | American orientalist, chef, restaurateur, and food writer. |
| Mauro | Uliassi | One of the great Italian chefs. |
| Frankie | Valli | A musician. |
| Bruno | Vesnaver | Giuliana's new acquaintance. |
| Romilda | Villani | Sophia Loren's mother. |
| Giuseppe | Vitale | An immigrant who had good Italian and Italian American palate. |
| Angelo | Vivolo | Owner of Vivolo restaurant. |
| Jean-Georges | Vongerichten | French chef. |
| Paul | Walken | A great baker. Owner of the Walken's Bakery. |
| Alice | Waters | American chef, activist and author. |
| Adrian | | One of Franco and Margaret's grandchildren. |
| Alex | | One of Fortunato and Shelly's children. |
| Alex | | Adam's brother. One of Giuliana's business partners. |
| Anna | | Nonna Rosa's older sister. |
| Appy | | A cat. |
| Benedict XVI | | Pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. |
| Betty | | One of Anna's daughters. |
| Biagio | | Salvatore's brother. |
| Carmela | | A forewoman. |
| Caterina | | Felice's grandmother. |
| Christina | | Franco and Margaret's first child. |
| Christopher | | One of Mr. Walken's sons. |
| Corrado | | Rapetti's son. |
| Dante | | Felice's friend. |
| Desmond | | One of Franco and Margaret's grandchildren. |
| Diana | | Louis and Marie's daughter. |
| Domenico | | Sonia's son. aka: Dinko. |
| Elda | | Corrado's girlfriend. |
| Emilio | | Aunt Lidia's husband. |
| Eric | | One of Franco and Margaret's sons. |
| Erminia | | Giuliana's mother. |
| Estelle | | Franco and Margaret's daughter. |
| Ethan | | One of Giuliana's grandsons. |
| Ferruccio | | Nina's son. |
| Francesca | | Vittorio's mother. |
| Francesco | | Frankie Vallie's son. |
| Franco 1 | | Giuliana's brother. |
| Franco 2 | | One of Vittorio's brothers. |
| Gabriele | | One of Signora Leonori's sons. |
| Giorgio | | Wanda's brother. |
| Giovanna | | Grandma Rosa's neighbor. |
| Giovanni | | Giuliana's maternal grandfather. |
| Giuliana | | A protagonist. The narrator of the story. |
| Giuseppe 1 | | One of Signora Leonori's sons. |
| Giuseppe 2 | | Felice's father. |
| Glenn | | One of Mr. Walken's sons. |
| Graziella | | Wanda's friend. |
| Guido | | One of Signora Leonori's sons. |
| Gypsy | | A dog. |
| Jan | | Maria Manetti's husband. |
| Johnny | | One of Anna's sons. |
| Jolanda | | Felice's sister. |
| Joseph | | Giuliana's son. aka: Joe. |
| Josie | | The store manager. |
| Judith | | Giuliani's wife. |
| Julia | | One of Giuliana's granddaughters. |
| Julia | | One of Fortunato and Shelly's children. |
| Ken | | One of Mr. Walken's sons. |
| La Professoressa | | Zia Nina's elderly tenant. |
| Lidia | | Giuliana's aunt. |
| Lidia-Giuliana | | Guiliana's registered name. |
| Lilliana | | One of Giuliana's friends. |
| Lorenzo | | One of Giuliana's grandsons. |
| Luca | | One of Fortunato and Shelly's children. |
| Luisa | | A TV host. |
| Maria 1 | | Vittorio's ex-girlfriend. |
| Maria 2 | | One of Giovanni's sisters. aka: Santola. |
| Marie | | Louis' wife. |
| Mario | | One of Anna's sons. |
| Mary | | One of Anna's daughters. |
| Matteo | | Giovanni's cousin. |
| Maureen | | Scalia's wife. |
| Mia | | Felice's grandfather. |
| Micia | | Giuliana's cat. |
| Miles | | One of Giuliana's grandsons. |
| Milka | | Felice's mother. |
| Nina | | Giuliana's great-aunt. |
| Nonna Rosa | | Giuliana's grandmother. |
| Olga | | One of Anna's daughters. |
| Olivia | | One of Giuliana's granddaughters. |
| Paul | | One of Franco and Margaret's sons. |
| Paul | | Julia Child's husband. |
| Paul | | Nancy Pelosi's husband. |
| Pete | | A chef. |
| Renato | | Matteo and Toda's son. |
| Rosalie | | Paul Walken's wife. |
| Ruby | | One of Franco and Margaret's grandchildren. |
| Silvia | | One of Giuliana's friends. |
| Sofia | | One of Franco and Margaret's grandchildren. |
| Sonia | | Aunt Lidia's daughter. |
| Stella | | One of Anna's daughters. |
| Tanya | | Giuliana's daughter. |
| Teodora | | Matteo's wife, aka: Toda. |
| Tonino | | One of Vittorio's brothers. |
| Vietti | | Produces wines, all made from the indigenous grape varieties. |
| Vittorio | | Erminia's husband. |
