8. Régine Chassagne
The sprightly side of indie rock royalty Arcade Fire was born in Montréal to Haitian parents. A jazz singer and serious multi-instrumentalist who plays the accordion, keys, xylophone, hurdy-gurdy and much more, she met Arcade Fire frontman (and her husband) Win Butler after singing at an art opening, and their personal and professional partnership thrived from the start. Her roots inspired the emotional “Haiti” from the band’s seminal first album, Funeral. And unlike most celebrities, Arcade Fire have done good for Haiti in a non-tokenistic way, including an upcoming live DVD shot in Port-au-Prince. Régine is also the only person on this list who used to play in a medieval music ensemble.