List of people from California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a partial list of well-known people from California.
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
[edit] A
- Paula Abdul - dancer (American Idol)
- Ansel Adams - photographer
- Ben Affleck - actor
- Troy Aikman - football player (Dallas Cowboys)
- Jessica Alba - actress (Dark Angel (TV series))
- Edward Albert - actor
- Gracie Allen - comedian (George Burns)
- Jennifer Aniston - actress (Friends)
- Angela Alioto - San Francisco politician
- Joseph Alioto - mayor (1968–1976) of San Francisco
- Willie Aames - actor
- Jon Appleton - composer
- Eve Arden - actress
- Maureen Arthur - actress (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)
- Anastasia Ashman - writer
[edit] B
- Diane Baker - actress (The Silence of the Lambs)
- Tyra Banks - model/actress (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
- Adrienne Barbeau - actress (Maude (TV series))
- Travis Barker - Blink 182
- Drew Barrymore - actress (50 First Dates)
- Captain Beefheart - musician
- Marcus Benjamin - (born in 1857) Early biographer at the Smithsonian Institution
- Candice Bergen - actress (Murphy Brown)
- Carolyn Beug - passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11
- Thora Birch - actress
- Bradford Bishop - indicted murderer and at-large fugitive
- Bill Bixby - actor (The Incredible Hulk)
- Mel Blanc - cartoon voice actor
- Jack Black - actor (Tenacious D)
- Betsy Bloomingdale - socialite
- Aaron Boone - Infamous baseball player (Cleveland Indians), nemesis of 2003 American League Championship Series by Red Sox fans
- Barry Bonds - baseball player (San Francisco Giants)
- Bobby Bonds - baseball player (San Francisco Giants)
- Barry Bostwick - actor (Spin City, The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
- Tom Brady - football quarterback (New England Patriots)
- Nicholas Brendon - actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- Stephen Breyer - Supreme Court Justice
- Beau Bridges - actor (The Fabulous Baker Boys)
- Jeff Bridges - actor (The Big Lebowski)
- Lloyd Bridges - actor (Sea Hunt, Airplane!)
- Albert Brooks - actor/director (Lost in America )
- Alton Brown - television host
- Jerry Brown - Governor of California (1975–1983), Mayor of Oakland
- Pat Brown - Governor of California (1959–1967)
- Willie Brown - 58th Speaker of the California Assembly, Mayor of San Francisco
- Bill Buckner - Infamous Red Sox Player, nemesis of 1986 World Series by Red Sox fans
- Don Budge - Tennis player
- Cruz Bustamante - California lieutenant governor
[edit] C
- Herb Caen - newspaper columnist (San Francisco Chronicle)
- John Cage - Composer
- Dolph Camilli - baseball player
- Ben Nighthorse Campbell - U.S. Senator from Colorado
- David Carradine - actor (Kung Fu (television))
- Ever Carradine - actress (daughter of Robert Carradine)
- Keith Carradine - actor (Nashville (1975 film)
- Robert Carradine - actor (Revenge of the Nerds)
- Cher - singer/actress/entertainer (Moonstruck)
- Amy Chow - Gymnast
- Lana Clarkson - actress (Fast Times at Ridgemont High)
- Elisha Cook Jr. - actor (The Maltese Falcon (1941 film))
- Kevin Costner - actor (Field of Dreams)
- Nikki Cox - actress (Las Vegas (TV series))
- Les Claypool - Bass player for Primus
- Alan Cranston - U.S. Senator from California
- William H. Crocker - philanthropist and founder of Crocker National Bank
- Jamie Lee Curtis - actress (Halloween (film))
[edit] D
- Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose) - radio broadcaster during World War II
- Ted Danson - actor Cheers
- Zack de la Rocha - singer
- Tom DeLonge - Blink 182
- Cameron Diaz - actress (There's Something About Mary)
- Leonardo DiCaprio - actor
- Joe DiMaggio - baseball player
- Roy Edward Disney, billionaire, nephew of Walt Disney
- Snoop Dogg - rapper
- Canh Thong Do - Democracy Activist arrested in Vietnam
- Ami Dolenz actress (daughter of Mickey Dolenz)
- Mickey Dolenz - member of The Monkees
- Jimmy Doolittle - U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force General
- K. Eric Drexler - engineer
- Jermaine Dye - baseball player (Chicago White Sox)
[edit] E
- Clint Eastwood - film actor and director (Million Dollar Baby)
- Zac Efron - American film and tv actor. Best known for his role in High School Musical
[edit] F
- Bill Fagerbakke - actor/voice actor (Patrick Star)
- Heather Fargo - mayor of Sacramento, California
- Dianne Feinstein - US Senator, mayor (1978–1988) of San Francisco
- Will Ferrell - actor
- Miguel Ferrer - actor (RoboCop)
- Abigail Folger - American coffee heiress, socialite, and murder victim
- Jodie Foster - actress (The Silence of the Lambs)
- Robert Frost - poet
- Edward Furlong - actor (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
[edit] G
- Guy Gabaldon - United States Marine Corps
- Jeff Garcia - American football player
- Sara Gilbert - actress (Roseanne (TV series))
- Lillian Moller Gilbreth - engineer (Cheaper by the Dozen)
- Jeff Gordon - NASCAR driver
- Joanie Greggains - radio show host, health and fitness expert.
- Merv Griffin - talk show host, singer, television producer (Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune)
- Marjoe Gortner - evangelical minister
- Vince Guaraldi - musician (A Charlie Brown Christmas (album))
- Kimberly Guilfoyle - television personality
[edit] H
- Walter A. Haas, Jr. CEO of Levi Strauss & Co.
- Merle Haggard - Country music singer
- Mark Hamill - actor (Star Wars)
- Harry Hamlin - actor (Clash of the Titans)
- Daniel Handler - Lemony Snicket
- Colin Hanks - actor (King Kong (2005 film))
- Tom Hanks - actor (Big)
- Mariska Hargitay - actress (Jayne Mansfield)
- Dennis Haysbert - actor (24 (TV series))
- William Randolph Hearst - newspaper publisher
- Patty Hearst - newspaper heiress (Symbionese Liberation Army)
- Christy Hemme - professional wrestler and model
- Keith Hernandez - baseball player (New York Mets)
- Mike Holmgren - football coach (Seattle Seahawks)
- Mark Hoppus - Blink 182
- Sam Horrigan - actor Little Giants
- William Hung - (American Idol)
- Helen Hunt - actress (Mad About You)
- Vanessa Anne Hudgens - American actor and singer. Best known for her role in High School Musical
[edit] I
- Yasuhiro Ishimoto - photographer
[edit] J
- Jesse G. James - actor & CEO and polition
- Fran Jeffries - actress (The Pink Panther)
- Steve Jobs, billionaire computer pioneer, co-founder of Apple Computer
[edit] K
- Adam Kagin - professional poker player
- Diane Keaton - actress (Annie Hall)
- Anthony Kennedy - Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- Kirk Kerkorian - Billionaire investor and philanthropist
- Maxine Hong Kingston - author
- Mike Krukow - baseball pitcher/announcer (San Francisco Giants)
- Lisa Kudrow - actress (Friends)
- Michelle Kwan - figure skater
[edit] L
- Rick Law - illustrator/producer
- Jennifer Jason Leigh - actress (Fast Times at Ridgemont High)
- Brad Lesley - baseball player/cast member on Takeshi's Castle
- Monica Lewinsky
- Rob Liefeld - comic book writer
- Jack London - author (The Call of the Wild)
- Mario López - actor (Saved by the Bell)
- George Lucas - billionaire filmaker (Star Wars)
[edit] M
- Willie McGee - baseball player
- Bob Mathias - decathelete
- Pete McCloskey - politician
- Katharine McPhee - singer, born and raised in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California
- Edwin Meese - US Attorney General (1985–1988)
- Jon Miller - sportscaster
- Penelope Ann Miller - actress
- Stanley Miller - chemist
- Norm Mineta - U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Transportation
- Liza Minnelli - singer/actress (Cabaret (film))
- Terry Moore (actress) - Mighty Joe Young
- Marilyn Monroe - actress (Some Like It Hot)
- George Moscone mayor (1976—1978) of San Francisco, California
- Bill Mumy - child actor (Lost in Space)
- Eddie Murray - baseball player (Baltimore Orioles)
[edit] N
- Gavin Newsom - mayor (2004–present) of San Francisco, California
- Richard Nixon - President of the United States
- Lyn Nofziger - author/journalist/press secretary (Ronald Reagan)
[edit] O
- Willis O'Brien - movie special effects artist
- Lefty O'Doul - baseball player
- Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen - actresses and entrepreneurs
[edit] P
- Gwyneth Paltrow - actress
- Leon Panetta - White House Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton
- Jerry Paris - actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show)
- Harry Partch - composer
- George S. Patton - soldier
- Gregory Peck - actor
- Sam Peckinpah - director
- Michelle Pfeiffer - actress
- Laci Peterson - murder victim
- Jim Plunkett - football quarterback (Oakland Raiders)
- Chad Power - martial artist
[edit] Q
[edit] R
- Robert Redford - actor (Barefoot in the Park)
- Mason Reese - child actor
- Christina Ricci - actress (The Addams Family (film))
- Sally Ride - astronaut (STS-7 and STS-41-G)
- Cathy Rigby - gymnast/actress (Peter Pan)
- Jason Ritter - actor (son of John Ritter; grandson of Tex Ritter)
- The Rock (entertainer) - actor/wrestler (The Scorpion King)
- Dana Rohrabacher - member of the United States House of Representatives
- Jimmy Rollins - baseball player
- Marla Ruzicka - activist (Green Party (United States))
[edit] S
- Eugene Schmitz - "worst" mayor (1902–1907) of San Francisco
- Rob Schneider actor/comedian
- Charles R. Schwab - CEO
- Junior Seau - American football player
- Harry Shearer - actor and comedian (Spinal Tap (band))
- Alicia Silverstone - actress (Clueless)
- O.J. Simpson
- Charles Martin Smith - actor (American Graffiti)
- Roger Smith - actor (77 Sunset Strip)
- Suzanne Somers - actress (Three's Company)
- Brenda Song - actress
- Robert Stack - actor (Airplane!)
- Walt Stack - local running hero (San Francisco)
- Leland Stanford, Jr. - namesake of Stanford University
- Steven Stayner
- Gwen Stefani - singer
- John Steinbeck - author (Of Mice and Men)
- George Stevens - film director/producer/writer
- Cynthia Stevenson = actress (Dead Like Me)
- Darryl Strawberry - baseball player
- Lynn Swann - football player
- Jodie Sweetin - actress (Full House)
[edit] T
- Amy Tan - writer (Joy Luck Club)
- Amber Tamblyn - actress (Joan of Arcadia)
- Russ Tamblyn - actor (West Side Story (film))
- Shirley Temple - child actress
- Robin Thicke - singer
- Kenneth Tobey - actor
- Lisa Tucker - singer
- Aisha Tyler - actress
- Tupac Shakur - rapper
[edit] U
- Ron Underwood - director
[edit] V
- Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo - Mexican general, American politician
- Jhonen Vasquez - comic book writer/artist
- Ken Venturi - golfer
- Victoria Vetri - model and actress
- Roy Marlin Voris - World War II flying ace and Founder of the United States Navy Blue Angels
[edit] W
- Bill Walsh (football coach)
- Earl Warren - Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- Caspar Weinberger - Secretary of Defense
- Jill Whelan - actress Airplane!
- Paul Williams - architect
- Ted Williams - baseball player
- Rita Wilson - actress
- Tamara Witmer - model
- Victor Wong - actor
- Beatrice Wood - artist
- Natalie Wood - actress (This Property is Condemned)
- Tiger Woods - golfer
- Steve Wozniak - inventor of the Apple Computer
[edit] X
[edit] Y
- Elliott Yamin - singer, born in Los Angeles, California
- Tina Yothers - actress (Family Ties)
[edit] Z
[edit] Groups of people
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - American Rock Band
[edit] California transplants
- Juan Bautista de Anza, Spanish explorer
- Harry Bonath, painter/commercial artist
- Marjorie Bonath, artist
- Samuel Brannan, American newspaper publisher
- Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Spanish explorer
- César Chávez, American labor leader
- Willard Roswell Cox, painter/commercial artist
- Lawrence Ellison, Oracle Corporation CEO, richest Californian
- John C. Frémont, American General, military Governor of California
- Ed Gauthier - Artist and Writer
- Domingo Ghirardelli, Italian chocolateer (Ghirardelli Chocolate Company)
- Chick Hearn, NBA Basketball announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers
- William Reddington Hewlett - co-founder of Hewlett-Packard
- Bob Hope, actor, singer, comedian
- James Lick, American real estate baron
- John Madden, American football coach/commentator
- Steve Martin, Actor, director, comedian
- Johnny Mathis, singer (Chances Are (song))
- Thomas Mesereau, Celebrity criminal defense lawyer
- Joe Montana, American football quarterback
- John Muir, American naturalist
- Joshua A. Norton, British self proclaimed Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico
- Buck Owens, Country music performer
- Gaspar de Portolà, Spanish explorer
- Ronald Reagan, President of the United States
- Carlos Santana, Mexican musician
- Charles Schulz, cartoonist
- Vin Scully, announcer for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian bodybuilder, actor, Governor of California
- Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist
- Junipero Serra, Spanish missionary
- Steven Spielberg, billionaire director
- Leland Stanford, American railroad baron, Governor of California, founder of Stanford University
- Kenneth Starr, lawyer, university law dean
- Levi Strauss, Bavarian clothing manufacturer
- John Sutter, Swiss real estate baron
- Ruth Ann Tillman, painter
- Mark Twain, American humorist and author
- Marjorie Thompson, British peace activist
- Sarah Winchester, American heiress, eccentric, builder of the Winchester Mystery House
- Chuck Yeager, US Air Force test pilot
- Ace Young, Singer
- Steve Young, American football player
- Dr. Dre, Rapper
[edit] See also
- List of people from Long Beach, California
- List of people from Los Angeles
- List of people from Orange County, California
- List of people associated with San Francisco
- List of famous San Franciscans
