List of people from Islington
Among those who were born in the London Borough of Islington, or have dwelt within the borders of the modern borough are (alphabetical order):
- Douglas Adams, writer, lived on Duncan Terrace, later renting his house to comedian Angus Deayton
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, actor was born there
- Lily Allen, singer and daughter of actor Keith Allen
- Nadia Almada, first transsexual winner of Big Brother
- Tash Aw, Whitbread Book Award-winning author
- Julian Barratt and Julia Davis
- Nina Bawden, author, has lived in Islington for many years
- James Beck, actor, was born there
- Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK, lived at 1 Richmond Crescent before moving to Downing Street
- Jay Bothroyd, footballer
- Jim Broadbent, actor, lives in the area
- Alexandra Burke, singer and winner of The X Factor
- Kathy Burke, actor and director, lives in Islington
- Asa Butterfield, actor
- Neve Campbell, Canadian actor
- Jimmy Carr, comedian
- John Chapple, one of the last Field Marshals of Great Britain and Governor of Gibraltar
- J. Smeaton Chase (1864 – 1923), travel writer and photographer who wrote about California; buried in Palm Springs, California
- Caroline Chisholm, lived at 32 Charlton Place
- Joe Cole, footballer, Lille OSC and England
- Alan Cumming, actor, Jackboots on Whitehall, lives here when not working in the United States
- Sorcha Cusack, actor
- Phil Daniels, actor
- Alan Davies, actor and comedian, Jonathan Creek and Bob and Rose, lives in Highbury
- Johnny Depp, Hollywood actor, rented a property in Highbury while filming Finding Neverland
- Dido, singer, born in Islington and owns a property there
- Colin Firth, Academy Award winning actor[1]
- Jonathan Fortune, Sheffield United F.C footballer, born in Islington
- John Foxx, electronic musician and first Ultravox singer, lived there in the 1970s
- Peaches Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates
- John Glascock (1951–1979), (musician), bassist of Carmen from 1971–1974 and Jethro Tull from 1975-1979, born and raised in Islington
- Kate Greenaway, children's writer and book illustrator, lived at 147 Upper Street for 20 years before moving to Holloway
- Jonas Grimås, film and television director
- Tony Hadley, lead singer, Spandau Ballet, born in Islington in 1960
- Edmund Halley, Astronomer Royal and discoverer of Halley's Comet lived in Islington (exact location unknown) from 1665
- Charlie G. Hawkins, actor, Darren Miller in EastEnders
- Isabel Hilton, journalist and broadcaster
- William Hogarth, artist, was born in Bartholomew Close in 1697 and spent his early years in Islington
- Edward Irving, founder of the Catholic Apostolic Church, lived in Claremont Square
- Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, musician
- Ian Jack, writer and journalist
- Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
- Semothy Jones, songwriter/record producer, grew up in Holloway
- Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet, born in Islington, lived on Elmore Street
- Skandar Keynes, actor The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)
- Danny King (author), wrote The Burglar Diaries and Thieves Like Us (TV series)
- Charles Lamb, writer, lived in Chapel Street from 1796, at 64 Duncan Terrace and also in Colebrook Row
- Edward Lear, writer, poet, artist, born in Islington
- Heath Ledger, lived in Roman way, Islington while filming his final film in 2007 before his death
- V.I. Lenin, lived at 30 Holford Square from 1902 and later at 16, Percy Circus
- Leona Lewis, singer
- Louise Lombard, actor
- Arthur Louis, singer, lived at 12 Richmond Avenue in 1970s
- Louisa Lytton, actor
- Marianne Majerus, photographer
- James McAvoy, actor, Last King of Scotland
- Cameron McKenna, television announcer and radio broadcaster
- Scott Mills, Radio 1 DJ, lives here
- Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development in the British Government (from May 2010 -)
- Ugo Monye, Harlequins and English rugby union player
- Robert Muchamore, author of the CHERUB series
- Sheree Murphy, actor, was born here
- Scott Neal, actor, Beautiful Thing and PC Luke Ashton in The Bill
- Edmund John Niemann, 19th century landscape artist born in Islington
- Ed O'Brien, guitarist, Radiohead
- Joe Orton, playwright, lived and was murdered in a flat at 25 Noel Road
- George Orwell, writer, lived at 50 Lawford Road and in a flat at 27B Canonbury Square
- Stephen Poliakoff, playwright
- Su Pollard, actor, Hi Di Hi
- Anna Popplewell, actress The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)
- Jacob Post, religious writer[2]
- Sir Walter Raleigh, writer, poet, courtier and explorer lived in Upper Street between 1575 and 1581
- Simon Rattle, conductor who lived in Islington for a period
- Linda Robson, actor, Birds of a Feather
- Ronnie Ronalde, music hall performer famous for his singing, whistling, yodelling and imitations of bird song was born and raised in Islington
- Jon Ronson, author, columnist, documentary maker
- Salman Rushdie, writer who lived in Islington for a period
- Dana (Scallon), winner of the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest
- Andy Serkis, actor, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
- Martin Shaw, actor, Ray Doyle and Judge John Deed, lived in Noel Road, including while starring in The Professionals
- Ben Shephard, TV presenter, lived in Islington 2001-2004
- Sid Smith, novelist, journalist, lives in Islington
- Nicky Spesh, rapper, lives in Islington
- Shana Swash and Joe Swash, Eastenders actors
- Ann Taylor (1782–1866), poet, writer, born in Islington
- Peter Vowell, schoolteacher, executed for high treason
- Frank Warren, boxing promoter, born in Islington
- Emma Watson, actor[3]
- Charlie Watts, drummer of The Rolling Stones, born and raised in Islington
- Samuel West, actor
- Kenneth Williams (1926–1988), actor and comedian, Carry On, born in Islington
- Kate Winslet, actor
- Hugo Young, journalist, lived in Milner Square from the late 1960s until the mid 1980s
- Jonny Buckland, lead guitarist of the band Coldplay, born in Islington
See also
References
- ^ White, Lesley (2002-08-25). "Firth Among Equals". The Times.
- ^ Charlotte Fell-Smith, ‘Post, Jacob (1774–1855)’, rev. K. D. Reynolds, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 19 Jan 2010
- ^ Chambers, Lucinda (2010-12). "Mega Watson". Vogue UK.