List of people from Springfield, Missouri

This is a list of notable people born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the city of Springfield, Missouri and its surrounding metropolitan area.

Politics

• John Ashcroft, former U.S. attorney general
• Matt Blunt, former governor of Missouri
• Melanie Blunt, former first lady of Missouri
• Roy Blunt, U.S. senator
• Sempronius H. Boyd, former U.S. representative and ambassador to Siam
• Charlie Brown, former U.S. representative
• Margaret Kelly, former Missouri state auditor, Missouri republican gubernatorial nominee
• Jim Keet (born 1949), former member of both houses of the Arkansas legislature; the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas
• Billy Long, U.S. representative
• Roscoe C. Patterson, former U.S. senator and representative

Arts, literature, humanities and entertainment

• Lennie Aleshire, vaudeville and country music performer
• Bob Barker, game show host (The Price is Right)
• Julie Blackmon, photographer
• Aaron Buerge, star of ABC's The Bachelor, season 2
• Kim Crosby, Broadway performer
• Ian Eskelin, lead singer of All Star United
• Ralph D. Foster, broadcasting pioneer
• William Garwood, actor
• John Goodman, actor (born in Affton and attended Missouri State University)
• Lucas Grabeel, actor, singer (High School Musical, HSM2, and HSM 3: Senior Year)
• Sara Groves, Christian contemporary recording artist
• Speedy Haworth, guitarist and singer
• Joe Haymes, swing era bandleader-arranger (born in Marshfield; grew up and began his band in Springfield)
• Tess Harper, actress (graduated from Missouri State University)
• Josh Heinrichs, reggae singer
• Jah Roots, reggae band
• Jay Kenneth Johnson, actor
• The Jordanaires, singing group
• King's X, musical group
• Chandler Lawson, beauty pageant titleholder, Miss Tennessee 2012
• Brenda Lee, singer (moved to Springfield in 1956 at age 11)
• Jim Lowe, country music singer
• Robin Luke, musician
• The Marksmen, singing quartet (originally The Foggy River Boys)
• Mariann Mayberry, actress
• The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, musical group
• The Philharmonics, singing quintet
• Brad Pitt, actor^[1]
• Ronnie Self, singer/songwriter
• Scott Siman, music producer and executive
• Si Siman, music producer and broadcast executive
• Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, musical group
• Speakeasy, rock and roll band
• Terre Thaemlitz, musician, cultural producer
• Tony Tost, poet
• Kathleen Turner, actress
• Speedy West, steel guitarist and record producer
• Robert Westenberg, Broadway performer
• Adrienne Wilkinson, actress (graduated from Kickapoo High School)
• Slim Wilson, musician, radio and TV personality
• Daniel Woodrell, author

Sports

• Scott Bailes, MLB pitcher in 1980s and 1990s; color commentator for Springfield Cardinals
• Eddie Carnett, MLB pitcher in 1940s
• Lori Endicott, 1996 Olympic volleyball player
• Gracie Gold, Olympic figure skater, 2014 and 2016 U.S. champion
• Carly Gold, figure skater
• Ryan Howard, MLB player, 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, 2006 Home Run Derby champion, 2006 NL Most Valuable Player
• Jack Jewsbury, MLS player for Portland Timbers
• Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner; worked in Springfield with father Pat Jones at insurance company Modern Security Life in 1960s
• Josh Kinney, first Springfield Cardinal (AA) to make MLB St. Louis Cardinals roster
• Stan Musial, Hall of Fame baseball player for St. Louis Cardinals, played for original Springfield Cardinals in late 1930s
• Larry Nemmers, NFL referee
• Steve Rogers, MLB starting pitcher, 5-time All-Star; most successful pitcher in Montreal Expos history
• Emily Scott, Olympic speed skater
• Horton Smith, golfer, two-time Masters champion
• Payne Stewart, professional golfer
• Jackie Stiles, NCAA all-time leading scorer in women's basketball
• Anthony Tolliver, NBA player for Minnesota Timberwolves
• Paul Walker, football player

Business

• Jack Gentry, World War II and Korean War veteran; founder of Positronic
• David Glass, former CEO of Wal-Mart; owner of MLB's Kansas City Royals
• John Morris, founder and majority owner, Bass Pro Shops^[2]
• Charles F. O'Reilly (father) and Charles H. O'Reilly (son), founders of O'Reilly Auto Parts in 1957^[3]
• Jack Stack, founder of SRC Holdings

Other

• Jimmie Angel, aviator, discoverer of Angel Falls, highest free-falling waterfall in world
• James E. Cofer, professor at Missouri State University, president 2010-11
• J. Alan Groves, Biblical Hebrew scholar; editor of Groves-Wheeler Hebrew morphology database
• Edwin P. Hubble, of Hubble Space Telescope fame (born in Marshfield)^[4]
• Virginia E. Johnson, sexologist; junior member of Masters and Johnson sexuality research team
• Janet Kavandi, NASA astronaut

Notes