California Famous People

Famous Americans: History and Biographies

Links to histories and biographies of the famous people of California. Many famous people of California have made significant contributions to the history of our nation and the state of California. These famous Americans, famous entertainers, famous players, famous scientist, famous singers, famous statesmen, famous women, heroes, great explorers, and others California famous Americans have all made California their home. This list includes California historical figures, celebrities and those individuals of California who have influenced the lives of others.

Famous People from California

• Marcus Allen (1960 -) Football player. A six-time Pro Bowler, Allen was also the MVP of Super Bowl XVIII; born in San Diego.
• Shirley Temple Black (1928 - ) 1930s child actress and US ambassador to the United Nations; born in Santa Monica.
• Robert Bower (1936 - ) Inventor; born in Santa Monica.
• Joe DiMaggio (1914 - 1999) Famous baseball player who won two batting championships and three MVP awards; born in Martinez.
• Walt Disney (1901 - 1966) Creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® Theme Parks; lived in Hollywood.
• Clint Eastwood (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor, film director, producer and composer. Clinton Eastwood, Jr. was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Ruth (née Runner; January 18, 1909 - February 4, 2006), an IBM factory worker, and Clinton Eastwood Sr. (June 11, 1906 - July 21, 1970), a steelworker and migrant worker. He rose to international fame with his role as the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the 1960s, and as Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made him an enduring cultural icon of masculinity
• James H. Doolittle (1896 - 1993) Air force general who led the first carrier-based bomber attack on mainland Japan in 1942; born in Alameda
• Robert Frost (1874 - 1963) Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. One of America's most popular and beloved poets, Frost wrote of the people and landscape of New England. He won a Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943. Frost died in 1963.
• William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) was an American journalist and publisher. Born in San Francisco, he created a publishing empire that, at its peak, included 28 major newspapers and 18 successful magazines. Hearst hired only the very best American journalists. Writers such as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, Stephen Crane and Jack London wrote for him. Hearst also served as a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1903-1907.
• Jack London (1876 -1916) Author of many novels about the vast Western frontiers, such as Call of the Wild; born in San Francisco.
• George Lucas (1944 - ) Filmmaker and the mastermind behind the Star Wars features; born in Modesto.
• Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 - August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who during her all-too-brief life, Marilyn Monroe overcame a difficult childhood to become of the world's biggest and most enduring sex symbols, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s.  During her career, Monroe's films grossed more than $200 million. Monroe died of a drug overdose on August 5, 1962, at only 36 years old.
• Richard M. Nixon (1913 - 1994) 37th President of the US; born in Yorba Linda.
• Sally K. Ride (1951 -), American astrophysicist and astronaut, was born in Encino, California in 1951. After earning a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University, she became a NASA astronaut and helped design the robot arm for the space shuttle. In 1983, Ride became the first American woman in space. 68) was born in Salinas, California in 1902. One of America's most respected authors, Steinbeck based his stories on personal observations of the human condition. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939). Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.
• Eldrick "Tiger" Woods (1975 - ) Famous golfer who has revolutionized the sport since becoming a pro in 1996; born in Cypress.

More Famous People of California

Find more more California famous people below. You may not even realize many of these famous people were born in California or notable associated with California, including actors, actresses, explorers, historical figures, inventors, musicians, novelists, professional athletes, important politicians, singers, sport stars and more.

• Luis Walter Alvarez inventor, San Francisco
• Gertrude Atherton author, San Francisco
• David Belasco playwright and producer, San Francisco
• Dave Brubeck musician, Concord
• Julia Child chef, television, Pasadena
• Coolio rap artist, Los Angeles
• Frederick G. Cottrell inventor, Oakland
• Leonardo DiCaprio actor Hollywood
• Isadora Duncan dancer, San Francisco
• John Frémont explorer, San Francisco
• Jerry Garcia guitarist, singer, San Francisco
• Charles P. Ginsburg inventor, San Francisco
• Richard Pancho Gonzales tennis player, Los Angeles
• Jeff Gordon car racer, Vallejo
• Mariel Hemingway actress, Mill Valley
• Sidney Howard playwright, Oakland
• Anthony M. Kennedy jurist, Sacramento
• Theodore Harold Maiman inventor, Los Angeles
• Mark McGwire baseball player, Pomona
• Aimee Semple McPherson evangelist, Ontario
• Dominique Moreanir gymnast, Hollywood
• Emma Nevada opera singer, Alpha
• Isamu Noguchi sculptor, Los Angeles
• George S. Patton, Jr. general, San Gabriel
• Robert Redford actor, Santa Monica
• William Saroyan author, Fresno
• Lincoln Steffens journalist, author, San Francisco
• Adlai Stevenson statesman, Los Angeles
• Michael Tilson Thomas conductor, Hollywood
• Earl Warren jurist, Los Angeles
• Serena & Venus Williams tennis players, Lynwood
• Myra Wilson actress, Burbank