Famous People from Brooklyn, New York

• Allen, Woody

  The director and star of Annie Hall

• Baumbach, Noah

  The director of 'The Squid and the Whale and 'Marriage Story'

• Beastie Boys

  Funky, sarcastic white-boy rappers who did "Sabotage"

• Birdseye, Clarence

  The man who figured out how to flash-freeze foods

• Blaine, David

  The stunt magician who was once buried alive in New York City

• Bleu, Corbin

  Chad from Disney's High School Musical

• Brooks, Mel

  The guy who made Blazing Saddles and The Producers

• Brothers, Joyce

  The blond pop psychologist from the 1960s

• Brown, Foxy

  The sassy rapper of Ill Na Na

• Burns, Ken

  The director of the TV documentaries The Civil War and Baseball

• Buscemi, Steve

  Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs

• Chisholm, Shirley

  The first African-American woman to run for U.S. president

• David, Larry

  The guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm

• Day, Dorothy

  Laywoman who co-founded The Catholic Worker

• Diamond, Neil

  The pop musician who sang "Sweet Caroline"

• Dreyfuss, Richard

  The star of Jaws and Close Encounters

• Durante, Jimmy

  Big-nosed comedian of 20th-century radio and TV

• Edwards, Vince

  TV's Dr. Ben Casey

• Eisner, Will

  Creator of the comic The Spirit

• Emhoff, Douglas

  The first-ever "second gentleman" of the United States

• Epstein, Jeffrey

  The wealthy financier charged with sex trafficking of underaged girls

• Espada, Martín

  The Latino poet who wrote "Alabanza" and "Floaters"

• Fadiman, Clifton

  Host of the radio quiz show Information Please

• Fallon, Jimmy

  The host of The Tonight Show, 2014-present

• Ferrigno, Lou

  Muscular star of TV's The Incredible Hulk

• Fleischer, Richard

  The director of 'Doctor Doolittle' and 'Soylent Green'

• Geffen, David

  The billionaire entertainment mogul behind Geffen Records and Dreamworks

• Geithner, Timothy

  U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 2009-2013

• Gershwin, George

  Composer of Rhapsody in Blue

• Ginsburg, Ruth Bader

  The second woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court

• Giuliani, Rudy

  Mayor of New York City, 1994-2001

• Gleason, Jackie

  Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners

• Gottfried, Gilbert

  The comedian who voiced Iago in 'Aladdin'

• Hayward, Susan

  The redhead who won an Oscar for 'I Want To Live'

• Hayworth, Rita

  1940s bombshell who ended sadly with Alzheimer's

• Hedges, Lucas

  The Oscar-nominated co-star of the 2016 film 'Manchester by the Sea'

• Heller, Joseph

  The author of Catch-22

• Holm, Eleanor

  The Olympic swimmer kicked off the 1936 American team for partying

• Horne, Lena

  Singer of the jazz standard "Stormy Weather"

• Jay, Ricky

  The sleight-of-hand magician who appeared in David Mamet movies

• Jay-Z

  Rapper of "Empire State of Mind"

• Jordan, Michael

  The super-duper-star guard for the Chicago Bulls

• Judge Judy

  The stern, lace-collared TV judge

• Kamen, Jack

  Cover artist for EC Comics

• Kaye, Danny

  Song-and-dance star of The Court Jester

• Keitel, Harvey

  The greasy pimp in Taxi Driver

• Keyes, Daniel

  The author of Flowers for Algernon

• Kim, Lil'

  The controversial female rapper of "No Time"

• Kimmel, Jimmy

  The late-night host of Jimmy Kimmel Live

• King, Carole

  Singer of "It's Too Late"

• King, Larry

  Suspender-clad chat show host on CNN

• Landau, Martin

  Bela Lugosi in the 1994 movie 'Ed Wood'

• Lethem, Jonathan

  Author of The Fortress of Solitude

• Lombardi, Vince

  The head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s

• Manilow, Barry

  Singer of the 1974 hit tune "Mandy"

• Maslow, Abraham

  Creator of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• Mazursky, Paul

  The director of An Unmarried Woman

• Messing, Debra

  The star of Will & Grace and Smash

• Milano, Alyssa

  The co-star of TV's Charmed

• Money, Eddie

  The rocker who did "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Take Me Home Tonight"

• Moore, Mary Tyler

  Star of TV's The Mary Tyler Moore Show

• Mos Def

  The rapper and actor formerly known as Mos Def

• Murphy, Eddie

  The star of the Beverly Hills Cop films

• Nidetch, Jean

  Founder of the Weight Watchers diet program

• Paterson, David

  The New York governor who replaced Eliot Spitzer in 2008

• Perelman, S.J.

  Humorist for The New Yorker and Marx Bros. writer

• Pohl, Frederik

  The sci-fi author of The Space Merchants and Gateway

• Reed, Lou

  Co-founder of The Velvet Underground

• Rhymes, Busta

  Rubbery-faced, raspy-voiced Brooklyn rapper

• Rivers, Joan

  The TV talk-show host with the catch-phrase "Can we talk?"

• Rooney, Mickey

  Star of the Andy Hardy movies

• Sagan, Carl

   The astronomer who did the TV series Cosmos

• Salmi, Albert

  The TV character actor who played Bo in the original Broadway production of Bus Stop

• Sanders, Bernie

  U.S. Senator from Vermont, 2006-present

• Sandler, Adam

  The star of Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer

• Schlessinger, Laura

  The radio advice-giver known as "Dr. Laura"

• Schultz, Howard

  The CEO who made Starbucks an international company

• Seinfeld, Jerry

  Star of the TV sitcom Seinfeld

• Sendak, Maurice

  The illustrator who created Where the Wild Things Are

• Serpico, Frank

  Whistleblowing New York cop who inspired a 1973 movie

• Shakur, Tupac

  Late rapper of 2Pacalypse Now

• Sharpton, Al

  New York's African-American preacher, activist and presidential candidate 

• Sorvino, Paul

  He played mob boss Paulie in the movie Goodfellas

• Soto, Talisa

  Lupe Lamora from the Bond movie Licence to Kill

• Stanwyck, Barbara

  The dangerous femme fatale in the film Double Indemnity

• Streisand, Barbra

  The Oscar-winning star of Funny Girl

• Thalberg, Irving

  "The Boy Wonder" movie producer of old MGM

• Tomei, Marisa

  The Oscar-winning actress from My Cousin Vinny

• Tyson, Mike

  "Iron Mike," the controversial boxing champ of the 1980s

• Wallach, Eli

  The "Ugly" of the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

• Weiner, Anthony

  The New York congressman who resigned over sexting in 2011

• West, Mae

  Early Hollywood sex symbol

• Wilson, Robert Anton

  Co-author of the Illuminatus! Trilogy

• Yellen, Janet

  President Biden's Secretary of the Treasury

See also: Born in New York