Famous People from New York City, New York

• Aaliyah

  Pop singer and actress who sang "Try Again"

• Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem

  The sky-hooking center for the Los Angeles Lakers

• Abrams, J.J.

  The creator of TV's Alias and Lost

• Alda, Alan

  Hawkeye Pierce on TV's M*A*S*H

• Allen, Steve

  The original host of The Tonight Show

• Anthony, Carmelo

  Forward for the NBA's Denver Nuggets since 2003

• Arbus, Diane

  New York photographer of oddball humans

• Arkin, Alan

  The foul-mouthed grandpa in Little Miss Sunshine

• Aronofsky, Darren

  The Oscar-nominated director of Black Swan

• Arquette, Rosanna

  Star of Desperately Seeking Susan

• Aster, Ari

  The director of 'Hereditary' and 'Midsommar'

• Auberjonois, René

  Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

• Avi

  The author of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

• Bacall, Lauren

  Bogart's co-star in To Have and Have Not

• Baio, Scott

  Star of TV's Joanie Loves Chachi and Charles in Charge

• Baldwin, James

  Author of Go Tell It On The Mountain

• Belafonte, Harry

  The calypso crooner who sang "The Banana Boat Song"

• Bell, Lake

  The writer, director and star of In a World...

• Bennett, Tony

  The crooner who sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

• Berg, Peter

  Dr. Billy Kronk on TV's Chicago Hope

• Berle, Milton

  "Mister Television" of the 1950s

• Best, Ahmed

  Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace

• Billy the Kid

  Baby-faced outlaw of the 19th-century American West

• Bleeth, Yasmine

  Caroline Holden on the series Baywatch

• Blige, Mary J.

  The "Queen of Hip-Hop and Soul"

• Bogart, Humphrey

  Rick Blaine in Casablanca

• Bourdain, Anthony

  The celebrity chef who starred in the TV shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown

• Breslin, Abigail

  Olive, the nerdy little girl in the movie Little Miss Sunshine

• Brice, Fanny

  The vaudeville star who was the basis for the musical Funny Girl

• Broderick, Matthew

  Ferris in the movie Ferris Beuller's Day Off

• Brody, Adrien

  Oscar-winning star of The Pianist

• Bryson, John

  U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 2011-2013

• Cagney, James

  Star of the movies Public Enemy and Yankee Doodle Dandy

• Capone, Al

  The American gangster known as "Scarface"

• Capriati, Jennifer

  The comeback kid who won the Australian Open in 2001 and 2002

• Carlin, George

  The profane comedian known for his "7 Dirty Words" routine

• Caruso, David

  That redheaded guy who quit N.Y.P.D. Blue

• Cassidy, David

  The hunky star of TV's 'The Partridge Family'

• Cates, Phoebe

  The fantasy girl in Fast Times At Ridgemont High

• Chalamet, Timothée

  The young star of 'Call Me By Your Name'

• Chandor, J.C.

  The director of All Is Lost

• Chapin, Harry

  Singer of the 1972 hit "Taxi"

• Cimino, Michael

  The director of 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Heaven's Gate'

• Clark, Mary Higgins

  The author of Where Are the Children? and other suspense stories

• Coffin, William Sloane

  The Yale chaplain who opposed the U.S. war in Vietnam

• Connelly, Jennifer

  The Oscar-winning co-star of A Beautiful Mind

• Cook, Robin

  The author of Coma

• Cooper, Anderson

  The silver-haired host of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°

• Copland, Aaron

  American composer who wrote Appalachian Spring

• Coppola, Sofia

  The writer and director of Lost in Translation

• Cryer, Jon

  Alan Harper on the sitcom Two and a Half Men

• Danes, Claire

  Angela Chase on TV's My So-Called Life

• Davis, Sammy Jr.

  Singer of "The Candy Man"

• Delany, Dana

  Nurse Colleen McMurphy on TV's China Beach

• Delany, Samuel R.

  Author of Dhalgren and Babel-17

• DeLillo, Don

   The author of White Noise and Underworld

• De Long, George

  The polar explorer who led the U.S.S. Jeannette

• De Niro, Robert

  The intense star of Taxi Driver

• Denison, Anthony

  Ray Luca on TV's Crime Story

• Diesel, Vin

  Star of the hot-rod thriller The Fast and the Furious

• Donovan, Shaun

  U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 2009-14

• Downey, Robert Jr.

  Star of the movie Iron Man

• Duchovny, David

  F.B.I. Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files

• Duke, Patty

  Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker

• Dunham, Lena

   The creator and star of the TV series Girls

• Durst, Robert

  The eccentric killer featured in the HBO show The Jinx

• Ederle, Gertrude

  The first woman to swim the English Channel

• Edward, John

  The spiritualist host of Crossing Over

• Elgort, Ansel

  Augustus in the movie The Fault in Our Stars

• Ephron, Nora

  The writer and director of Sleepless In Seattle

• Estevez, Emilio

  The Martin Sheen son who was in Breakfast Club and Repo Man

• Evans, Robert

  The fast-living movie producer who made Chinatown

• Facinelli, Peter

  The dad vampire in the Twilight films

• Fadiman, Anne

  Author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

• Farrow, Ronan

  Mia Farrow's son who's on MSNBC

• Faust, Drew Gilpin

  The first woman president of Harvard University

• Ferlinghetti, Lawrence

  Beat poet/publisher and co-founder of City Lights Books

• Feynman, Richard

  The Nobel-winning author of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

• Flay, Bobby

  The celebrity chef of TV's Boy Meets Grill and Throwdown

• Fleming, Art

  The of TV's Jeopardy!

• Fonda, Jane

  Outspoken Oscar-winning actress and Ted Turner's ex-wife

• Fonda, Peter

  The star of Easy Rider and Ulee's Gold

• Franken, Al

  The liberal comedian who was elected senator from Minnesota in 2008

• GaGa, Lady

  The pop singer who co-starred in the 2018 film 'A Star Is Born'

• Garfield, Eugene

  Founder of the Institute for Scientific Information

• Gazzara, Ben

  The stage and screen actor who starred in the 1970 film Husbands

• Gehrig, Lou

  The New York Yankee hero known as "The Iron Horse"

• Gellar, Sarah Michelle

  The star of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• Glück, Louise

  The Nobel Prize winning poet who wrote “Mock Orange”

• Goldberg, Whoopi

  Star of the Hollywood comedy Sister Act

• Gooding, Cuba (Jr.)

  The guy who said "Show me the money!" in Jerry Maguire

• Grace, Topher

  The star of That '70s Show

• Graham, Katharine

  Publisher of the Washington Post

• Greenspan, Alan

  Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors, 1987-2006

• Griffith, Melanie

  The star of the film Working Girl

• Gyllenhaal, Maggie

  Star of the 2002 movie Secretary

• Hamlisch, Marvin

  Composer of A Chorus Line

• Hammerstein, Oscar II

  Co-writer of Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music

• Hannity, Sean

  The right-leaning TV host from Hannity & Colmes

• Hathaway, Anne

  The Oscar-winning star of Les Miserables

• Hecht, Ben

  The prolific Hollywood screenwriter who did The Front Page

• Helmsley, Leona

  The hotelier called the "Queen of Mean"

• Henry, Buck

  The screenwriter of 'The Graduate'

• Hewitt, Don

  Creator and executive producer of TV's 60 Minutes

• Hijuelos, Oscar

  The author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

• Hilfiger, Ally

  Designer Tommy Hilfiger's daughter

• Hilton, Nicky

  Hotel heiress and sister to socialite Paris Hilton

• Howe, Julia Ward

  The abolitionist who wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic

• Hunter, Tab

  The blonde box office idol of the 1950s who also sang "Young Love"

• Irving, Clifford

  Author of the fake Howard Hughes biography

• Irving, Washington

  Author of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

• James, Henry

  Author of The Ambassadors

• Jay, John

  One of the authors of The Federalist Papers

• Johansson, Scarlett

  The actress who plays Black Widow in the Marvel superhero universe

• Johnson, Crockett

  The author of Harold and the Purple Crayon

• Jones, Norah

  Grammy-winning singer of "Don't Know Why"

• Kagan, Elena

  Barack Obama's 2010 nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

• Kauffmann, Stanley

  The film reviewer for The New Republic, 1958-2013

• Kaufman, Andy

  The 1970s weirdo comedian extraordinaire

• Keeshan, Bob

  TV's Captain Kangaroo

• Kelly, Alvin 'Shipwreck'

  World-champion flagpole sitter of the 1920s

• Kennedy, Caroline

  The oldest child of John and Jackie Kennedy

• Kennedy, George

  The con against Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke

• Keyes, Alan

  African-American conservative and sometime presidential candidate

• Keys, Alicia

  Singer of the hit R&B single "Fallin'"

• Klein, Calvin

  The designer with the famous underwear ads

• Kopple, Barbara

  The documentary maker who did Harlan County, USA

• Kotto, Yaphet

  Parker in the movie 'Aliens' and Idi Amin in 'Raid on Entebbe'

• Kravitz, Lenny

  The pop singer who plays Cinna in The Hunger Games

• La Guardia, Fiorello

  The New York mayor they named the airport after

• Lake, Ricki

  Television talk-show host

• Lancaster, Burt

  The star of From Here to Eternity

• Lane, Diane

  Star of the 2002 movie Unfaithful

• Lauer, Matt

  The NBC anchor fired in 2017 for sexual misconduct

• Lazarus, Emma

  Author of the poem on the Statue of Liberty

• Lee, Stan

  The leader of Marvel Comics and co-creator of Spider-Man

• Lehman, Ernest

   The guy who wrote Hitchcock's North by Northwest

• Lehrer, Tom

  Composer of the satirical tune "The Vatican Rag"

• L'Engle, Madeleine

  The author of A Wrinkle in Time

• Leo, Melissa

  The Oscar-winning mom from The Fighter

• Leonhart, Carolyn

  Vocalist with Lyn Leon and Steely Dan

• Leoni, Téa

  The star of the TV show The Naked Truth

• Lew, Jack

  U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 2013-2017

• Lillis, Sophia

  Beverly in the ‘It’ films and star of 'I Am Not Okay With This'

• Linney, Laura

  Oscar-nominated star of You Can Count on Me

• Lipton, Peggy

  A star of TV's Mod Squad

• Lohan, Lindsay

  The actress who starred in Mean Girls (2004)

• Lonergan, Kenneth

  The director of 'You Can Count on Me'

• Lopez, Jennifer

  The star of Selena and Maid in Manhattan

• Lord, Jack

  Steve McGarrett on TV's Hawaii Five-O

• Louis-Dreyfus, Julia

  Elaine on the sitcom Seinfeld

• Louise, Tina

  Ginger on the TV sitcom Gilligan's Island

• Luce, Clare Boothe

  Socialite, playwright, ambassador and wife of publisher Henry Luce

• Madoff, Bernard

  The Wall Street money manager who swindled $50 billion

• Maher, Bill

  Former host of ABC's Politically Incorrect

• Manz, Linda

  The young narrator of 'Days of Heaven'

• Marshall, Garry

  The creator of the TV show 'Happy Days'

• Marvin, Lee

  Rugged star of The Dirty Dozen

• Marx, Groucho

  The mustachioed leader of the Marx Brothers

• Matthiessen, Peter

  The author of At Play in the Fields of the Lord

• McCartney, Jesse

  Pop singer of "Beautiful Soul"

• Melville, Herman

  The author of Moby-Dick

• Merman, Ethel

  The brassy star of Annie Get Your Gun

• Merrill, Dina

  The sophisticated blond in 'Operation Petticoat'

• Merwin, W. S.

  The author of the collection The Carrier of Ladders

• Michele, Lea

  Rachel Berry on the TV series Glee

• Miller, Arthur

  The author of Death of a Salesman

• Miller, Bennett

  Director of the 2005 movie Capote

• Miller, Christa

  Jordan Sullivan on TV's Scrubs

• Miller, Henry

  Author of Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn

• Miller, Sienna

  Jude Law's ex-girlfriend and star of Factory Girl

• Miranda, Lin-Manuel

  The creator and star of the musical Hamilton

• Moby

  The bald techno artist who recorded Play

• Monroe, Elizabeth Kortright

  First Lady of the United States, 1817-25

• Moog, Robert

  The guy who invented the Moog synthesizer

• Morgan, Tracy

  Tracy Jordan on TV's 30 Rock

• Mortensen, Viggo

  Aragorn in the movie series The Lord of the Rings

• Mueller, Robert

  The Director of the FBI, 2001-13

• Murch, Walter

  Ace editor of the 1974 film The Conversation

• Napolitano, Janet

  Governor of Arizona, 2003-2009

• Neuman, Alfred E.

  MAD magazine's "What -- Me Worry?" kid

• Nilsson, Harry

  The guy who sang "Jump into the Fire"

• Nixon, Cynthia

  Miranda on HBO's Sex and the City

• Oliver, Susan

  Vina in the episode "The Menagerie" of the TV series Star Trek

• O'Neill, Eugene

  The author of the play Long Day's Journey Into Night

• Oppenheimer, J. Robert

  The physicist who directed the Manhattan Project

• O'Reilly, Bill

  The bombastic and political host of The O'Reilly Factor

• Pacino, Al

  Star of The Godfather and Scent of a Woman

• Pakula, Alan J.

  The director of All the President's Men

• Paterno, Joe

  The head football coach at Penn State University, 1966-2011

• Paul, Alexandra

  The actress who played Lt. Stephanie Holden on Baywatch

• Paul, Caroline

  Author of Fighting Fire

• P. Diddy

  Rapper known as Puff Daddy, then P. Diddy, then Diddy, then P. Diddy again

• Peele, Jordan

  The comedian who wrote and directed the horror film 'Get Out'

• Peet, Amanda

  Jacqueline "Jack" Barrett in TV's Jack & Jill

• Pell, Claiborne

  The creator of so-called Pell grants for college students

• Perlman, Ron

  Star of the Hellboy movies

• Philbin, Regis

  Host of the TV morning show Live With Regis And..., 1988-2011

• Phillips, Todd

  The director of 'The Hangover' and 'Joker'

• Piven, Jeremy

  Scheming Ari Gold on TV's Entourage

• Powell, Colin

  U.S. Secretary of State, 2001-2004

• Prinze, Freddie

  Comedian and star of TV's Chico and the Man

• Rafelson, Bob

  The director of the film Five Easy Pieces

• Reagan, Nancy

  First Lady of the United States, 1981-89

• Reeve, Christopher

  The Superman star who later was paralyzed

• Reilly, Charles Nelson

  The wackiest panelist on TV's Match Game

• Reiner, Carl

  Creator of TV's The Dick Van Dyke Show

• Rhames, Ving

  Marsellus Wallace in the movie Pulp Fiction

• Rickles, Don

  The insult comic who used "dummy" and "hockey puck"

• Rivera, Geraldo

  Mustachioed muckraker of TV news

• Robbins, Harold

  The author of The Betsy

• Rockefeller, David

  Leader of Chase Manhattan Bank, 1969-81

• Rockwell, Norman

  Cover artist for The Saturday Evening Post

• Rodgers, Richard

  Composer of Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music

• Rodriguez, Alex

  The quarter-billion-dollar superstar known as "A-Rod"

• Rollins, Sonny

  The bop-era saxophonist who did "St. Thomas"

• Romero, George

  The director of the Night of the Living Dead films

• Ronan, Saoirse

  The Irish actress who played Jo in Little Women

• Roosevelt, Eleanor

  First Lady of the United States, 1933-45

• Roosevelt, Theodore

  President of the United States, 1901-1909

• Rossum, Emmy

  Gerard Butler's co-star in The Phantom of the Opera

• Russell, David O.

  The Oscar-nominated director of The Fighter

• Safire, William

  Political columnist for The New York Times, 1973-2005

• Salinger, J.D.

  The author of The Catcher In the Rye

• Salk, Jonas

  Developer of the polio vaccine

• Sarandon, Susan

  The co-star of Thelma and Louise

• Schumacher, Joel

  The director of St. Elmo's Fire and Batman Forever

• Schumer, Amy

  The raunchy comedy star of Trainwreck and Inside Amy Schumer

• Schwartz, Stephen

  Composer of the Broadway hits Wicked and Godspell

• Sedgwick, Kyra

  Star of the 1992 film Singles

• Shavitz, Burt

  The Burt of Burt's Bees personal care products

• Shaw, Artie

  The clarinet-playing big band leader who recorded Begin the Beguine

• Sheen, Charlie

  The fast-living ex-star of the TV comedy Two and a Half Men

• Shulman, Julius

   Los Angeles photographer of great 20th century architects

• Shultz, George

  United States Secretary of State, 1982-89

• Sidibe, Gabourey

  The newcomer star of the 2009 film Precious

• Simon, Carly

  The singer of "You're So Vain"

• Slater, Christian

  Wild-eyebrowed star of Heathers and Broken Arrow

• Sobieski, Leelee

  She was Joan on TV in 1999's Joan of Arc

• Sondheim, Stephen

  West Side Story lyricist and superstar Broadway composer

• Stallone, Sylvester

  Star of the Rocky and Rambo movies

• Steel, Danielle

  Author of the romance novels Jewels and Crossings

• Stern, David

  Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, 1984-2014

• Stewart, Jon

  Host of The Daily Show, 1999-2015

• Stiles, Julia

  Nicky Parsons in The Bourne Identity movies

• Stiller, Ben

  The star of There's Something About Mary and Zoolander

• Stone, Oliver

  Controversial director of JFK and Natural Born Killers

• Sullivan, Ed

  Host of TV's The Ed Sullivan Show, 1948-71

• The Strokes

  Rock band who did the song "Last Nite"

• Trump, Barron

  The youngest child of former President Donald Trump

• Trump, Donald

  President of the United States, 2017-2021

• Trump, Donald Jr.

  The oldest son of former President Donald Trump

• Trump, Eric

  The third child of Donald Trump

• Trump, Ivanka

  The daughter of former President Donald Trump

• Tuchman, Barbara

  Author of The Guns of August

• Tyler, Steven

  The lead singer for the rock band Aerosmith

• Tyson, Neil DeGrasse

  The astrophysicist-slash-TV-star who became director of the Hayden Planetarium 

• Van Doren, Charles

  Ill-fated star of the 1950s game show Twenty-One

• Vandross, Luther

  The R&B singer of Dance With My Father

• Vigoda, Abe

  Detective Fish on TV's Barney Miller

• Visitor, Nana

  Major Kira Nerys on Deep Space Nine

• Walken, Christopher

  The Russian roulette guy in The Deer Hunter

• Waller, Fats

  The joyous piano player who wrote the song "Ain't Misbehavin'"

• Weaver, Sigourney

  Ripley in the Alien film series

• Wenner, Jann

   Founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine

• Wharton, Edith

  Author of Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence

• Whedon, Joss

  The guy behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• Whitehead, Colson

  The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Underground Railroad'

• Wilde, Olivia

  The wild doctor "Thirteen" on the TV series House, M.D.

• Willig, George

  The guy who climbed the World Trade Center in 1977

• Yauch, Adam

  MCA from the rap group Beastie Boys

• Yellow Kid

  Early comic strip star by R.F. Outcault

• Zeitlin, Benh

   The director of Beasts of the Southern Wild

• Zinn, Howard

  Boat-rocking U.S. historian

See also: Born in New York