41.8501° N, 87.6499° W

CHICAGO

Most Famous People Born in Chicago, USA

Notable people
7,467
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1940
Most distinctive
Baseball 5.2×

Big shoulders, broad bench. Chicago's notables are spread evenly across actors, politicians, and four major-league sports — the city is the dataset's largest baseball-and-basketball over-index outside the coasts — alongside a deep screenwriter and novelist tradition that gave the world Saul Bellow, David Mamet, and Ben Hecht. No single category dominates the way film does in Los Angeles or Wall Street does in New York, and the music economy alone runs from blues and house to first-wave hip-hop.

Standouts

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 850 notable births.

What Chicago Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Chicago's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (813).

Chicago over-indexes on baseball 5.2× the global rate.

Chicago under-produces politician — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Actor 813 2.0×
  2. Politician 469 0.5×
  3. Football 462 0.6×
  4. Baseball 441 5.2×
  5. Basket 398 4.2×
  6. Music 312 2.9×
  7. Writer 220 0.9×
  8. Singer 207 1.3×
  1. Baseball 441 5.2×
  2. Basket 398 4.2×
  3. Screenwriter 128 3.9×
  4. Novelist 96 3.3×
  5. Music 312 2.9×
  6. Actor 813 2.0×
  7. Film 168 1.8×
  1. Politician 469 0.5×
  2. Football 462 0.6×
  3. Painter 116 0.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Chicago's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All7,467
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Showing 731 of 7,467 notable people

5858 FOOTBALL

Mike Rabold

Born 1937

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5884 BOWLER

Carmen Salvino

Born 1933

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5890 PHARMACIST

Gerald Barnbaum

1933 - 2018

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5903 MUSIC

Robert Barry (Musiker)

1932 - 2018

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5916 ACADEMIC

David Hafemeister

Born 1934

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5920 BASEBALL

Chuck Lindstrom

Born 1936

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5923 LAWYER

Susan Christine O'Meara Getzendanner

Born 1939

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5952 SPORT

Ken Panfil

1930 - 2002

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5956 ACTIVIST

Bobby Gore

1936 - 2013

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5987 PHOTOGRAPHER

Stan Malinowski

Born 1936

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5996 POLITICIAN

Frank Savickas

1935 - 2001

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6013 LAWYER

E. Michael McCann

Born 1936

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6018 WRITER

Gertrud Gidlund

1938 - 2011

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6026 BIOLOGIST

George B. Craig

1930 - 1995

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6042 ACADEMIC

Jack S. Remington

Born 1931

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6063 FOOTBALL

Dick Thornton (Canadian football)

1939 - 2014

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6079 COACH

Bill Giles (American football)

1932 - 1998

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6103 BOTANIST

Philip Arthur Silverstone-Sopkin

1939 - 2018

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6123 JUDGE

Carole Bellows

Born 1935

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6130 BUSINESS

Ping Tom

1935 - 1995

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6155 WRESTLER

Paul Christy

Born 1939

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6157 SOCIOLOGIST

Charles Bidwell

Born 1932

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6158 MILITAR

David M. Maddox

Born 1938

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6163 PRIEST

Lawrence Sabatini

Born 1930

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6174 ACTOR

Sonja Westerbergh

1932 - 2018

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6185 ACTOR

Ron Tomme

1931 - 2005

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6228 TRACK AND FIELD

Barbara Mueller (athlete)

Born 1933

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6229 FILM

June Kovach

1932 - 2010

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6235 FOOTBALL

Art Michalik

Born 1930

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6267 POLITICIAN

David S. Cunningham Jr.

1935 - 2017

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6273 FOOTBALL

Jim Maddock

1934 - 2011

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6276 CONDUCTOR

Gordon Curran Stewart

1939 - 2014

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6279 ACTOR

Marti Stevens (educator)

1939 - 1993

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6280 GENETICIST

Robert Metzenberg

1930 - 2007

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6281 RADIO

Chuck Leonard

1937 - 2004

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6282 MUSIC

Joe Vito

1931 - 2010

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6283 HISTORIAN

Bill Lubenow

Born 1939

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6293 MILITAR

Leon E. Salomon

Born 1936

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6305 COMPOSER

Ed Doemland

1938 - 2012

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6323 FOOTBALL

Jack Delveaux

1937 - 2020

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6329 BIOCHEMIST

M. Daniel Lane

1930 - 2014

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6347 PHYSICIST

Harvey S. Leff

Born 1937

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6355 FOOTBALL

Joe Krupa

1933 - 2011

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6360 PHYSICIST

Fredrik Zachariasen

1931 - 1999

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6399 JUDGE

Louis B. Garippo

1931 - 2016

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6402 POLITICIAN

Kenneth A. Gewertz

1934 - 2006

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6434 MISSING

Richard L. Van Horn

Born 1932

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6457 JOURNALIST

Larry Whiteside

1937 - 2007

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6459 WRITER

Jack Lovejoy

1937 - 2014

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6464 ACTOR

Marty Robinson (announcer)

Born 1932

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6469 BUSINESS

Don Soderquist

1934 - 2016

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6477 PHARMACOLOGIST

Lewis Seiden

1934 - 2007

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6492 PLAYER

Verneda Thomas

Born 1936

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6507 BASEBALL

Jack Krol

1936 - 1994

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6509 BASEBALL

Andy Varga

1930 - 1992

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6511 PAINTER

Carol Heifetz Neiman

1937 - 1990

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6538 FOOTBALL

Larry Onesti

1938 - 2018

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6550 TELEVISION

Betty Lou Varnum

Born 1931

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6557 PUBLISHER

Louis A. Lerner

1935 - 1984

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6575 CORONER

Ronald Kornblum

1933 - 2008

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6583 WRITER

Judy Balaban

Born 1932

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6584 SINGER

Tiny Topsy

1930 - 1964

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6585 DIPLOMAT

David C. Jordan

Born 1935

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6618 PROFESSOR

Ralph Brill

1935 - 2019

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6623 WRITER

Judith Palache Gregory

1932 - 2017

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6625 RADIO

Harry Harrison (DJ)

1930 - 2020

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6650 BASEBALL

Dolores Moore

1932 - 2000

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6683 RADIO

Jerry Girard

1932 - 2007

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6692 POLITICIAN

Ken Sorensen

1934 - 2012

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6694 BASEBALL

Fern Battaglia

1931 - 2001

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6704 BASEBALL

Dolly Niemiec

1931 - 2018

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6705 POLITICIAN

Torrey C. Brown

1937 - 2014

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6722 BASEBALL

Gloria Schweigerdt

1934 - 2014

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6724 PROGRAMMER

Ann Hardy

Born 1933

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6725 POLITICIAN

W. Raymond Beck

Born 1932

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6730 ACTIVIST

Barbara Thoman Curtis

1938 - 2015

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6744 BANK

Ron Grzywinski

Born 1936

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6747 FOOTBALL

Dale Samuels

Born 1931

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6808 ICHTHYOLOGIST

Gareth Jon Nelson

Born 1937

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6816 EDUCATION

Rita Walters

1930 - 2020

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6831 BASEBALL

Arlene Kotil

Born 1934

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6832 FOOTBALL

Jim Andreotti

Born 1938

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6857 DESIGNER

Rudy Krolopp

Born 1930

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6866 PROFESSOR

Joel D. Kopple

Born 1938

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6873 SCULPTOR

Merle Temkin

Born 1937

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6877 CHEMIST

Antoinette Rodez Schiesler

1934 - 1996

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6884 ORGANIST

Maceo Woods

1932 - 2020

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6909 SKIPPER

Dick Holmberg

1931 - 2003

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6916 POLITICIAN

Lolita Schneiders

Born 1931

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6924 LAWYER

Norris Hoyt

1935 - 2013

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6932 ADVOCATE

Enid Hammerman

1930 - 2002

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6995 BASKET

Jim Bredar

1931 - 1997

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7015 ACTOR

Evelyn Lovequist

1931 - 1996

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7055 POLITICIAN

J. Glenn Schneider

1935 - 2017

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7062 BASEBALL

Eileen Gascon

Born 1931

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7066 ASSEMBLY

John A. Norman

1931 - 1956

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7071 OFFICER

William J. Campbell (general)

1931 - 2017

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7076 SINGER

Rita Raines

1930 - 2014

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7078 RESTAURATEUR

Burt Katz

1937 - 2016

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7092 BASEBALL

Johnny Washington (Negro Leagues)

Born 1930

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7110 BASEBALL

Nate Smith (baseball)

Born 1935

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7115 SUPREMACIST

Edward Reed Fields

Born 1932

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7124 POLITICIAN

Ken Schultz

Born 1938

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7126 LAWYER

John Powers Crowley

1936 - 1989

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7134 ACTOR

Barbara Lang (Broadway actress)

Born 1937

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7137 DIPLOMAT

Gordon Robert Beyer

1930 - 2010

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7143 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

David Hedgley

Born 1937

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7145 ARCHAEOLOGY

Emory Kemp

1931 - 2020

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7149 ARMY

Peter G. Burbules

Born 1931

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7184 BASEBALL

Dick Luebke

1935 - 1974

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7191 BUSINESS

Henry Schimberg

1933 - 2012

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7202 POLITICIAN

Fred Whiting

Born 1938

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7203 PHILOSOPHER

Ted Cohen (philosopher)

1939 - 2014

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7219 POLITICIAN

Gary McDougal

Born 1936

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7251 BASEBALL

Barbara Gates

1934 - 2000

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7261 OFFICER

Michael K. Sheridan

Born 1934

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7262 ROBBER

John William Clouser

Born 1932

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7272 BASEBALL

George Piktuzis

1932 - 1993

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7284 ARCHITECT

Stanley Back

1931 - 1982

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7285 WRITER

Don Gold

Born 1931

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7323 FOOTBALL

Jerry Zaleski

Born 1932

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7338 PHOTOGRAPHER

Robert Stiegler

1938 - 1990

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7339 POLITICIAN

Thomas G. Lyons

1931 - 2007

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7399 GEOLOGIST

Virginia Steen-McIntyre

Born 1936

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7401 FOOTBALL

Sayed Khwaja Aziz-ud-Din

1930 - 1998

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7422 MALACOLOGIST

Thomas R. Waller

Born 1937

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7432 POLITICIAN

Shirley M. Jones

1939 - 2016

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7433 MUSIC

Nick Tountas

1934 - 2012

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7455 STATISTICIAN

Melvin R. Novick

1932 - 1986

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7457 DESIGNER

Emmett McBain

1935 - 2012

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7465 GEOLOGIST

John Campbell Craddock

1930 - 2006

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