38.8725° N, 84.5861° W

CINCINNATI

Most Famous People Born in Cincinnati, United States

Notable people
1,772
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1938
Most distinctive
Baseball 12.5×

Cincinnati's bench is German-American old money and mid-century entertainment — the Lawyer class is the same Queen City bar that built the Taft political dynasty, the Novelist thread runs through the Over-the-Rhine literary generation, and a smaller Music vein traces from King Records and James Brown through the city's early rock-and-roll scene. The Basket cohort is the University of Cincinnati pipeline that sent Oscar Robertson north and kept sending players ever since.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Cincinnati during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 168 notable births.

What Cincinnati Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Baseball is Cincinnati's biggest profession — 14% of all notables (251).

Cincinnati over-indexes on baseball12.5× the global rate.

Cincinnati under-produces writer — only 0.7× the global rate.

  1. Baseball251
  2. Football203
  3. Politician152
  4. Actor135
  5. Basket72
  6. Lawyer54
  7. Painter42
  8. Writer40
  1. Baseball25112.5×
  2. Novelist273.9×
  3. Basket723.2×
  4. Lawyer541.8×
  5. Music391.5×
  1. Writer400.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

18001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Music
  • Other
All1,772
Sort By

Showing 137 of 1,772 notable people

0001 FILM

Steven Spielberg

Born 1946

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0005 SINGER

Isaac Hayes

1942 - 2008

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0011 CONDUCTOR

James Levine

Born 1943

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0013 BASEBALL

Pete Rose

Born 1941

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0016 GUITAR

Adrian Belew

Born 1949

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0023 SINGER

Marty Balin

1942 - 2018

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0032 FOOTBALL

Roger Staubach

Born 1942

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0042 NOVELIST

Edmund White

Born 1940

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0047 POLITICIAN

Kathleen Sebelius

Born 1948

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0055 SINGER

Gloria Jones

Born 1945

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0057 MATHEMATICIAN

Richard S. Hamilton

Born 1943

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0062 BALLET

Suzanne Farrell

Born 1945

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0088 MUSIC

George Adams (musician)

1940 - 1992

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0108 SINGER

Ronald Isley

Born 1941

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0112 WRITER

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Born 1948

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0158 POLITICIAN

Gary Bauer

Born 1946

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0163 SINGER

Jimmy Griffin

1943 - 2005

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0192 LEXICOGRAPHER

Robert Blust

Born 1940

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0202 ARTIST

Judith Scott (artist)

1943 - 2005

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0220 WRITER

David Quammen

Born 1948

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0228 ACTOR

Jerry Wasserman

Born 1945

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0236 JOURNALIST

Gail Collins

Born 1945

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0255 NOVELIST

Stanley Schmidt

Born 1944

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0263 MUSIC

Craig Fuller

Born 1949

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0292 BIOLOGIST

Tom Rapoport

Born 1947

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0303 BASEBALL

Kent Tekulve

Born 1947

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0308 ACTOR

Sy Richardson

Born 1941

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0327 POLITICIAN

David Skaggs

Born 1943

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0343 POWERLIFTER

Ken Sprague

Born 1945

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0345 MUSIC

Michael Moore (bassist)

Born 1945

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0346 MUSIC

Catfish Collins

1943 - 2010

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0351 SERIAL KILLER

Oba Chandler

1946 - 2011

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0370 BASKET

Dave Robisch

Born 1949

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0378 WRITER

Jonathan Valin

Born 1947

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0412 FOOTBALL

Tom O'Brien (American football)

Born 1948

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0429 MUSIC

Carl Dobkins Jr.

1941 - 2020

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0438 DESIGNER

Robert Williams (geometer)

Born 1942

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0452 LINGUIST

Nick Clements

1940 - 2009

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0456 BASEBALL

Garry Maddox

Born 1949

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0462 ACTOR

Brenda Scott

Born 1943

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0469 POLITICIAN

Ken Blackwell

Born 1948

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0473 BASKET

Bob Arnzen

Born 1947

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0477 BIOLOGIST

Joan Brugge

Born 1949

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0503 JUDGE

Martha Craig Daughtrey

Born 1942

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0509 WRITER

Michael Jahn

Born 1943

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0517 AUTOR

Sharon E. Sutton

Born 1941

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0519 CHEMIST

John E. Bercaw

Born 1944

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0558 PRIEST

Robert Daniel Conlon

Born 1948

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0567 ASTRONOMER

Alan Dressler

Born 1948

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0593 NASCAR

Jack Roush

Born 1942

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0603 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Susan J. Eggers

Born 1943

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0676 BASKET

Roland West (basketball)

Born 1944

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0690 JUDGE

Marsha S. Berzon

Born 1945

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0694 ACTOR

Joel Crothers

1941 - 1985

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0702 LAWYER

Thomas Geoghegan

Born 1949

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0714 LAWYER

Michael J. Davis

Born 1947

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0734 RADIO

Bill Cunningham (talk show host)

Born 1947

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0748 MUSIC

Thomas Martin (musician)

Born 1940

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0752 POET

William Matthews (poet)

1942 - 1997

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0753 POLITICIAN

John Doyle (West Virginia politician)

Born 1942

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0770 MUSIC

Kenny Poole

1947 - 2006

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0774 BASEBALL

Ed Brinkman

1941 - 2008

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0777 BASKET

Dan Tieman

1940 - 2012

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0796 CERAMIST

Bennett Bean

Born 1941

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0809 SINGER

Lee Roy Reams

Born 1942

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0816 FOOTBALL

Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds

Born 1947

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0818 FOOTBALL

Dave Foley (American football)

Born 1947

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0853 ARTIST

Paul Marioni

Born 1941

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0857 CHEMIST

David E. Nichols

Born 1944

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0868 WRITER

Alexandra Day

Born 1941

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0894 PHOTOGRAPHER

Diana Mara Henry

Born 1948

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0895 LAWYER

Paul Huck

Born 1940

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0897 HISTORIAN

Nelson Minnich

Born 1942

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0903 PHILOSOPHER

John Michael Krois

1943 - 2010

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0907 ACTOR

Marie Masters

Born 1941

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0914 FOOTBALL

Joey Jackson

Born 1943

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0943 FOOTBALL

Bob Goodridge

Born 1946

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0950 WRESTLER

Les Thatcher

Born 1940

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0971 ARTIST

Joseph Marioni

Born 1943

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0983 BASEBALL

Mike Adams (outfielder)

Born 1948

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0986 DIPLOMAT

Patricia L. Herbold

Born 1940

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0993 TEACHER

Amy Spangler

Born 1949

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0997 FOOTBALL

Steve Tensi

Born 1942

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1003 BASEBALL

Bill Faul (baseball)

1940 - 2002

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1044 BASEBALL

Chuck Brinkman

Born 1944

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1045 FOOTBALL

Clem Turner

1945 - 2009

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1058 PASTOR

Wendell Mettey

Born 1945

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1060 ENTREPRENEUR

Jim Koch

Born 1949

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1062 SCHOLAR

Gale A. Yee

Born 1949

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1065 SPORT

Tom Lichtenberg

1940 - 2013

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1082 MUSIC

Danny Cox (musician)

Born 1942

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1092 ARMY

Gary L. Miller

1947 - 1969

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1094 FOOTBALL

Al Nelson

Born 1943

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1116 CHEMIST

James Wuest

Born 1948

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1119 POLITICIAN

Bob Schuler

1943 - 2009

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1130 FOOTBALL

Perry Williams (running back)

Born 1946

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1139 WRITER

Philip DeGuere

1944 - 2005

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1144 FOOTBALL

Mike Sensibaugh

Born 1949

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1155 LAWYER

Stephen M. McNamee

Born 1942

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1164 POLITICIAN

Ron Maag

Born 1945

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1172 SCULPTOR

Ed Hamilton

Born 1947

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1182 BOXER

Raymond Russell (boxer)

Born 1940

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1190 PRODUCER

Patrick Montgomery

Born 1949

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1199 BASEBALL

Bill Hepler

Born 1945

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1203 FOOTBALL

Dick Gordon (American football)

Born 1944

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1217 POLITICIAN

Louis Terhar

Born 1949

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1219 POLITICIAN

Lou Blessing

Born 1948

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1221 FOOTBALL

Walter Johnson (American football)

1942 - 1999

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1232 BUSINESS

Bob Herbold

Born 1942

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1239 KARATE

Vic Moore

Born 1943

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1243 PRODUCER

Rick Steiner (producer)

1946 - 2016

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1272 LAWYER

Steven Levinson

Born 1946

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1297 FILM

Harlan Jacobson

Born 1949

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1320 FOOTBALL

Larry Schreiber

Born 1947

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1330 BASEBALL

Rudy Schlesinger

Born 1941

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1343 ACTIVIST

Jean Trounstine

Born 1946

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1351 BASEBALL

Jack Jenkins (baseball)

1942 - 2002

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1406 POLITICIAN

Chuck Turner

1941 - 2019

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1418 POLITICIAN

Stan Jones (Indiana politician)

1949 - 2017

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1424 POLITICIAN

Janet Greenip

Born 1947

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1437 BASEBALL

Randy Marsh

Born 1949

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1454 BASEBALL

Jeoff Long

Born 1941

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1467 BASEBALL

Russ Nagelson

Born 1944

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1470 ACADEMIC

Denise Trauth

Born 1947

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1477 EDUCATOR

John Bardo

1948 - 2019

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1498 POLITICIAN

Jim McGregor

Born 1948

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1504 ACTOR

Harvey Evans

Born 1941

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1508 FOOTBALL

Neal Craig

Born 1948

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1510 BASEBALL

Ethan Blackaby

Born 1940

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1518 COMPOSER

Luther Hughes

Born 1946

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1569 PRIEST

Jack Iker

Born 1949

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1581 POLITICIAN

Shawn Webster

Born 1949

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1598 ARCHITECT

Stephen Carter (architect)

Born 1945

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1645 POLITICIAN

Margo McNeil

Born 1948

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1708 OFFICER

Arthur E. Henn

1940 - 2001

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1744 BASEBALL

Jim Minshall

Born 1947

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1764 MUSIC

Frank Tribble

1949 - 2013

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